offspring tour review

Music | Review: The Offspring takes another step toward…

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Just how massive? Well, that’s exactly what Noodles (aka Kevin Wasserman) wanted to know and so he asked someone for the attendance figure. And he was downright amazed at what he, ahem, heard back.

“It’s a world record here at Shoreline — 1,019,704 people here tonight,” the Offspring guitarist exclaimed to the crowd.

Well, not quite 1,019,704. It was actually more like 18,000. Yet, the energy and enthusiasm going on in the crowd as The Offspring ran through an 80-minute set of hits and fan favorites certainly made the gathering feel even larger.

“I can’t believe this,” vocalist Dexter Holland remarked of the response from the audience. “It’s volcanic.”

The massive turnout — which towered above the 10,000 fans that Jonas Brothers brought into the same venue on Friday night — further underscores the lasting (and, actually, reaccelerating) popularity of this fabulous punk band from Garden Grove. It also highlights the drawing power of a good package bill, as The Offspring is being accompanied on this trek by Canadian pop-punk purveyors Sum 41 and Simple Plan.

The Offspring kicked off its headlining set by taking the fans back to its breakthrough effort — 1994’s six-time-platinum “Smash” — for a memorable version of “Come Out and Play.” It was one of four songs the band played from that record, which certainly lived up to its title on the charts and did more to revive the public’s interest in punk rock than any other album besides Green Day’s “Dookie.”

The group — which now is looking more and more like a future inductee to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame — sounded great as it ran through its strong songbook, touching on the 1997release “Ixnay on the Hombre” for “All I Wan”; 2000’s “Conspiracy of One” for “Want You Bad”; and 2003’s “Splinter” for “Hit That” early on in the show.

The Offspring also played the title track from its most recent release — and first album in nearly a decade — 2021’s “Let the Bad Times Roll.” The song has been a major hit, topping the Billboard Mainstream Rock chart.

Holland is a rock ‘n’ roll Renaissance man, whose many accomplishments include obtaining a PhD in molecular biology from the University of Southern California and piloting a 10-day solo flight around the world. On this night, of course, what truly mattered was his ability to command the stage and lead the group through a commanding set of music. He’d ace both of those categories on Saturday, sounding ’90s-era strong as he belted out powerful song after another.

Yet, he certainly had plenty of help from his back-up singers — some 18,000 of them, actually — as the fans chanted along to each and every number.

“Josh Groban doesn’t hold a candle,” Noodles remarked of the vocal work of the crowd. “You have the voices of angels.”

Holland and Noodles, the two remaining longtime band members, were the stars of the show, as per usual. They did all the talking from the stage, with Holland playing a bit of a straight man role to Noodles’ patented combo of hilarity and hijinks.

Yet, Noodles is very serious about his guitar work, something he underscored as he rolled through an electric instrumental medley of Black Sabbath’s “Iron Maiden,” Iron Maiden’s “The Trooper,” Guns N’ Roses’ “Sweet Child o’ Mine” and, believe it or not, Norwegian composer Edvard Grieg’s 1875 orchestral piece  “In the Hall of the Mountain King,” from “Peer Gynt.” The group nicely followed that segment with a full-length cover of the Ramones’ “Blitzkrieg Bop.”

The rhythm section of bassist Todd Morse and drummer Brandon Pertzborn, as well as one unannounced sideman playing a variety of instruments, did a fine job providing the platform for Holland and Noodles to shine as the band continued through “Gotta Get Away,” “(Can’t Get My) Head Around You” and the glorious shout-along “Why Don’t You Get a Job?”

Two of the best moments of the night were quite unexpected.

The first came when the band’s original drummer — James Lilja, who is now a gynecologic oncologist practicing out of Fremont and San Jose — took over on the kit and propelled the band through “Beheaded,” a punk gem with a definite Dead Kennedys vibe, which can be found on the group’s self-titled indie debut. What a treat, especially for longtime fans who were with the band prior to “Smash.”

“Great surgeon, good drummer,” Holland jokingly remarked of Lila.

The other top moment came when Holland sat down at the grand piano — yes, a grand piano at a punk rock show! — and performed a tender solo version of “Gone Away.” The singer prefaced the tune by saying how he lost a family member during COVID, then poured himself into this song of grief and loss.

The band finished up the main set with “Pretty Fly (for a White Guy)” and “The Kids Aren’t Alright,” then returned for a well-deserved encore of “You’re Gonna Go Far, Kid” and “Self Esteem.” And the crowd was right there with The Offspring every step of the way.

“The energy we feel coming off you is incredible,” Noodles said. “Thank you for bringing that tonight.”

The Offspring setlist: 1. “Come Out and Play” 2. “All I Want” 3. “Want You Bad” 4. “Let the Bad Times Roll” 5. “Staring at the Sun” 6. “Beheaded” 7. “Hit That” 8. “Hammerhead” 9. “Bad Habit” 10. “Iron Man”/”The Trooper”/”Sweet Child o’ Mine”/”In the Hall of the Mountain King” 11. “Blitzkrieg Bop” 12. “Gotta Get Away” 13. “Gone Away” 14. “Why Don’t You Get a Job?” 15. “(Can’t Get My) Head Around You” 16. “Pretty Fly (for a White Guy)” 17. “The Kids Aren’t Alright” Encore: 18. “You’re Gonna Go Far, Kid” 19. “Self Esteem”

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CONCERT REVIEW: The Offspring Delivers Unforgettable Night Of Punk Rock With Trash Boat & Four Year Strong

Hordes of punk rockers, young and old, gathered to AFAS Live on Saturday night to witness the return of The Offspring to Dutch soil. The band, made legendary by their contribution to punk rock in the 90s, served up what they called a Saturday Burrito: “a Saturday so good it feels like two Saturdays rolled into one.” And Amsterdam ate it up.

A good concert wouldn’t be complete without openers, and bands Trash Boat and Four Year Strong were the chosen ones for this Let The Bad Times Roll tour. Both bands put on solid performances, but they felt a bit lost on this particular crowd. We can only hope that both bands walk away with some new fans, as it was clear by the end of both sets that people were finally starting to loosen up a little.

The time killed in between bands was the first sign of The Offspring ’s clever stage show. With entertainment such as a t-shirt cannon, a blimp, a kiss cam and a crowdsurfing gorilla, the crowd wasn’t bored for a single moment. Once the band took the stage, they further proved what a polished show they’ve managed to put on in their decades of entertaining crowds. The banter is perfectly timed, the lighting is impressive, and the visuals fit the songs well. They close out the night with hit after hit, playing Pretty Fly, The Kids Aren’t Alright, You’re Gonna Go Far Kid and Self Esteem back to back. The crowd goes wild and is left satisfied after the last bite of their Saturday Burrito, courtesy of The Offspring .

Trash Boat:

Four Year Strong:

Concert Review: The Offspring/Simple Plan/Sum 41

By Stefny At The Disco

Oh my glob, I wish I had a photographer last night because I would frame and hang every single picture in my house. I’d make wallpaper out of it. WHAT A SHOW.

Yes, it was at Germania Amphitheater. Yes, it’s still August. Yes, it’s still 1000º. It seems that the doors, or at least the start time, got pushed back from its original time by about 30 minutes. By the time we parked and got to the box office, it was almost 7 and there were still TONS of people coming in, parking, going through security, etc. The place was absolutely PACKED. Pit was full, seats were full, pretty sure even the lawn was full, although I couldn’t really see that far back because there were SO MANY PEOPLE.

