Feature Artist: The OFFSPRING
Feature Artist

"THE OFFSPRING"

Live In Concert!
by Mary Ellen Gustafson

Dexter Holland (vocals), Ron Welty (Drums)


On June 2, 1997, Phoenix Civic Plaza played host to those touring fiends, The OFFSPRING. Accompanied by three opening bands, of which I only saw two, they filled the venue with adoring fans and one of the largest moshe pits I've seen. The one sour note to the evening was the venue itself. Acoustically it was a terrible place to hold a concert (concrete floor, concrete and steel walls, steel beamed ceilings with the air vents hanging down below the beams - although those were appreciated for the air conditioning provided!). It also seemed as if either the speakers had a major problem, or the guy doing sound mix needed some practice. The reverb from the bass and overwhelming drums made it difficult to hear the vocals and guitars, and I hate to think how bad my ears would have hurt if I hadn't been wearing ear plugs. (I know, I know! Ear plugs? Well, when you go to as many concerts as I do, it's a necessity unless you want to lose your hearing a few years down the road!) It also seemed as if Dexter was having voice problems, but that could very well have been from trying to be heard over all that bass and drums.

The two opening acts I did get to see were fair and good. The first one, A.F.I, a hardcore punk band out of California, put on a pretty good show at least. Their actual songs weren't anything to write home about, and then there was that same little problem of too much bass and drums, but boy did these guys have energy plus! They didn't jump, they leaped into the air and half way across the stage while they sang - even the guys playing instruments. Everything was so well timed as they passed each other in mid-air, I'm tempted to think they had a choreographer! Since it was so difficult to hear the vocals and melody line, I can't really comment on their music other than it was loud, but it looked like they were having a great time and so did the audience.

The next act, L 7, also from California (L.A.) was more of a hard rock style all female band. They made a great production out of their entrance onto the stage, and I could even hear some of the vocals. They opened with a great song (I wish I knew the name, but I couldn't hear them well enough) that really showcased the vocal qualities of the two lead singers. A combination of great harmonies, and a really strange voice accompaniment by one of the girls, really set the tone for this band. I'm trying to track down their label or publicist to see if we can't review their new album in AMZ. I'd like to hear their music the way it's really supposed to sound. Overall, they were pretty good and again gained good audience response, but folks were getting anxious to see The OFFSPRING - already an hour late to hit the stage.

After what seemed like hours of light and sound checks, The OFFSPRING finally arrived to the sound of gun blasts and strobe flashes. On their recent album, the first "song" is "The Disclaimer." To start their concert there's also an interesting narrative, but it was said too fast to catch it all, and mostly consisted of "Have a great fuckin' time!" I've already mentioned the sound was lousy, but they put on one hell of a light show!! The opening number is the only one I'm not positive about, because they were still screwing with the sound board during the song, but I think it was "Change The World." Almost all the songs came from "Ixnay On The Hombre," with a few others mixed in.

The next song was an old one called "Beheaded" which I wasn't familiar with, but after that came "Cool To Hate" and it was really awesome. The lighting was cool, the audience went nuts, there were so many bodies travelling above the moshe pit I thought they'd collide, and Dexter just about wrecked his voice for good on that one - at least it seemed so at the time! Wasting no time, the band immediately moved on to "Leave It Behind." Kids from 8 to 48 were dancing up a storm by this time in the entire room. This was a no seats, general admission concert, so everybody just found a spot to stand and did their thing amongst the sea of OFFSPRING t-shirts sporting about 10 different logos and several colors. Keeping the pace going, Noodles launched his great guitar intro to "Amazed," and this was at least one of the songs where you could make out the vocals and guitar - and the backup singing and harmonies. Since this is a song I really like, I was pleased to be able to actually hear it!

Dexter Holland

Moving right along, we were treated to more great guitar playing from Noodles on "The Meaning of Life." This was probably one of the best songs performed that night. Unbelievable energy, great song, audience singing and dancing, and what moshing. A couple of bodies almost landed on the sound mix board. (Gee, maybe that would have helped!) Of course after that we HAD to be blasted with "Mota." After listening to the album for so many months those two songs are almost in-seperable! A little heavy on the bass and drums again, but still lots of fun and a great light show on this number also. Next up was the number I was afraid wouldn't make it to the concert. Not only did it make it, it was an act in iteself - INTERMISSION! Along with the "Intermission " music from the album, bubbles were floating from both sides of the stage. The band, carrying silver trays, pretended to be serving the people in the audience. This part of the concert was a real kick to experience!

