Hartford’s Webster Theater hosted one of the most manic shows in recent history. The tour is called “Back For The Attack Tour” but it could easily be called “We’re Having As Much Fun As You Are”. Being headlined by Bowling For Soup would be cause to get out on a Thursday night but also on the bill were Florida’s madcap band, Less Than Jake. Also, the deliriously wacky Aqua Bats were on the bill.
Opening the show was the more seriously-minded Don’t Panic. These plucky young men are a pop-punk band from Northeast Pennsylvania. Formed in 2019, they’ve already got 2 albums under their belt. They put on a highly energetic show which really kicked the evening off right. Their songs are full of catchy guitar riffs which tend to run through your head long after hearing them. Pair those riffs with smart and catchy lyrics and you have a band worthy of your time. To get a good idea of their sound, check out the video for their song Woe I. After their stint with the Bowling For Soup tour, they hit the road supporting the Dollyrots in the Northeast. Do yourself a favor and check them out!
The greatest band composed of superheroes hit the stage next. Dressed in whacky superhero outfits, The Aquabats played a raucous set that turned folks of all ages into kids. After all, isn’t that what we go to concerts for? Their show is as much visual as it is aural. Giant inflatable slices of pizza, sharks and relatively normal beach balls filled the air at different points during the show. The audience took great delight in keeping them airborne. When the inflatable pizza slices were brought out, the band brought a young fan to the stage and had him do a successful stage dive into a slice.
To the music purist, The Aquabats may not be your cup of tea. However, they are perfect for all concertgoers who love to have fun. At the end of their set, The Aquabats brought up a large number of youths to the stage to dance and sing along. Not only did they give them that moment of fame if their unadulterated minds, but they also installed a love of music that will carry them through life’s twists and turns. More bands should pay the attention to young fans as The Aquabats do.
Speaking of fun, up next was Less Than Jake. These guys move about the stage so much, that it’s a wonder that they don’t constantly knock each other over. Add Buddy Schaub’s trombone and you have a recipe for disaster but they’ve been doing this for so long, that they flawlessly navigate around one another. The showmanship of this band is top-notch as they belt out their fun-loving ska punk songs. Frontman Chris DeMakes and vocalist/bassist Roger Lima constantly play up to the crowd as they make faces and grin incessantly. Schaub extends his trombone’s slide almost to the audience teasingly. The only mostly stoic member at the front of the stage is saxophonist and Connecticut’s own, “JR” Wasilewski.
Less Than Jake were not to be outdone by the antics of the Aquabats. LTJ attacked the audience with their “toilet paper gun”. Sending streams of toilet paper from the stage has become a mainstay of any LTJ show. The band played in front of a backdrop that was full of color and brandishing their name and logo. The stage looked like a colorful car dealership when a pair of inflatable tube men were activated. It proved to be the perfect setting for this fun-loving band of miscreants.
Rounding out the evening was the “fun rock” band from Texas, Bowling For Soup. They are yet another band that clearly has fun doing what they do. While guitarists Jaret Reddick and Chris Burney didn’t wander the stage much, they were quite animated. Burney flipped picks off his elbow catching them in mid-air while dressed in a cut-off Slayer shirt and stonewashed skirt. Rounding out the outfit was bright yellow sneakers that matched his guitar. Scruffy-faced Reddick brandished his Pittsburgh Steelers guitar while displaying a wide variety of animated facial expressions. Bassist Rob Felicetti was the one member who was quite active on stage. He also was quite animated as he mugged for the crowd. Gary Wiseman held it all together while pounding out beats on his SJC drum kit.
BFS is touring in support of their latest release, “Pop Drunk Snot Bread”. It’s their first release in six years and is worth the wait. The album is loaded with their typical clowning with songs like “I Wanna Be Brad Pitt” and the ode to WWE wrestler “Alexa Bliss“. The band also dives into introspection with songs like the acoustic “The Best We Can” and “Wouldn’t Change A Thing“. Bowling for Soup has put out 11 albums now and shows no signs of slowing down. That being said, to truly appreciate them, BFS needs to be seen live! Bowling For Soup is touring extensively across the US through mid-September. Check out their list of shows HERE and get yourself to one of them. You’ll thank me afterward.