Sum 41 came out around 7:30. As you may or may not know, they have announced plans to disband after the release of their next album next year. I thought this might be my last chance to see them, but lead singer Deryck Whibley assured us that they would be coming through on one last tour.

This set was like the soundtrack to my summers in middle school, practicing gymnastics on my trampoline. They started off with “Motivation” from 2001’s  All Killer No Filler , followed by “The Hell Song” and “Over My Head (Better Off Dead)” from 2002’s  Does This Look Infected?

Deryck was very concerned with getting circle pits going the entire show. It was pretty cool to still see people rocking out so hard. Plus, there was a guy in front of me who was losing his absolute mind, but I think he might have also been on something.

They really chose to play all the hits here, because next was “We’re All To Blame” from 2004’s  Chuck  (an excellent birthday present to myself, might I add). “Walking Disaster” from 2007’s  Underclass Hero  was actually the newest song they played, which they followed up with a legendary rendition of Queen’s “We Will Rock You” with significantly more instrumentation.

The band went back to  All Killer No Filler  with the MMUSA (yes, they predate Fuse) classics “In Too Deep” and “Fat Lip” and finished with “Still Waiting,” the lead single from  Does This Look Infected?  My cousins and I used to sit in the back room of our grandparents’ house and watch this video and pretend to be the different band members. I probably forced them into letting me be Deryck, idk.

Simple Plan took the stage to the Star Wars theme. Felt like I was at ACL when they open the gates for a second.

I was supposed to see Simple Plan 16 years ago, but I had a panic attack before their set and had to leave the venue. So this was a long time coming.

They started their set with “I’d Do Anything” from 2002’s  No Pads, No Helmets…Just Balls . This is the first song I remember hearing from them, although they did have a single beforehand which I’ll mention later. Next were “Shut Up!” and “Jump” from the 2004 follow-up  Still Not Getting Any…  (they really like ellipses don’t they?).

Once again, it warmed my heart to see so many people unapologetically headbanging and dancing around to Simple Plan. I feel like when I was a kid, you got positively lambasted if you admitted to that. Times have changed.

After that, they went back to the beginning with “Addicted,” the song that got us all to sing along and say the word “dick” with the radio and in our parents’ presence.

While “Welcome To My Life” might not be the song that most people first think of when they hear Simple Plan, it’s most certainly one of their most ~emo. Check out these lyrics: “Do you ever feel like breakin’ down? Do you ever feel out of place like somehow you just don’t belong and no one understands you? Do you ever wanna run away? Do you lock yourself in your room with the radio on turned up so loud that no one hears your screamin’?” TEENAGE ME FELT THAT IN MY BONES.

Then, Simple Plan blessed us with a new song. They actually put out a new album last year titled  Harder Than It Looks  (and finally lost the ellipses) but oddly enough, “Iconic” wasn’t even one of the singles. They DID have a single called “Ruin My Life” that featured Deryck from Sum 41, so I’m a little disappointed they didn’t play that, but “Iconic” absolutely whipped. The entire time they were playing it, my brain was thinking “Did they use this in the Stanley Cup Playoffs?” It just sounded like a playoff hockey song. Well, I just looked it up, and HNIC and the Pittsburgh Penguins did in fact use it. Go me.

After that, lead singer Pierre Bouvier said they wanted to party. And party they did. They brought out a bunch of massive beach balls for the crowd and played a medley of such party hits as “All Star,” “Sk8er Boi,” and “Mr. Brightside.” It was pretty… iconic.

Next, and I am 100% not joking, they played “What’s New Scooby Doo,” the theme song that they really, actually performed for the 2002 cartoon. Also, a person in a Scooby costume came out with a t-shirt gun. It was insane.

Then Pierre told a story about how he got into music and decided that he wanted to spend every day at concerts, introducing the song “Where I Belong.” This song was released in 2019 and features fellow pop-punkers State Champs and We The Kings.

Their actual first single, “I’m Just A Kid,” was next. This song was featured in the Austin-filmed movie “The New Guy,” as well as “Grind” and “Cheaper By The Dozen.” This song really made the rounds in the early aughts. Although the video features clips from and the stars of “The New Guy,” the video itself was filmed in Long Beach, CA. Although the illustrious Austin background actor Jesse Heiman does feature.

Finally, it was time for the most emo of emo songs. This is probably the song most people associate with Simple Plan, and the lyrics revolve around the daddy issues many kids face. “And now I try hard to make it, I just wanna make you proud. I’m never gonna be good enough for you,” and “I’m sorry I can’t be perfect.” My inner tween is tearing up just thinking about those lyrics.

Between bands, The Offspring had the most interactive downtime I’ve ever seen. It was like a sports game. They had Offspring Trivia, a Kiss Cam, and a Booty Cam! There was some dude inexplicably dressed as a gorilla! It was wild.

The Offspring put on an unequivocally bananas show. Not only was the performance epic, but the visuals were exciting, and Dexter and Noodles were SO ENGAGING. They spent like half the show just riffing and talking. And yeah, it was 100% all rehearsed, but it was fun! According to Noodles, there were 1,702,001 people in attendance. I don’t know that I believe him, but as I said before, there sure were a lot. They also interacted with the crowd a lot and told us we were a choir of angels. 🥰

They took the stage to “Take On Me,” which was part of the aforementioned fantastic pre-show, and immediately launched into “Come Out And Play,” followed by “All I Want” and “I Want You Bad.”

Next was “Let The Bad Times Roll,” aka the name of this tour, and “Staring At The Sun.” They actually played 19 songs so I will spare naming all of them, but brooooo they played all the hits. Dexter played “Gone Away” solo on a piano. They did a cover of “Blitzkrieg Bop.” They had wacky waving inflatable arm flailing tube men that looked like the dork from “Pretty Fly (For A White Guy).” Noodles and the band played snippets of “Iron Man,” “The Trooper,” and “Sweet Child O’ Mine,” plus a stupidly good rendition of “In the Hall of the Mountain King” which is a classical piece from Peer Gynt! Like what?!

I was a little surprised they actually did an encore, although I don’t know why, I really shouldn’t have been. But the encore was “You’re Gonna Go Far, Kid” and “Self Esteem.” What a way to end the show. My goodness.

I would re-live this show every night if I could. Definitely one of the most fun I’ve been to in a long time, maybe even years. And I’ll even forgive them for having it at COTA.

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LIVE REVIEW: The Offspring @ Resorts World Arena, Birmingham

When more people are sitting in the Five Guys across the road than there is in the block you’re sitting in, you know that live music still isn’t quite back to normal. Or is it?  A quarter of Birmingham’s Resorts World Arena is cut off tonight, covered by black curtains. Whether it’s at the band’s request or low ticket sales, it doesn’t matter as tonight’s bill, headlined by pop-punk godfather’s THE OFFSPRING is one of the year’s best value-for-money lineups. So, do they live up to the billing?

On a bill boasting one of pop-punk’s biggest bands ( THE OFFSPRING) and one of the most exciting live bands on the planet ( THE HIVES) , it might seem like a suicide mission trying to open up for them. Genre-hoppers BOB VYLAN have no such trouble and pull no punches as they introduce themselves as one of Britain’s most vibrant, vital and vicious new bands. 

