Live Review: The Offspring @ O2 Academy Brixton, London (26/08/15)

The O2 Academy in Brixton is packed solid with fans feverishly awaiting the arrival of The Offspring. The cheer that greets the arrival of the backdrop would have you believe the band had arrived on stage!

The noise reaches decibel levels that shake the entire building once the lights dim & the band walk out. Opening with You’re Gonna go Far, Kid…the energy in the crowd is infectious but the vocals are incredibly muddy being drowned out by the guitars.

Thankfully that clears up quickly & All I Want sounds faster & louder than ever. The band plays a variety of songs across their illustrious career but it’s songs from Smash & Americana that get the loudest responses. Come Out and Play is sung so loudly back that the grins on the faces of the band show just how impressed they are.

Coming for You is a lesser known song but you wouldn’t know that from the noise level which turns up another notch for the surprise of Mota being aired. The Offspring don’t do much in the way of talking but during the double Americana header of Have You Ever & Staring At The Sun they take moment to acknowledge just how loud the crowd are & how it makes them feel. It’s touching & sincere.

Bad Habit sounds incredible & it has to be mentioned just how tight the band sound on stage. You could be hearing these songs from the record & you wouldn’t notice any difference. Million Miles Away & Gotta Get Away keep the pace ticking along nicely however Hit That falls a little flat.

A wonderful rendition of Kirsty, Are You Doing Ok is one of the highlights of the entire show with Dexter Holland’s voice sounding amazing.

It’s a surprise to hear Why Don’t You Get A Job from Americana & it’s probably never sounded this good especially when followed by the excellent Americana song itself. The force that the crowd scream “so fuck you” back at the band is incredible & it’s unlikely that there is a person inside who isn’t enjoying themselves thoroughly.

Time is ticking away & Want You Bad helps distract from the looming end of the show before Pretty Fly For A White Guy is dropped. There are people in the crowd who were babies when the song first released but they’re singing along as loudly as the 30+ brigade. It’s a song that everyone knows even if it doesn’t exactly light a fire under others.

Thankfully the band end the main set with a killer rendition of The Kids Aren’t All Right, a great song played with as much energy as if it’s the first song of the night.

The usual expected encore doesn’t take long to occur & the band return after a short minute or so. (Can’t Get You) Out Of My Head struggles to live up to many of the songs that have come already but an epic sing-along of Self Esteem means everyone leaves happy.

The Offspring could have played for another hour & you probably wouldn’t have heard all the songs you wanted to hear. For variety this show had everything drawing from all elements of the bands history. An incredible show from a band that seem to still have as much energy as they did at the start of their career.

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  • Carl Fisher

    Owner/Administrator/Editor/Writer/Interviewer/YouTuber - you name it, I do it. I love gaming, horror movies, and all forms of heavy metal and rock. I'm also a Discworld super-fan and love talking all things Terry Pratchett. Do you wanna party? It's party time!

The Offspring @ O2 Academy Brixton, London (26/08/15)
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