An evening that paired US Pop Punk with UK Folk Punk proved to be a double header of the highest order when Bowling for Soup and Frank Turner & The Sleeping Souls teamed up at Scarborough’s Open Air Theatre on July 2nd, suitably supported by American Hi-Fi. 

Aptly reviewed by a tag-team consisting of : Bowling for Soup and American Hi-Fi – Luke Mackie; Frank Turner & The Sleeping Souls – Sam Mason. 

American Hi-Fi

They’re the Flavour Of The Week on Another Perfect Day where The Geeks Get The Girls.

That’s right, American Hi-fi.

It’s everything you expect from pop punk, whiny vocals, FAT catchy riffs and lyrics inspired by every breakup ever.

The Boston band has 28 years of experience and it really shows on stage with how tight and rehearsed everything was.
I’m still blown away that we were treated to Hi-Fi as a support act when they’re a band you’d expect to see on a Slam Dunk main stage.

I even caught myself daydreaming back to being a teen, skateboarding in a Morrisons car park while your friends blast their songs out of a dodgy portable speaker; but then I come back to reality, saw who was there and thought, “how f*cking cool is that”.

An excellent warm up band, pouring lots of good noise into the ever-giving fountain of nostalgia that just kept on giving throughout the evening.

Frank Turner & The Sleeping Souls

Let’s start by talking about the stage presence from these guys. Confident and energetic; the crowd control with the ‘Wall of Hugs’ and the circle pit was great.

From the bass player’s animated moves, to the sound tech coming on stage and playing the harmonica, it was great entertainment for everyone. Playing a multitude of Frank Turner’s hits from over the years, across ten studio albums from Photosynthesis to Long Live the Queen, and all that lives in-between.

The last time Frank Turner played in Scarborough, he tells us, was Beached Festival in 2007 (gig number 330, as per Frank’s meticulously catalogued list) and this one was number 3,162 – fair to say, it was great to have him back after all those years. The vibes were great, fast-paced goodness with a mixture of heartfelt acoustic songs and the ‘Frank Turner hardcore,’ more punk variations.

Commendably, Frank speaks out against Fascism. He is also open about mental health struggles and support, which is admirable; mental health is a real problem with folks now and seeing artists share these messages can help so many. The fact that he calls everyone in the crowd ‘friends’ makes it all feel more welcoming and casual. The crowd were great too, a mixture of people who all came together to witness what was a great night.

And it wasn’t yet over…

Let’s not beat around the bush. They’re definitely bowling to obtain soup and also on behalf of the soup. Obviously.

After the monstrous delight that is Frank Carter I thought for a moment that BFS might not actually be able to stand their ground and keep up with what was already a killer night, and certainly one to remember. But honestly, I’ve seen this band so many times over the years and still, not much has changed. Silly me, BFS are, and always will be, titans of the pop punk scene and I’m glad they ain’t that different because they have been awesome for a long, long time.

With an arsenal of certified bangers and a few ice-cold covers, BFS quickly slapped everyone back into action after the break, having everyone scream out for more of that tasty vibe that each of the acts had been providing all night.

These guys really have their act down to a tee. They will stroll into what feels like a comedy sketch halfway through a song and then slap you across the face with an infectious chorus, a barrage of beach balls, and crowd work that could get the dead back up on their feet and shouting back.

They’re even generous enough to pause for photo opportunities, in case you didn’t get a good angle or were too busy jumping up and down to the music. Somehow even this part was engaging; they heartily embraced the good old “Yorkshire chant” and had a good laugh about how for a long time they always thought the crowd was saying “you’re sh*t” rather than “Yoooork-shire”. There’s something really wholesome about Americans experiencing English culture, I’d even go so far as to say that they could be honorary Yorkshire-folk, as they were caught in the pub the night before and brought some real friendly goodness to Scarborough.

All in all, what a throwback of a night for a 90’s kid. Back to a simpler time when all you had to worry about was if the girl you liked fancied you back and what you were having for tea. Always a pleasure, BFS, that was absolutely cosmic.

Check out the rest of the TK Maxx presents Scarborough Open Air Theatre season here.