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!
The Indy Review 
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