Brixton Academy
22.10.07
It’s probably just as well that the positive vibes of the Get Happy tour await us, because the journey to Brixton tonight is more of a Get Angry or Get Sweaty affair, with the tube out of action and the local buses rammed to bursting point. Apparently openers Army Of Freshmen and Zebrahead went down well with those that were lucky enough to arrive in time to see them.
It’s been ten years since the Bloodhound Gang unleashed their One Fierce Beer Coaster debut, and tonight there’s a sense that Jimmy Pop and co’s smut-laden keg party tunes would work better in a smaller venue with the booze flowing freely. As it is, the Academy isn’t doing their sound any favours, so they compensate with all manner of odd (or just plain stupid) antics; most of them courtesy of bassist Evil Jared Hasselhoff. After he’s finished dragging a flight case across the stage – using a rope attached to his penis, of course – the band finish with The Bad Touch (complete with footage of animals fornicating on the giant projector screen), and leave most of crowd with huge grins on faces. Job done.
Bowling For Soup were treated as something of a joke when they first arrived on the scene; viewed by many as just a bunch of chancers attempting to follow in Blink 182’s goof-punk slipstream. However, 2007 sees the band not only continuing to proudly fly in the face of critical opinion, but also in possession of an arsenal of tunes that, whilst they could hardly be described as classic, are nevertheless catchy as hell and great fun to sing along to in the live setting. I‘m Gay, 1985, Girl All The Bad Guys Want; all delivered with no little panache and a handful of endearing lyterrible jokes. Granted, the closing massacre of Johnny Cash’s Ring Of Fire is a step too far, but if you’re expecting good taste from this lot, then you’re clearly at the wrong gig.
Jumping around like a madman and acting half your age – is this what it takes to Get Happy in 2007? Oh well, discovering your inner child was rarely such a guilty pleasure before.
Alex Gosman