Review: The Offspring takes another step toward the Rock Hall of Fame

The Offspring drew a massive crowd to its concert on Saturday (Aug. 5) at Shoreline Amphitheatre at Mountain View.

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 played from that record, which certainly lived up to its title on the charts and did more to revive the general 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 overall very strong songbook, touching on 1997’s “Ixnay on the Hombre” for “All I Want,” 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 to it’s first album in nearly a decade — 2021’s “Let the Bad Times Roll,” which follows 2012’s “Days Go By.” The song has been a major hit, topping the Billboard Mainstream Rock chart and, again, illustrating the public’s appetite for the band’s music.

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 powerful set of music. He’d ace both of those categories on Saturday, sounding ’90s-era strong as he belted out one 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.” 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”