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Thursday 21 November 2013

A Hell of a Vacation!

People on Vacation
Liz's House and Manchester Academy
November 15th and 18th, 2013

There is a lot of talk in the press at the moment about super groups following the recent announcement of the McBusted tour, but a tour for one super group seems to have been overlooked....

People on Vacation comprises of Jaret Reddick from Bowling for Soup and Ryan Hamilton of Smile Smile and this week I have had the pleasure of seeing them twice under two totally different circumstances.  People on Vacation have hit the UK to play a six date tour consisting of three acoustic house parties in Great Yarmouth, Peterborough and Derby and then three dates with Blue October in Birmingham, Manchester and London.....  and I have been lucky enough to experience one of each!

On Friday we made the four hour journey and travelled down to Peterborough, where hostess Liz had opened her house to the fifty eager fans waiting for the Texas duo.  Unfortunately we missed the start of their set as we encountered very heavy traffic on the way down and I believe we missed 'Lonely Fish' and a rendition of 'Phineas and Ferb', but we did have the pleasure of hearing most of the set including 'It's Not Love', 'Where Do We Go', 'Lonely Chris' (a parody of 'Lonely Fish' dedicated to one of the fans in attendance) and Bowling for Soups latest single, 'Circle'.  

The whole set was an acoustic set and although it was a much smaller venue than they usually play, they sounded great!  The house had a through lounge/kitchen/conservatory and although it was full it was not uncomfortably full. 

After Jaret and Ryan finished their set they joined in the party with the rest of us, chatting and chilling out with everyone who wanted to talk to them.  They also posed for photographs, including posing on the sofa with a young child who had wanted to meet them but had fallen asleep.  Jaret posed as though he had passed out on the sofa and Ryan as though he was about to beat him up.  Luckily the child in question woke up before the end of the party and actually got to meet his idols but I would love to have seen his face the next day when he saw the pictures his parents had staged with Jaret and Ryan.

The party was a great night and it is clear to see why all three of the house parties sold out.  I would not hesitate to attend another house party event. (Thank you Liz for being a great hostess!)



Going to the other end of the spectrum are the three shows supporting Blue October which saw Jaret and Ryan play a full band set with the accompaniment of Rob Lane (Teenage Casket Company) on bass and Michael Richards (Session Drummer) on drums. 


Starting the night with 'Back To Being Friends' and finishing with 'Where Do We Go', we were treated to a similar set to the house party but with all the punch of a full rock set.  Singing songs such as 'I Get You', 'Because Of The Sun', and their latest single 'Lonely Fish', they had the crowd in the palm of their hands. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gijqq8f3UEA



Included in the set was the song 'Prettiest Girl' from the album 'The Summer And Fall', which Ryan had been singing each night during the  last UK Bowling for Soup tour, which had been an elaborate plan to propose to girlfriend Holly on the last night of tour.

Between songs we were treated to plenty of banter from Jaret and Ryan.  Whether it's Ryan comparing himself to Erik Chandler (of Bowling for Soup) or Ryan sharing that Jaret tweets while he poops, these guys make you feel as though you are hanging with the cool kids and really make you feel part of the People on Vacation family.


Until tonight I had only ever heard People on Vacation play an acoustic set but hearing them with full band has made me love them even more.  Whether they play acoustic sets or with the full band I will definitely be seeing these guys the next time they are in the UK.


Unfortunately I couldn't say the same for Blue October, as although they were good they were not my cup of tea and we left the set half way through, which turned out to be a good thing as we were able to  chat with Jaret, Ryan, Rob, Michael and Holly, which turned the night from a great night to a fantastic night.































(People On Vacation will be back in the UK for a ten date tour in April 2014, along with Patent Pending and Lacey)