August 20, 2025

What an extremely nostalgic night! I grew up listening to Simple Plan and 3OH!3, and even some Bowling for Soup (19, 19, 1985!). The songs played this night all took me back to my childhood and high school days where we would play these songs at the pool or while getting ready for school dances. So, when my husband came into our room playing “I’m Just a Kid” and singing along at the top of his lungs, we immediately bought tickets to the show.

The bands played at Stir Cove, an outdoor venue in Council Bluffs that I hadn’t been to in many years. The venue being outdoors has made for several hot and sticky concerts, but this night the temperature was perfection. A nice 85 after the sun went down allowed for me to wear the cutest outfit (mini skirt and tank pictured below) while not being too cold or too warm. Stir Cove’s capacity is approximately 4,000 people and Simple Plan sold it out! When we got inside the venue, it was packed to the brim with fans and the merch line was well over 200 people long. Although the merch was cool, we didn’t find any of it to be worth that long of a wait, so we opted for a water break instead.

Bowling for Soup, known for the Phineas and Ferb theme song and 1985 (and not Stacy’s Mom as most people think) were hilarious. They joked around their whole set and genuinely appeared to be having the time of their lives.They even stopped their set for a “Bowling for Soup” photo op where they walked around the stage striking funny poses. After singing along to their greatest hits, 3OH!3 took the stage.

3OH!3 is known for their mid-2000s hits like Don’t Trust Me and My First Kiss. I truly enjoyed hearing these songs that I sang along to at school dances and got ready to in middle and high school. But, they sounded very different than they do in the recorded versions. They performed with a full band on stage whereas their recorded songs sound more computer/sound board generated. There were also a few times that my husband said “hmmm it kinda feels like they are lip synching” to which I kind of agreed. Despite these few minor issues, we overall really enjoyed their performance.

Finally, Simple Plan took the stage and really blew us away. Their live performances sounded EXACTLY like their recorded songs, which honestly doesn’t happen all that often. They played a mix of their huge hits, like I’m Just a Kid and I’d Do Anything, and some of their more obscure songs like Astronaut and Can’t Keep My Hands Off You. Their music was coupled with fun visual displays, including several songs that had the lyrics flashing behind the band which is one of my new favorite trends. They also let off several rounds of confetti and streamers which is always fun. Overall, this show had us feeling like we were kids again and I absolutely love that feeling.

OVERALL RATINGS

Setlist: 8/10

Merch: 7/10

Set Design: 7.5/10

Venue: 8/10

Vibes: 10 /10