These Offspring are all grown up - but the post-punk bangers keep on coming
THE OFFSPRING
Qudos Bank Arena, May 11
Reviewed by Michael Ruffles
★★★½
What do you do when one of your giant lightning skeleton zombie props fails to inflate properly? When you're The Offspring, you just keep playing because the guitars are electrifying enough.
The California rockers tore through a blistering set of pop-punk bangers, barely pausing for breath as they proved why they have survived long enough to morph from the genre's enfants terribles into elder statesmen. They play hard and fast.
The crushing and crunchy riffs of Come out and Play, interspersed with the bright licks of 60s surf rock, was the perfect tone-setter. It's an incisive look at youth violence with equal parts anger and wry humour. In short, anarchy.
Original Prankster is made for mass appeal and goes down easy, Staring at the Sun is built for speed and is a high-wire act (and the only time the band wobbles a bit) and Hammerhead is relentless (skeleton snafu notwithstanding).
Relief comes when frontman Dexter Holland and lead guitarist Noodles become a comedy act; the skits include riffing on Deep Purple, Black Sabbath, AC/DC and (most brilliantly) Edvard Grieg. Have you even heard Hall of the Mountain King unless you've heard it shredded by an ageing skunk-haired punk while the mosh pit heaves?
Holland provided the most affecting moments of the night, sitting at a white grand piano as smoke drifted across the stage for a stripped-back rendition of Gone Away. The once-howling lament was made more poignant for its simplicity, before the band ramped up a cathartic finale.
Before any tears had chance to dry, the band unleashed the biggest vibe shift of the night and launched beach balls at us while jumping into the one-two punch of Ob la di -inspired Why Don't You Get A Job? and the batty mega-hit Pretty Fly (For a White Guy). Whether it's nonsense or genius, you've had nearly 30 years to make up your mind.
What is in no doubt is The Kids Aren't Alright is terrific, a searing indictment on middle America and undeniably rousing.
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