Photo by Tijs Van Leur
It can be hard to last in the limelight, stay relevant and still keep the punk kids coming out to shows in hordes for over thirty years no doubt. But this is exactly what SoCal veterans The Offspring have managed to maintain. Whether slamming out skate punk, pushing out pop punk or carving out commercial hits, this band accomplishes many feats while keeping their music fun and fresh. While we all anticipate their tenth studio album dropping, punks can get pumped for The Offspring’s tour by thrashin’ out to their EP they made for their Summer Nationals Tour with some of punk’s finest.
The Offspring opens up their Summer Nationals EP with Bad Religion’s “Do What You Want.” Straight out of the gate, drummer Pete Parada bursts forward, taking the reigns while Dexter Holland and Noodles hammer the tune out on guitars. Holland does an excellent job staying true to BR’s ferocity on vocals and to his own vocal stylings while the rest of the band harmoniously back him up on the “oohs and aahs.” They follow this up, leading straight into another Bad Religion song, “No Control.” Bassist Greg Kriesel, AKA Greg K., seems to spring out, accentuating the guitars. Holland appears to have had some intense fun on this one, working with BR singer Greg Graffin’s linguistically extensive vocabulary. Switching gears, The Offspring takes on Pennywise’s “No Reason Why.” Right off the bat, Kriesel and Noodles set the more melodic tone on bass and lead guitar respectively as the rest of the band comes in to build up the song to it’s naturally speedy pace. Parada rips it up on drums at this point while Holland and Noodles trounce on guitars.
If nothing else, Summer Nationals proves that The Offspring can still rage forth the raw energy they whipped out from the mid eighties into the nineties with excellent precision. If that’s a sign of anything, we can only expect to see a preview when they pass through of what’s to come on their next eagerly awaited album. The Offspring kick off their tour at The Marquee Theatre in Tempe on July 21st with local punk rockers Lightspeedgo.
~ Garyn Klasek
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