Their 30-minute set sees the duo dish out their socio-political stances like their hot dinners. Even when vocalist Bobby Vylan takes time between each song to stir the pot, wield a baseball bat, and share his love for THE OFFSPRING , there’s never a moment to catch your breath. Their set runs the gamut: RAGE AGAINST THE MACHINE , SLEAFORD MODS , FEVER 333 . New singles GDP and Pretty Songs are the telling highlights, as they set to take 2022 by the horns. 

The only hick-up is that the arena isn’t even half-full yet, and their two-piece set-up isn’t quite ready for stages this big, so it sometimes falls on deaf ears. But there’s so much promise in these two that it wouldn’t surprise us to find them headlining here one day.

Rating: 8/10

It’s been a hot minute since garage rock revivalists THE HIVES  have hit our shores, and tonight they more than makeup for their leave of absence. Donning the stage dressed to the nines in matching glow-in-the-dark suits, they play a career-spanning set like they’re strapped to rockets about to go off. 

The opener Come On riles up the audience, but it’s the rambunctious riff of Main Offender when the crowd amps up. Saying that THE HIVES are put to work to get the crowd warmed up. It might just be the post-pandemic blues, but tonight’s crowd seem reluctant to do much but sway from side to side and sip their drinks. 

Frontman Howlin’ Pelle Almqvist has a career in politics if he ever packs it in, as he’s the town crier this tour needs tonight. He never once stops working the room, taking a crowd that wouldn’t even dance to one eating out of his hands.  Like a pack of adrenaline junkies, the closing double-whammy of Hate To Say I Told You So and Tick Tick Boom has the crowd mosh-pitting and moving like maniacs. On the latter, Pelle hops the barriers and heads out to the middle of the crowd, quipping “I feel like Moses!” before making everyone sit down and jump up in a moment of madness. Warm up the crowd for THE OFFSPRING or attempt to upstage them? Either way, mission complete.

Rating: 9/10

The bars are still busy banging out pints minutes before THE OFFSPRING hit the stage tonight, but Resorts World Arena is finally feeling full. For a band who’ve been at the top of the mountain, it’s the least they deserve, right?

Despite touring their first album in nine years, the SoCal punks opt for a 19-song greatest hits set. It’s no surprise they’ve been at it for years as they serve a masterclass in structuring a setlist: opening trio Staring At The Sun , Come Out And Play , and Want You Bad bring the sing-alongs few acts can manage this early on.

It’s testament to the strength of their back catalogue that they can drop some of their biggest hits so early on. In fact, their set tonight serves as a reminder of just how many bangers they’ve given the world. From Let The Bad Time Roll ’s colourful ska-punk to Gotta Get Away ’s grunge-riddled grit and Can’t Get My Head Around You ’s FOO FIGHTERS – esque alt-rock crunch; they’ve just got the hits.

They’ve also got the chemistry. They’ve been running the same double-act shtick since time immortal, yet there’s something infectiously charming about Dexter and Noodles . They make you feel like part of a moment, whether it’s Noodles claiming we’ve broken the world record for most smiles – approximately two point three billion – or Dexter affectionately showing his love for his guitar-playing compadre. 

Of course, what goes up must come down, and their set isn’t without its faults. Flying through an opening quarter jam-packed with hits was bound to hit a speed bump, and true to form, it happens. Whilst it’s funny watching Noodles go riff-to-riff with a big-screen animation of himself, the ensuing GBH , BLACK SABBATH , and IRON MAIDEN covers are fun but feel unnecessary. Elsewhere, their set feels bloated with filler moments, like a piano-only edition of Gone Away , which sees several punters hit the toilets instead of shining their torches. 

At times, the trio – joined by touring drummer and VANDALS/DEVO member Josh Freese – look and feel like they’ve lost their way. They largely stick to their sides of the stage, which feels jarring following how audience-heavy BOB VYLAN and THE HIVES are tonight. Furthermore, they’re not quite the same-sounding band they once were, with several tracks coming off-tune here and there.

Nonetheless, a ridiculous seven-song closing run of Why Don’t You Get A Job , We Never Have Sex Anymore , Pretty Fly (For A White Guy) , (Can’t Get My) Head Around You , The Kids Aren’t Alright , You’re Gonna Go Far Kid , and Self Esteem shows that no matter what, THE OFFSPRING still know how to throw a pop-punk party after all these years.

Rating: 7/10

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• Live Review The Offspring At Wembley Arena London

LIVE REVIEW: The Offspring at Wembley Arena, London

Before this “Let the Bad Times Roll” tour began, The Offspring was caught up with COVID issues. They decided not to invite drummer Pete Parada (who had toured with them since 2007) because he remained unvaccinated. Furthermore, a month before this tour began, lead guitarist Kevin “Noodles” Wasserman tested positive for COVID, encouraging people to get vaccinated.

With COVID aside, this latest tour, which consists of a free gig in Hull in support of NHS and frontline workers, has excited the British public. Judging by the bare fraction of space between people at the Wembley Arena, excitement for this band (now in their 37 th year) remains tremendous.

Whilst it was not a single, something was reassuring when The Offspring opened the set with “Staring at the Sun”, the sophomore track from Americana. For  many,  Americana was one of the most poignant LP’s that year delivered the band some of their most commercially successful singles.  The Offspring adroitly waited until well into the second half of the set before playing three of these singles: “Why Don’t You Get A Job?”, The Kids Aren’t Alright” and not forgetting the number one single, “Pretty Fly (For a White Guy)”.  Whether it was retrospective halcyon reminiscence, the joy of Wembley Arena from singing the words to these songs from memory was undeniable. Similar euphoria was also felt for post- Americana  hits “Original prankster”, “Want You Bad”, and “Hit That”.

The fans were happy that The Offspring were generously offering a range of hits from their back catalogue. The three new songs from their latest LP, Let the Bad Times Roll, were received with passionate enthusiasm. Whether it was the captivating accompanying visuals or Let the Bad Times Roll is the first new LP in nine years, the fans were pleased that The Offspring’s creative clock did not stop in 2012 when they released Days Go By . Fans were not disappointed that no material from 2012 surfaced but was pleased that songs from its predecessor, Rise and Fall, Rage and Grace, were performed.

From the albums which brought the commercial hit singles, the 1994 LP, which first introduced the band to mainstream success, was paid homage to with four songs, including “Self Esteem”, “Come Out and play”, and “Gotta Get Away”.

With “Dexter” Holland being the only remaining founding member of the band and Keith John Wasserman (Noodles) joining a year later, the pair separately performed solo pieces. “Dexter”, with a grand piano performed “Gone Away” from Americana’s predecessor Ixnay on the Hombre, which resonated a sound that went on to influence Linkin Park’s material. Noodles stuck to the guitar in his solo session, which he entitled “Noodles plays with himself”. He covered Edvard Greig’s incidental “In the Hall of the Mountain King”, which bands from Marillion to The Who have also been covered.

Whilst The Offspring undoubtedly proved they could still deliver live, the contributions from supporting acts Bob Vylan and The Hives cannot be underestimated. These acts gave performances to the standard expected from the main act at a large venue like Wembley Arena.

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Live Report: The Offspring, Simple Plan, Sum 41 at FivePoint Amphitheatre (Aug 6, 2023)

Only a week after having spent a long, hot summer day at Irvine’s FivePoint Amphitheatre for the emo-leaning Sad Summer Fest, I made the trek back down for a punk rock celebration as hometown heroes The Offspring headlined a sold-out show with two of the younger (though now also veteran) pop-punk bands they helped spawn; Canada’s Sum 41 and Simple Plan . In some ways a bit of an awkward bill due to the generational divide between fans of the headliner and youngest group Simple Plan , who have garnered a Gen-Z audience thanks to TikTok virality, the night’s audience seemed game for the entire bill.

