Throw up in the air like you just don't care!
I wasn't really sure what to expect from The Bloodhound Gang, a band that I always thought were bigger than headliner's Bowling For Soup. What we get is a band that works very hard to entertain theatrically even if musically they are a pretty mediocre band.
After the initial shenanigans whereby we have video footage of Jared moaning about how they can no longer smoke in venues, he poses the question, "What next? No fish and chips?" When the band do come out they have that air of a band that has seen it all before and knows how to entertain. Jimmy Pop is dressed like a public school boy with his added red baseball cap at a jaunty angle, but remaining fairly quiet as Jared, dressed in his white muscle vest is happy to be more centre stage.
First song, 'Fire Water Burn' is a great opener with crowd participation for the part of singing back, "We don't need no water let the muthafucker burn // burn muthafucker burn!" It also amuses me how a lot of people here won't understand most of the musical references of the song that are so good that this has been my favourite song of the band's for years. Unfortunately apart from the slight musical highs of, 'Ballad of Chasey Lain' and the huge hit of their encore number, 'The Bad Touch' most of the entertainment is visual. Throughout the whole of the gig we have pictures on the screen behind the band of anything and everything including fat naked ladies dancing, to Swindon icons. The one thing that you have to say as not only a plus but something that I'm unaware of any other band doing, is such extensive local research. "We've seen some bad places," Jimmy Pops says at one point. "Guys getting stabbed outside of Angelos night club..." which of course refers to a Swindon club that doesn't have the greatest of reputations.
The band joke around getting the crowd to sing back, "Jimmy Pop is a homosexual!" before launching into the song, 'I Wish I Was Queer So I Could Get Chicks', then after their new single, 'Screwing You On A Beach At Night', they decide to go off for a 'fag' break, leaving us with a golden oldie of an advertisement for 'Lucky Strike' cigarettes.
When the band come back they tell us how bad America is and how lucky we are, for instance, we have Billy Piper and Melinda Messenger, whereas they moan about, "ginger-whinger Lindsay Lohen, trailer trash Britney Spears, and boob-flashing Paris Hilton.." although they did say that we should thank them for taking the Beckham's off of our hands, wish I guess is a good point! We then have the mildly amusing, 'F.U.C.K.' before Jared decides to unleash his party trick, which firstly involves him dropping his trousers and pulling a jug of beer with his penis, then him chugging down the beer. And when you think that is it, he then proceeds to be sick back into the jug and then drinks it up again. It's disgusting and entertaining all at once. It also makes for a good final song of, 'You're Pretty When I'm Drunk' as Jared is having trouble playing whilst periodically throwing up right on cue in Jimmy pop's cap, who then puts it on his head without missing any words.
It's juvenile and stupid fun, and yes the songs can get a bit boring. There's no, 'Kiss Me Where It Smells Funny', 'Why's Everybody Always Picking On Me' or their cover of Run DMC's, 'It's Tricky', and their newer songs don't quite pack the punch of the old ones, but for entertainment value, you really can't complain.