Simple Plan, 3OH!3, Bowling for Soup Take Us Back at Michigan Lottery

Veterans of Pop Punk Simple Plan brought their latest tour to the Michigan Lottery Ampitheatre on August 23 with special guests 3OH!3, Bowling For Soup, and LøLø. This brought a slew of fans – including those who dressed up as Scooby Doo, for the occasion.

 

LøLø

 

 

 

 

 

This was our first time seeing LøLø live, but we were already slightly familiar with her songs “the devil wears converse” and “debbie downer,” so we were very excited to see what her performance style was like. LøLø brought energy and snark to her performance while commanding the crowd right at the start of the show.

 

 

BOWLING FOR SOUP

 

 

 

 

 

Bowling for Soup is always a highlight and delight of every lineup they are on. Frontman Jarret Reddick not only knows how to keep a crowd enthusiastic, but he’s also full of jokes that keep you entertained. From what we could tell, much of the audience was there for Simple Plan, but that didn’t stop the fans from knowing every word to Bowling For Soup’s music. The fun part about their sets is that you start to realize how many of their discography’s biggest hits you know, even if you’re not an active monthly listener. They kicked off their set with “Girl All The Bad Guys Want,” and kept up the momentum with songs like “Come Back To Texas” and “High School Never Ends,” along with other heavy hitters in their catalog. By the time they were done, they had loosened everyone up for the next act.

 

 

 

3OH!3

 

 

 

 

 

3OH!3 is an acquired taste, but luckily, they’ve been a staple in the scene for an extra dose of fun. While they perform with a live drummer and a guitarist, many of their songs lean more towards electronic music on their albums. They started their set with “PunkB*tch,” “StarStrukk,” and “Double Vision,” which had the crowd jumping and dancing. However, audibly, we heard the crowd the most when “Don’t Trust Me” was ending the set. Even attendees at the show who may not be 3OH!3 fans would know this one, especially the line “Tell your boyfriend if he says he’s got beef that I’m a vegetarian and I ain’t f*cking scared of him” — which most of the audience screamed at the top of their lungs.

 

 

SIMPLE PLAN

 

 

 

 

Simple Plan came out blazing with “I’d Do Anything,” a song that could arguably be put in the encore of their set due to its popularity. The track, which on the album has Blink 182’s Mark Hoppus for a little cameo, came with cool visuals behind the band, as canons of cryo blasted off every 15 seconds or so during the chorus. They continued with “Nothing Changes” and “Shut Up,” in which confetti was blown off, a sweet way to get the crowd interacting and to keep the visuals looking extra fun.

 

Simple Plan performed 19 tracks during their set, including their song “What’s New Scooby Doo?” This gave the perfect opportunity to bring out the dancing Scooby Doo’s, and those who were unaware that the band sang this song now were able to understand why people were cosplaying the Mystery Gang. For the second time this weekend, we also got another cover of “Mr. Brightside” (the previous night being with Coheed and Cambria), within a medley that also included a song from their last tour partner, Avril Lavigne.

 

At the end of the night, the band brought out Jaret from Bowling For Soup to sing “I’m Just A Kid” with the band, a song that wasn’t nearly as popular back in the day as it is now, due to a viral TikTok trend of showing off old photos of you as a child, followed by the final closer and one of their biggest ballads, “Perfect.”

 

Ending on that note, we can agree, it was indeed PERFECT. Check out Simple Plan and friends on the road at officialsimpleplan.com/tour.