The first time I saw Sum 41 was way back in 2002, shortly after the release of their hit album All Killer, No Filler . At the time, the band didn’t leave a strong impression with their live show. A lot has changed in the twenty years since then, and not just because the band has written a lot more great songs since then. Maybe it’s now being sober and heathy, but Deryk Whibley has become an engaging frontman, prowling the stage like a man on a mission, and taking a cue from Billie Joe Armstrong in his crowd interaction. While it took a few songs for his vocals to really start coming through clearly, he and the band seemed perfectly in-sync as they busted out hits like “Motivation”, “The Hell Song” and “Over My Head (Better Off Dead)” from their first three albums.

Despite finding new life the last few years with their more hard rock/metal-leaning albums that have done well on active rock radio, the band only played songs from their first four, punk-indebted LPs. I was actually pleasantly surprised that they brought out the great “Walking Disaster” from 2007’s Underclass Hero , which provided the only “slow” moments of their set. even with their pop-punk material, the band still always showcased their love of metal in their music, whether it’s a ripping solo in the classic “In Too Deep”, or the screaming verses of “We’re All To Blame”. The band even paid tribute to one of their metal influences, Rage Against the Machine , by covering “Sleep Now in the Fire” (the first unexpected cover of the evening). More expected was closing their set with their rebellious anthem “Fat Lip” and the biting “Still Waiting”. While it’s a bit sad knowing the band is planning on retiring after one more double album and tour, they’ve certainly left a mark with their music and have proven themselves survivors of the early 2000’s pop-punk boom.

Both Sum 41 and Simple Plan were kicking around Canada long before breaking through in the early 2000s (and SP’s frontman Pierre had another punk band even before that, Reset ), and while the former did so by incorporating metal and rap influences, Simple Plan always leaned the most heavily into the “pop” of pop-punk. They were embraced by a younger, TRL -loving audience as their Canadian wholesomeness branded them a boy band with guitars, and killed their “punk rock” credibility, even as they played Warped Tour and showed love to their forbears. Whether it’s just the passing of time or old haters aging past their prejudices, but Simple Plan seemed to be embraced just as strongly last Sunday by the crusty old punks as they were by the fans who grew up with the band.

The group busted out two of my favorite tracks of theirs right at the start: the insanely catchy and heartfelt “I’d Do Anything” and the bubblegum defiance-anthem “Shut Up!”. No matter how worried you were about seeming cool back in the day, songs like these remained undeniable even to the most righteous punk rockers. And while the band’s onstage banter and crowd interaction were basic calls for jumping (especially on “Jump”) and hand waving, the group sounded radio-perfect as they went into sing-alongs “Addicted” and “Welcome to My Life”. Despite having released a strong new album last year, Harder Than It Looks , the band only played one track from it (“Iconic”, which I would argue is far from the strongest tune on the album), and instead tried to create a party atmosphere with a medley of massive pop-rock songs, “All Star”, “Sk8er Boi” and “Mr. Brightside”. Personally, I would have rather have heard “Congratulations” from their new one, or the excellent older deep cut “Crash & Burn” which I’ve been campaigning the band on Twitter to put on streaming services.

Even stranger was their choice to throw in their Scooby Doo theme song they wrote, for which they were joined by someone in a Scooby outfit firing t-shirts into the audience. It was fun, but not sure it’s something their hardcore fans would have requested. But those fans did then get the band’s collaborative song with We the Kings and State Champs , “Where I Belong”, followed by their mega-hits “I’m Just a Kid”, and a partly acoustic take of “Perfect”. Based on the excited screaming from one of their fans behind me, the band pleased them.

As Simple Plan left the stage, The Offspring took over the venue screens, beginning an entertaining, interactive countdown until the band’s arrival. This began with a guy in a gorilla mask and Mighty Duck mascot sling-shooting shirts into the audience. Once this ended, the audience was given trivia questions, Kiss Cams, F*** You Cams (stick those middle fingers up), and even a Booty Cam. All the while, a timer ticked down. It was certainly an amusing way to pass the time and get the audience hyped for the legendary alternative rock band. While Americana was one of the first albums I ever bought, I had never been to a proper Offspring show (I had seen them from afar at a Warped Tour years back).

The band came out swinging with the Smash hit “Come Out and Play”, followed by the Ixnay on the Hombre classic “All I Want”. It was clear the band was performing on all cylinders, energized for their hometown crowd, and simply excited to be touring again. For “I Want You Bad”, the band slowed down the opening, almost as a teaser for the excitement to come with the infectious ode to naughty love.

Credit to the band for throwing some surprise deep cuts into their setlist. “Staring at the Sun” from Americana is a great track, but was never a single, and even better, they played “Slim Pickens Does the Right Thing and Rides the Bomb to Hell” from 2012’s Days Go By . It’s an under-appreciated gem of a song and one I’m glad has not been forgotten about. Of course, the night was going to be focused on the bands many hits, including their most recent one, the bouncy “Let the Bad Times Roll”. While I would say it ranks with some of their most hooky tunes, it didn’t get as strong of a reaction as the quirky jams “Original Prankster, “Hit That” or classic “Bad Habits”.

If there was a weakness to the band’s show, it was the banter, which ranged from the typical crowd pandering to meandering and kind of boring. The long break and discussion on how intelligent people curse before the end of “Bad Habits” went on way too long, to the point I almost forgot they hadn’t even finished that song. Following that, Dexter took a break and allowed Noodles to have some fun playing famous metal riffs, leading into their recent cover of “In the Hall of the Mountain King”. It was a fun bit for a live setting, and allowed the band to show off their metal love, but I think the audience was happy when Dexter came back and took the band back into its punk love with a cover of The Ramones ‘ “Blitzkrieg Bop”.

Darker numbers like “Gotta Get Away” changed the tone of the evening, allowing for a piano to be brought out and Dexter to play the powerful “Gone Away” solo. It was an appropriate moment for the phone flashlights to come out and illuminate the venue. With the final keys played, the band did a 180, breaking out the jokey “Why Don’t You Get a Job?”, “(Can’t Get My Head) Around You”, and their semi-novelty, TRL -hit “Pretty Fly (For a White Guy)”. The crowd then went nuts as the band unleashed their punk fury on “The Kids Aren’t Alright”.

As the crowd demanded an encore, The Offspring ‘s logo illuminated the dark skies, calling the heroes back for “You’re Gonna Go Far, Kid”, a huge hit song from their recently gold-certified Rise and Fall, Rage and Grace . It’s pretty rare when a band can claim that one of their biggest songs came over fifteen years into their career, yet that is why The Offspring have endured. They know how to write great songs that never lose their luster, even after nearly thirty years. That’s why the whole audience knew every word to the final song of the night, “Self Esteem”. The band will never be “gone away”.

If the band is coming to your city, be sure to grab a ticket, and listen to their latest album here !

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Published by b.liebman

Writer, Filmmaker, Artist, and music geek. View all posts by b.liebman

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Music + Concerts | The Offspring’s summer tour is the…

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Music + concerts, music + concerts | the offspring’s summer tour is the band’s biggest, says singer dexter holland, the orange county punk rock band hits fivepoint amphitheatre in irvine on sunday, aug. 6 with sum 41 and simple plan..