Noodles

After a brief consultation with the audience, Dexter launched into the song following INTERMISSION on the album, "All I Want." This was another high energy, great light show, super audience response song. I didn't catch what the next song was - couldn't hear again, but The OFFSPRING had another little act in store for the audience. This time a play on the "should we do Heavy Metal?" thing. First Noodles did a short take off on Guns 'n Roses in slo-mo, then jumped up on the drum stand to play a stentorian version of "Black Sabbath's" "Iron Man." This got a big laugh from the audience, and at least Noodles must be a frustrated comedian! The last song of their set was "Smash," and about this time I'd had enough and was on my way out to beat the traffic.

Greg K.
Once "Encore!" reached a roar, the band returned to the stage to play "Gone Away." I was already outside, but all the exit doors were open, and actually the band sounded better from outside than they had inside. At least there was some balance between the instruments and vocals without all that concrete and steel reverbing all over the place. I did stay to listen to this number, because it's one of my favorites, and The OFFSPRING sounded like I'd been waiting for them to all night. I booked before the last encore because it really is a hassle to get out of that venue, so I didn't hear which song it was, but the strobes were going fast and furious. All in all it was a good concert. The sound problems were not the band's fault, and they really did put on a good show. You can see how hard Dexter works from the pictures here, and the other guys do too. If they come to your town, hope for a better venue and go see The OFFSPRING. It's more than worth it!


In case you've been living under a rock the past several months, and aren't familiar with the album that's caused such a frenzy, I'm re-running my original review of the album below. It's become one of my favorites. One that gets played - even though I'm "done" working with it - all the time. So check out this slightly aged album review, and if you don't have it already, GET IT!

Artist:"The OFFSPRING"
Title:"IXNAY On The HOMBRE"
Label:Columbia
Release Date:2/04/97
Available:Any Major Music Store
Reviewed By:Mary Ellen Gustafson
Rating:5

Let me tell you, this is one hell of a great follow up to this band's 1994 breakthrough hit "Smash." Dexter Holland - vocals/guitar, Noodles - guitar/vocals, Greg K. - bass, RonWelty - drums = "The OFFSPRING," and they've put together a humorous, irreverant, look at life in speed punk rock that just doesn't quit! From the "Disclaimer" that begins the album, through thirteen excellent tracks and a few surprises thrown in, there is nothing NOT to like about this record. On my scale of 1-5, I'm tempted to give this CD a 6!

For The OFFSPRING, it was the same old "overnight success" story, after over ten years together, three albums and tons of touring. Then came the "out of nowhere" success of they're #1 hit "Come Out and Play (You Gotta Keep 'em Separated)" from the "Smash" album. According to their bio, as that song was breaking, the band was on tour in a beat-up van whose engine had blown up in Bakersfield and transmission went out in Arizona. Then, while travleing through the mid-west in the dead of winter, the band members nearly froze to death because they were unable to fix the heater. "I'm just a sucker with no self-esteem" they sang, in what would be the next hit from "Smash" - "Self-Esteem." Hardly a band that seemed headed down the road of success, but "Smash" went on to sell eight and a half million copies around the world. After listening with delight to "Ixnay on the Hombre," I would venture a guess that this album will far surpass that figure, and zoom up the charts.

From the driving beat, snappy tune, excellent vocals and biting lyrics of the first track, "The Meaning of Life," to the militaristic opening of the speed rock "Mota," with it's great echo effect, and the pace changing, irreverant look at love "Me And My Old Lady," you barely get a chance to catch your breath. A "socially conscious" (and I use that term VERY loosely) song, "Cool To Hate," is followed by the tormented rock ballad "Gone Away," a very striking song in both lyrics and delivery. "Gone Away," the second single release from the album, began radio air play the first week of March.

A special little interlude in the middle of the album is backed by the first single released, "All I Want." It has already been in heavy rotation on radio stations across the nation, and the video continues to be seen on MTV and The Box. Another change of pace song, "Amazed," helps to showcase the talent of this band.

I've written something about almost every song - and ALL thirteen songs are great! Don't be put off by the word "punk" in the beginning of this review. It's more like a hard rockin' album, with some elements of punk in the speed and the lyrics, but this sounds a lot more like rock than a lot of "rock" bands out there. "Ixnay On The Hombre" is an excellent album, and any fan of rock, punk, metal or just good music, should run, not walk, to the nearest music store and add it to their collection.


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