BOWLING FOR SOUP- Forth Worth, TX

The Main Street Fort Worth Arts festival is an annual event in downtown Fort Worth that attracts nearly 500,000 attendees to experience the ultimate in fine arts presentations. Lining Main street in the heart of Fort Worth are displays and small booths set up by artists from any and everywhere, featuring a unique compilation of arts to provide something for everyone.

Also in the mix are three stages featuring everything from world music to good ole' punk rock. The festival spans 7 days, and bandchat was there for Saturday, the biggest concert day for the festival. Headlining the American Airlines stage at the festival was Texas-based Bowling For Soup, who have seen a recent burst of success on the national level.

After experiencing their live show, I now have no doubts as to why they have seen such success. Bowling For Soup took the stage with power, driving the audience absolutely insane. Their ability to entertain has never ceased to amaze me, and this concert was no exception. The band makes it a point to always have something going on that is interesting.

After a power generator colapsed mid-show, I was sure to see some kind of riot occur within the riled-up crowd that now had no entertainment. Bowling For Soup obviously had a different idea of what would happen: they actually kept the crowd entertained for what seemed like half an hour! Even without the convenience of microphones or lighting, the band led the massive audience in a Texas-sized rendition of "Row Your Boat", with the alternating timing and everything. I think listening to a crowd of thousands singing in unison and even divided into three sections was almost as entertaining as the concert itself. Then, the band led the crowd in the classic.. "we've got spirit, yes we do, we've got spirit, how about you?" cheer we all remember from high school football games. Needless to say, the crowd had fun, the band had fun, and we didn't even need music!

In any case, however, the music was by far the highlight of the event. The band played with an intense level of energy, and it never seemed to fall short. Up until the last chord, the energy was at it's highest, and the crowd was loving it.

The barracade in the front was slowly yet surely pushed closer and closer to the stage by the moshing fans, eventually coming to about 2 feet from the stage. During the band's current single, "Girl all the bad guys want", a fan leaped on the stage and grabbed the mic to sing, or at least attempted to. After his quick removal, the police officers at the event quickly manned their stations in front of the stage.

The only negative thing about Bowling For Soup's live show is that it ends!

-Elizabeth Pardieu