“It feels like it’s getting better for us. We’ve talked about why that might be, is it a post-COVID thing and people are excited to be back, or just the fact that now we’ve had 30 years of people being used to our songs?” Holland said during a phone interview ahead of bringing the Let the Bad Times Roll Tour with Sum 41 and Simple Plan to FivePoint Amphitheatre in Irvine on Sunday, Aug. 6 and North Island Credit Union Amphitheatre in Chula Vista on Tuesday, Aug. 8.

“We’ve got people that are a little older, we’ve got kids that are just discovering us and they’ve created this bigger audience of more than one generation, I guess … but for whatever reason, man, it just feels really good right now.”

The Offspring will bring its Let The Bad Times Roll Tour with Sum 41 and Simple Plan to FivePoint Ampitheatre in Irvine on Aug. 6 and North Island Credit Union in Chula Vista on Aug. 8. (Photo by Andrew Toth, Getty Images for iHeartMedia)

The Offspring will bring its Let The Bad Times Roll Tour with Sum 41 and Simple Plan to FivePoint Ampitheatre in Irvine on Aug. 6 and North Island Credit Union in Chula Vista on Aug. 8. (Image courtesy of The Offspring)

The Offspring will bring its Let The Bad Times Roll Tour with Sum 41 and Simple Plan to FivePoint Ampitheatre in Irvine on Aug. 6 and North Island Credit Union in Chula Vista on Aug. 8. (Photo by Neilson Barnard, Getty Images)

That’s quite a welcome reality for a band that has already had some periods of huge success. Formed in 1984 in Garden Grove, the Offspring broke through in a big way with their third album, 1994’s “Smash.” Featuring the hit singles “Come Out and Play,” “Self Esteem” and “Gotta Get Away,” it became the biggest indie album to date, with sales standing at more than 11 million worldwide.

With its energetic and fun punk rock songs, “Smash” joined Green Day’s “Dookie” as the primary albums that brought punk into the mainstream .

Then, after a follow-up album, “Ixnay on the Hombre,” which didn’t sell as well (it still topped out around 3 million copies sold), the next album, “Americana,” became another blockbuster. It featured the hit singles “Pretty Fly (For a White Guy),” “The Kids Aren’t Alright,” “She’s Got Issues” and “Why Don’t You Get A Job?,” and the album sold more than 10 million copies.

Still, this summer’s tour takes the Offspring to new heights.

“I think it’s the biggest headlining tour we’ve ever done, actually,” Holland said. “We’re playing like 25 cities, all amphitheaters, tickets are selling really well, and we’ve got a great package.”

Fans can expect to hear the songs that have kept The Offspring on the radio and in a prominent place in the rock world for more than three decades.

“You get to the point where you’ve put out nine or 10 albums, it’s a lot of material to choose from,” Holland said. “But I believe you’ve got to play the songs that people want to hear, right? Sometimes artists can get a little obscure with their stuff. You’ve kind of got to play the hits. So that dictates a good chunk of our set.”

Far from resting on their considerable laurels, The Offspring, which includes Holland, guitarist and fellow founding member Kevin “Noodles” Wasserman , bassist Todd Morse, drummer Brandon Pertzborn and multi-instrumentalist Jonah Nimoy are acting like a band that’s still inspired and looking to grow musically.

While the five albums that followed “Americana” haven’t sold in the eight figures, they’ve generally done well commercially. There have also been almost another dozen Top 10 singles, including “You’re Gonna Go Far, Kid,” which has become the Offspring’s most streamed song.

That single is featured on the 2008 album, “Rise and Fall, Rage and Grace,” which was recently re-released for its 15th anniversary with a pair of live tracks added to the original album. Holland considers it one of the band’s best efforts, and an important album in the overall career. In 2005, the band released a greatest hits album, and Holland said the band wanted to prove the hits album didn’t mark the end of the road for The Offspring and that they were inspired and as good as ever musically.

“It’s an important record for us,” Holland said “And it’s something I’m really proud of, that that far into our career (we had) our most popular song.”

“Rise and Fall, Rage and Grace” also turned out to be a key project for the future of The Offspring. It was the first time the band worked with Bob Rock, who also produced the two studio albums The Offspring has released since then and became one of the most in-demand producers going for his work with Mötley Crüe and Metallica, among others.

Rock has been back in the studio with the Offspring just recently. The band is well into the process of making a follow-up to their current studio album, the 2021 release “Let the Bad Times Roll.”

“We’re on a roll. We figured let’s do it. Let’s keep on doing it now,” Holland said. “Because we’re in between tours all the time. We don’t really block out eight weeks. We go in for like a week or 10 days and we tend to focus on one song at a time. So we did another song and that makes six, not completely done, but they’re mostly done. So we’re four-ish songs away (from an album). I think we’ll get something out early next year.”

“Let the Bad Times Roll” was well received and seen as a classic-sounding Offspring pop-punk album. It was also praised for songs that reflected life and issues that arose during the pandemic.

It was also an album that was a long time coming, with the nine-year gap between the 2012 album “Days Go By” and “Let the Bad Times Roll” being by far the longest stretch without an Offspring studio album.

“It took a lot longer than we thought. And sometimes time just gets away from you because you’re on tour and all of that stuff and you realize it’s been nine months and you haven’t gotten into the studio,” said Holland, who noted he took time away from the band during this period to return to college and finish his doctorate degree in molecular biology .

“I finished the PhD in 2017,” he continued. “So I think in 2018 I finally looked around and said ‘Oh (man), it’s been like seven years since the last record,’ and then really got focused on that and then things came more quickly after that. But that’s a long time. I don’t want to take that long in between records. But I also feel like you don’t have to put one out every year because you should put one out. It’s got to mean something. It’s got to feel like you’re really speaking from the heart. Sometimes that takes a little while, especially after you’ve done a bunch (of albums). When you’ve only done one record, you’ve got lots of things to say. But sometimes you have to dig a little bit more for it when you have nine (albums).

Holland can’t say for sure yet how the next album will compare to other Offspring offerings, but it’s bound to have some of the usual musical and lyrical signatures.

“Sometimes you just start writing songs and you don’t realize how an album is coming together until it’s almost there,” Holland said. “Like on ‘Americana,’ ‘Americana’ was one of the last songs I wrote because I didn’t realize until then all the other songs like ‘Why Don’t You Get A Job?’ and ‘Pretty Fly,’ they were describing American society. I didn’t really realize that’s what the album was about until I got almost done and thought well, I’ll call it ‘Americana’ because that’s like ‘Americana’ means American culture. This was my vision of what I thought American culture was doing in the late ‘90s. We’re kind of still in that phase with the songs, but we’ve always liked the energy of punk music and the rebelliousness. What I’m focusing right now on is just melody. I want the songs to be really good.”

The Offspring’s Let the Bad Times Roll Tour

With: Sum 41 and Simple Plan

When: 7 p.m. Sunday, Aug. 6

Where: FivePoint Amphitheatre, 14800 Chinon, Irvine

Tickets: $79.50-$256 at LiveNation.com 

Also: 7 p.m. Tuesday, Aug. 8 at North Island Credit Union Amphitheatre, 2050 Entertainment Circle, Chula Vista. $20-$145 at LiveNation.com .

