The Summer Nationals Tour with
The Offspring, Bad Religion, Pennywise & Stiff Little Fingers graced the
stage of Mesa Amphitheater a little over a week ago (Friday, August 29th 2014)
to a warm and welcoming sold out crowd.
Stiff Little Fingers started
the show off, and didn’t hold anything back… I’ll be honest; I didn’t catch
S.L.F. as I was stuck in line to get into the amphitheater for most of their
set. However, from what I heard from many other concert-goers, they definitely
lived up to their reputation and blew the crowd away with their signature
“Old-School” sound. After all, they are one of only a few 1st
generation punk bands who are still around. Pennywise followed, and brought the
crowds energy up to a whole new level. Half way through their blisteringly fast
set, they invited Mesa, Arizona’s very own Jason DeVore of Authority Zero out
to sing a cover of “Minor Threat” alongside them.
Bad Religion took the stage
next, a mere 10 minutes after Pennywise finished their final song, which is a
true testament to how proficient and professional their crew is. I guess 35
years as a band has something to do with such a quick turnaround. Bad Religion
came prepared to please ALL of their fans, new and old alike, starting with
songs like “Dharma and the Bomb” and the properly titled “Fuck You” off of
their most current release, True North. From there, they worked their
way back in time, playing crowd favorites “Sorrow”, “Infected” and finishing
off their set with a special treat for all of their older fans by racing
through a handful of classics off of their legendary Suffer album, like
“You are the Government”, “Do What You Want” and, of course, the title track,
“Suffer”, without stopping in-between songs.
The Offspring closed out the
night, celebrating the 20th anniversary of the release of their
chart topping Smash album. They took to the dark stage with their
infamous "Time to Relax (Intro)” and as they faded into the opening riff
of “Nitro (Youth Energy)”, the crowd went ape shit, the pit opened up and, just
like that, they controlled the attention of everyone in the crowd. From there,
they continued with hits, like “Gotta Get Away”, “Self Esteem”, and “Pretty Fly
(For A White Guy)” before closing out their set and ending the night with “The
Kids Aren’t Alright”. The entire night was definitely one to remember, so if
you weren’t there, you totally missed out. I heard they might do it again next
year, which I sure as hell hope they do!
See ya in the pit!
-Art C De Baca III
Photos by: Garyn Klasek