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The Offspring – Gig Review 3rd December @ HBF Stadium, Perth WA

Posted on December 7, 2022 by walladmin

The Offspring HBF Stadium, Perth WA December 3 , 2022 Supports: Sum 41

The Offspring and   Sum 41 . Two massive names in pop/punk. A gig almost two years in the making thanks to a global pandemic , and both bands having not played large scale shows in Australia (outside of a festival) in about 10 years. This was going to be epic. 

The crowd was buzzing in anticipation while waiting for Canadian rockers Sum 41 to take the stage. Blood-soaked guitar cabs lined the stage, in front of a huge backdrop of a hellish scene of scorched earth. The lights went down and ACDC ’s ‘ TNT ’ started blasting out of the speakers to amp up the already excitable crowd. The lads ran out on stage, clad in black skinny jeans, transporting the audience back to the early 2000s. They dove straight into ‘ Motivation ’ from their bestselling album All Killer No Filler . The pyrotechnics fired up the crowd, sending heat throughout the stadium as they blasted in time with Dave ‘Davey B’ Baksh and Tom Thacker ’s shredding.

Lead vocalist Deryck Whibley , shouted to the crowd ‘ Let’s get crazy ’ before launching into ‘ The Hell Song ’. This was followed in quick succession by another number off the 2002 album Does This Look Infected? – ‘ Over My Head (Better Off Dead) ’. Dave Baksh and Tom Thacker ’s backing vocals were on point, perfectly harmonising with Deryck .

Deryck then got the punters into a cheering competition, pitting the mosh pit, and the left and right sides and back of the stadium against each other, to see who could yell the loudest before getting the whole crowd to go at once, resulting in an almighty roar taking over the stadium. Deryck demanded the crowd, “ Keep it moving, keep it heavy ” before jumping into ‘ We’re All To Blame ’. With the song being a mix of equal parts heavy and soft the audience was taken on a journey as they waved hands from left to right during the slow parts and opened up into a circle pit as Deryck screamed “ SACRIFICEEEEEE ” while Frank Zummo hammered away on the drums.

‘ Underclass Hero ’ was up next and was a great opportunity for the crowd to get involved as giant black balloons were released out. The whole crowd was jumping for this one and Deryck kept punters entertained as he popped the massive balloons with his microphone. Bringing the tempo down just a little with ‘ Walking Disaster ’ inspired fans to crack out their phone lights and sway their arms side to side throughout the track. Continuing with the slower vibe, Deryck got out an acoustic guitar to serenade the crowd by playing ‘ With Me ’. At the end of the song, all three guitarists threw picks to excited fans in the crowd.

Deryck then expressed the band’s love of getting to play songs they wrote when they were teenagers and having their fans singing so loudly to them. He then enthusiastically yelled, “ Let’s keep that going ” and the band cranked out ‘ In Too Deep ’, inspiring the whole stadium to sing along, like their lives depended on it.

All throughout the set, it was clear to see how grateful Sum 41 were to be finally playing this show and to be back in Australia. Deryck was humble throughout and on more than one occasion stopped to say “ thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you ”, with his hand on his heart before blowing kisses to every section of the audience. Long-term fans were then rewarded with a throwback to their debut single from 2000, ‘ Makes No Difference ’.

Deryck Whibley kept up his crowd interactions, asking who had seen Sum 41 before, followed by who was seeing them for the first time. With an overwhelming number of audience members being first timers, Deryck proclaimed: “ For the first timers – welcome to the family ”, as they launched into another crowd vs crowd singing competition before bringing everyone together all at once. A shift into a slower song, ‘ Pieces ’, saw the whole crowd singing as Deryck pulled out the guitar for this one. In the stripped-back section of the song, you could hear the lyrics “ That I’m better off on my own ” filling the stadium.

You could feel the energy in the air as you knew the fans could tell their set was coming to an end, which could only mean one thing…it was time for ‘ Fat Lip ’. This song went off, no doubt transporting many audience members back to their youth. It was clear that this number was the fan favourite of the night with the moshpit going off and many in the reserved seating unable to stay in their seats any longer. The band gave the audience plenty of opportunities to sing back to them, with Frank Zummo and Deryck Whibley taking a backseat in order to hear the deafening chant of the bridge, before finishing off in a perfectly timed fiery, smoke, and strobe-filled ending.

Deryck shouted “ now I really wanna hear you sing ” before heading straight into the final song of the set; ‘ Still Waiting ’. The crowd happily obliged, singing to the end where drummer Frank Zummo stood up on his seat to salute the crowd before dropping back for one final smash on the drums.

The atmosphere continued to bubble within HBF Stadium as the stage crew rapidly dismantled Sum 41 ’s setup and removed the big backdrop to reveal dual drum stands and a massive screen that would play historic footage of previous The Offspring tours and the SoCal lad’s old surf trips. As the crowd were revelling, a mini drone blimp with The Offspring ‘ s unmistakable skull logo appeared and started cruising around the venue. Fully equipped with a camera, shots of the crowd started appearing on the huge screen on stage. Hype-men appeared on stage and began shooting The  Offspring  merch into the crowd. Then Sir Mix-A-Lot ’s ‘ Baby Got Back ’ started to blare from the speakers and the screen displayed a ‘twerk cam’, with many punters happy to oblige! Suddenly, the question “ ARE YOU READY FOR THE OFFSPING? ” bellowed from the speakers and a countdown appeared on the screen. The tension was palpable as the whole stadium joined in to scream “ 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1… .”

…and just like that The Offspring burst on the stage, opening with none other than cult classic ‘ Come Out and Play ’ sending the crowd into a frenzy. Crunchy guitar tones, surf-inspired drumbeats, and Dexter Holland ’s chainsaw-like voice filled the venue, building into every punter yelling “ HEEYYY, MAN YOU TALKING BACK TO ME? ” This is what Perth fans had been waiting two years for. The band shredded through the track, as well as two more of their hit singles ‘ All I Want ’ and ‘ Want You Bad ’.

The Offspring then stopped for their first breather of the night to address the crowd, with both Dexter and Noodles expressing their amazement at the sold-out crowd, gushing things like “ Looook at this beautiful crowd ” and “ This is absolutely deafening from up here, we hear you singing all the words ”. They then went on to talk about how it had been almost 10 years since they had been to Australia, their favourite country, and how wild their West Australian fans were.

The band then dropped into one of their latest singles and tour title ‘ Let The Bad Times Roll ’, a song about the COVID pandemic – the cause of the two year delay of the tour. Returning to their historic hit list, ‘ Staring At The Sun ’ followed, the crowd reciting the lyrics word for word while moving to the pulse of the song. The uplifting beat of ‘ Spare Me The Details ’ began and every single punter began clapping along and singing to this tune about being cheated on, which is quite the contrast to the vibe of the music!

Speeding things up into a bit more of a hectic punk vibe by playing one of their latest tracks ‘ The Opioid Diaries ’ didn’t quite go down as well as the band would have hoped, with half of the mostly 30+ crowd seeming to not really know the song. Nevertheless, The Offspring shifted back into gear, sinking into the very groovy intro to one of their bigger tracks ‘ Hit That ’, the whole venue once again singing along. ‘ Hammerhead ’ was cranked out next, the faster pace inspiring punters in the mosh to open up a circle pit.

Judging by the crowd erupting as soon as the opening guitar notes blared through the PA, The Offspring throwing it back to the Smash album and treating the old school fans to ‘ Bad Habit ’ was going to go down splendidly. The band stopped just before the spoken word interlude to assess just how eager the crowd was to yell some curse words at the top of their lungs – the deafening cheers confirming The Offspring ’s suspicions. Moments later the whole of Perth was probably wondering why they were being called a “ STUPID DUMBSH*T GODDAMN MOTHERF*CKER !!” 

Punters were then treated to some one-on-one time with guitarist Noodles , or as he called it “ Noodles plays with himself” as he jammed out some of his favourite riffs with an AI version of himself on the big screen. The back and forth jamfest between real Noodles and AI Noodles included the likes of AC/DC , Iron Maiden and The Offspring ’s cover of ‘ In The Hall Of The Mountain King ’, finishing up with the whole band returning and covering ‘ Blitzkrieg Bop ’ by The Ramones .

Another Smash- era banger ‘ Gotta Get Away ’ followed, the band tearing through it like it was yesterday that they wrote it. The Offspring closed out the song with a bit of a jam, culminating with Josh Freese pounding out a gigantic drum fill, before the lights cut out, the stadium descending into darkness.

A singular spotlight flooded the stage, illuminating Dexter , now sitting at a piano. He engaged the crowd, highlighting that the next song was going to be ‘ Gone Away ’, before detailing the song’s topic of losing someone close to you. Reaching out to the crowd, he requested everyone “ show me the lights on your phone and light this venue up ”. Moments later, a sea of lights appeared around the stadium, lighting it up like stars in the night. 

A lo-fi drumbeat notified punters that ‘ Why Don’t You Get A Job ’, another hit from the band’s stellar career was next. As the full band kicked in, about 20 beach balls launched into the air, the crowd slapping them back and forth across the venue, all while singing every word. The pit exploded as ‘( Can’t Get My) Head Around You ’ began, every punter bouncing in unison to the banger’s driving beat, not stopping throughout the track’s blistering two minutes. 

Between tracks, Noodles took a leaf out of the Freddie Mercury book, inciting the crowd into numerous vocalisations of “ FUUCKKK YEEEAAAAHHHHH ”, before the band slid into ‘ Pretty Fly (For A White Guy) , as giant wacky inflatable arm men themed as the main protagonist from the song’s video clip appeared on either side of the stage. As the song reached that iconic bridge, Dexter and Noodles engaged the stadium in a good old left vs right cheer off, before getting the whole venue to chant the interlude together. 

‘ The Kids Aren’t Alright ’ another belter from the phenomenal Americana album followed, inspiring those in the mosh pit to fire into a circle pit as everyone else yelled the lyrics with all their energy.  Noodles ripped the guitar solo, and the crowd erupted into an earth-shaking cheer as the song closed out, with Josh Freese unleashing some furious double kicks, threatening to bring HBF stadium’s walls down.

The Offspring then left the stage, the lights cutting to darkness, leaving the crowd wanting more, and chanting “ One more song, one more song !”. The Offspring blimp re-appeared with an addition of a sign emblazoned with ‘DANCE F*CKER DANCE’, whetting the crowd’s appetite for what was to come. As anticipation came to boiling point, the band re-emerged, unleashing ‘ You’re Gonna Go Far, Kid ’ as confetti exploded from all corners of the stadium, filling the air with a kaleidoscope of colours. This was apparently the first time the band had ever used confetti cannons and they seemed just as thrilled by it as the audience, exclaiming how cool it looked from the stage and asking if the fans had liked it. The unruly roar from the crowd will probably ensure it remains in The Offspring ’s bag of tricks for all future shows.

Dexter and Noodles once again expressed their sincere gratitude to the crowd and ensured Perth that they would be back a hell of a lot sooner this time. At this point, there was only one song left, and fans were on the edge of their seats. “ LAA LAA LALALA LAA LAA LALALA ”. The entire venue was then on their feet, absolutely giving it their all as they recited the lyrics of ‘ Self Esteem ’ back to the band.

Huge setlists full of hits – check.

On-point musicianship – check.

Pyrotechnics, confetti, and big stage theatrics – check.

Both bands absolutely slayed it and the rest of Australia is in for a treat. 

Gig Review by Anthony Santoro

Photos supplied by Jarrad Seng . IG: @jarradseng

Setlists (Spoilers)

• The Offspring

Come Out and Play All I Want Want You Bad Let The Bad Times Roll Staring At The Sun Spare Me The Details The Opioid Diaries Hit That Hammerhead Bad Habit Noodles Plays With Himself Gotta Get Away Gone Away Why Don’t You Get A Job (Can’t Get My) Head Around You Pretty Fly (For A White Guy) The Kids Aren’t Alright You’re Gonna Go Far, Kid Self Esteem

Introduction To Destruction Motivation The Hell Song Over My Head (Better Off Dead) We’re All To Blame Underclass Hero Walking Disaster With Me In Too Deep Makes No Difference Pieces Fat Lip Still Waiting

THE OFFSPRING  AUSTRALIAN TOUR WITH  SUM 41

WEDNESDAY 7 DECEMBER – JOHN CAIN ARENA, MELBOURNE NEW SHOW – UPGRADED VENUE

FRIDAY 9 DECEMBER – WIN ENTERTAINMENT CENTRE, WOLLONGONG

SUNDAY 11 DECEMBER – HORDERN PAVILION, SYDNEY  –  SOLD OUT

MONDAY 12 DECEMBER – HORDERN PAVILION, SYDNEY SECOND & FINAL SHOW

WEDNESDAY 14 DECEMBER – RIVERSTAGE, BRISBANE  –  SOLD OUT

THURSDAY 15 DECEMBER – RIVERSTAGE, BRISBANE SECOND & FINAL SHOW

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About the offspring.

‘Nirvana from the hood’: How The Offspring sold 40 million albums with no one’s help but their own

The californian band, whose third release continues to be the best-selling album of all time by an independent label, is still playing, 30 years after its biggest success.

They were omnipresent on the radio, but the majority of the public had never even seen the members of The Offspring. Their only references: their singer’s high-pitched voice; the accelerated, almost hardcore beat of the group’s songs and its horrendous album cover, which featured the radiography of a skeleton. In December 1994, many got a clearer picture. After having turned down several invitations to play Saturday Night Live and the David Letterman and Conan O’Brien shows over the course of the year, the Orange County band agreed to play the Billboard Music Awards. Led by vocalist Bryan “Dexter” Holland and his incredibly long dreadlocks, the group came out on stage and performed their repertoire’s least television-friendly song, Bad Habit . Underneath his blazer, Holland was wearing a t-shirt that he exposed halfway through the number. It displayed another rebellious message: “Corporate rock kills bands dead.”

The band played to perfection the role bequeathed to them by the press and its fans. Founded in 1984, a year in which no one looking to get rich would have even considered starting a punk band, The Offspring became a phenomenon that proved difficult to control for its members. Smash , the group’s third release, became available for purchase on the same April 8, 1994, that Seattle police found the body of Kurt Cobain . Distributed by Epitaph Records, Smash is to this day the best-selling album of all time from an independent label, with more than 11 million copies bought around the world. Today, the group’s discography has racked up a total of 40 million albums sold.

In the wake of their smash hit, they became the official rival to Green Day : two months before, that group had come out with Dookie , the album that kicked off the golden commercial age of California punk. The difference was that Green Day had rode to success on the back of Warner Music, a corporate giant. While the community that congregated at Gilman, the San Francisco Bay Area venue that had been the site of both groups’ early days, was crucifying Billie Joe Armstrong’s band for having sold out, The Offspring remained the real deal, the ones who proved you could take the charts by storm without giving up your principles..

The macabre coincidence with Cobain’s death held much symbolism, even beyond the fact that The Offspring’s trademark song, Self Esteem , seemed like a crude plagiarism of Smells Like Teen Spirit . Nirvana and grunge’s triumph had paved the way to the resurrection of punk, the sound that had given birth to both Green Day and The Offspring, and the two groups benefited from that opening. In 1997, music journalist Jesús Llorente, founder of Acuarela Discos, wrote The Offspring: Punkcore , one of the editions of the Spanish language Imágenes of Rock (Images of Rock) series, which publishing house La Máscara was putting out at the time. He defined the Californians as “a group that didn’t want to make things complicated for itself or its fans […] that is reminiscent of a Nirvana without emotional duplicity, lyrical ambiguity or ulterior motives, a Nirvana from the hood.”

“Any radio station could program them, and their sound was accessible to those who thought grunge had become too muddy, too emo, too intense or alternative, and who wanted something fast, simple, easily digestible, but on the other hand, well-made,” writes Llorente. In the slim volume, the journalist cleanly documents the story of the group’s rise as alternative icons until its fall as infidels: that same year, 1997, The Offspring put out its follow-up album , Ixnay On The Hombre , with multinational Columbia Records.

Still, Punkcore recounts how the band had long been in the sights of those who believed the genre required a vow of poverty. Bass player Greg K. had admitted he was losing patience with “hypocrites who criticize us for being on MTV while they spend the afternoons watching it.” “What am I supposed to do? Go to the stations and tell them to stop playing our albums?” reflected Holland at another point.

The kids are not all right

Owned by Brett Gurewitz, Bad Religion’s guitarist, the Epigraph Records label was to 1990s punk what Motown was to 1960s soul. As such, its discography set the standard for the genre’s groups, an example of credible self-management, promotional muscle, and quality. Though Gurewitz initially passed on The Offspring, which put out its eponymous debut album in 1989 via the much-smaller Nemesis Records, the label boss waited for the group to mature musically before he orchestrated a modest launch for their second album (1992′s Ignition ) and then, after being satisfied with their melodic evolution evidenced on the first studio recordings for Smash , planned a much more ambitious release for their third album. He invested $70,000 in the promotional campaign for the group’s single Come Out And Play , more than triple what the entire album had cost to record.

Influenced by other bands from the California scene of the 1970s and 1980s like Dead Kennedys, T.S.O.L. and Social Distortion (the latter having been the group’s neighbors in Orange County), The Offspring located in their lyrics a strong political grounding as well as a revindication of the simple desire to have a good time, without one dimension cancelling out the other. Holland could sing on Come Out And Play about gang war in impoverished neighborhoods, about drug addiction on What Happened To You? and on Self Esteem , about how bad the girl he liked was making him feel. It was more than enough material to connect, one way or another, with a vast teenaged public.

Smash proved that, even as an independent, a punk label like Epitaph could look big corporations in the eye and get its piece of the pie. With its immense success, the biggest the label would ever score, Gurewitz began to present himself to the media as the visionary who was capable of facing down Goliath, with appearances in Forbes reminiscent of those of a modern self-made magnate. His policy of treating all bands the same, regardless of their success, began to irk The Offspring. In the first place, because a group that had sold several million copies expected certain perks. And secondly, because that policy was a lie: Gurewitz’s focus on and explicit preference for Rancid (he even had a tattoo of the band’s logo) wound up arousing The Offspring’s jealousy.

Rumors that the executive planned to sell Epitaph to a major label proved to be the straw that broke the camel’s back, and The Offspring decided that if they were going to be sold to a multinational company, they’d sell themselves by negotiating their terms and getting rich on their own. Leaving was not a commercial decision, Dexter Holland told journalist Ian Winwood in the book Smash!... Green Day, Offspring, Bad Religion, NOFX and the ‘90s Punk Explosion (2018). “We believed that a label should primarily promote the artist, not the label itself. It got harder and harder to deal [with Gurewitz]. It was hurtful.”

The group, which arguably managed success better than Gurewitz — who became addicted to crack and cocaine during that period, while The Offspring, according to Holland, carefully spaced out its media appearances so as to learn from the tragic experience of Kurt Cobain — made the move to Columbia, and gradually adapted to their new status. The same musicians who had previously turned down the chance to tour with Stone Temple Pilots due to stage fright and a penchant for smaller venues, little by little, established themselves as a stadium band. Ixnay On The Hombre , their first album with Columbia, sold less than Smash , but they would later achieve comparable success in 1998 with Americana , the band’s other classic release.

A certain science

Despite the undeniable relevance and influence the group wielded in its time, The Offspring has never topped critics’ lists. The group exists in Green Day’s shadow when it comes to valorization and popularity (with 2004′s American Idiot , Armstrong’s band staged a comeback that widened its base of followers in a way that Holland’s group never achieved), and has had an acceptable, if seldom-lauded, career. Armstrong admitted to Winwood that he thought The Offspring were underappreciated, a thought that the journalist didn’t hesitate to share with readers. Noodles, The Offspring’s guitarist, has also mentioned how the Rock ‘N’ Roll Hall of Fame has admitted several groups of their era, but ignored The Offspring, and that the band has never even been nominated for a Grammy.

“It was a gateway band for people who later discovered Fugazi, or opted for a more nuanced punk. For that fact alone, you have to give them credit. And let’s not forget the number of films, series and video games that feature their songs. On the other hand, I think that their sound has aged a little, sometimes too much,” says Llorente, who in The Offspring: Punkcore wrote that, despite their success, he found it hard to believe that the group had diehard fans or constituted many listeners’ top band: that they were perhaps more of a side dish. “They’ve always done what they wanted and followed their own path, even today. Putting different amounts of punk and pop into the blender in different eras, in reality, that has never gone out of style, but it was never fully “in.” Is that what happens with the classics? I wouldn’t go that far, but they’re close.”

With Dexter Holland as the only original member (Noodles nearly is: he joined in 1985, a year after the group formed), the band underwent a new change in its ranks during the pandemic, when drummer Pete Parada decided not to get the coronavirus vaccine. Holland had reasons to take it personally: aside from being a singer, he’s a biologist — the same as Bad Religion’s leader, Greg Graffin, another example of an erudite punk who teaches classes at the same university as Holland — and his doctorate thesis focused precisely on the messenger RNA that forms the basis of how the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines work.

With a new album on the way, the band has a full calendar of festivals in 2024, with a stop in Spain at the summertime Resurrection Fest in Viveiro. With an enduringly solid live set, even if Holland is finding the high notes more and more difficult to hit, the band has been playing concerts dominated by their 1990s hits for years. They’re not trying to fool anyone, nor do they act pretentious to those who still come to see them, an audience that grew up with their sound and has long forgotten any Manichean debate over punk’s place in the music industry. Or perhaps, they never cared about it in the first place. Fat Mike , the singer of NOFX, a band that always resisted the lure of the major labels, may have settled the matter in Smash!... : “Neither The Offspring nor Green Day were sellouts. Neither of those bands knew they were going to make it big. They didn’t write their music to make it big. The only thing that happened is that millions of people discovered that punk is fabulous.”

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