The Offspring, Sum 41 @Riverstage Brisbane- Wednesday December 14 2022

A stunning 30 degree day and blue sky met the crowd that had assembled at Brisbane’s River Stage to enjoy a night with Sum 41 and The Offspring. There are two back-to-back shows happening in Brisbane this week, with this show being added to the tour scheduled due to the large demand from the Queensland fans (and they were out in force!). After arriving to the gates (on an electric scooter no less) the box-office had my ticket ready to go, and the entrance to River Stage was so hassle-free I was second guessing myself and wondering if I had wound up in the wrong area. It turns out that I was in the right place and it was just super organised. Offspring and Sum 41 faithful flocked around the stage and as showtime drew closer, the volume of fans increased. From a position on the hill I could see full guitar racks, the drum riser to the right of stage and a mammoth, yet orderly, stack of road cases. Easy access to toilets, food stalls and drinks helped everyone settle in for a fun night as a massive line at the merchandise tent stretched well into the crowd. The full range of Brisbane’s punk rock faithful were on display, with Mohawks, faux-hawks, no hawks and… picnic blankets, all intertwined, just waiting for the spark to light their punk rock flame (whether obvious or otherwise). The sun was setting behind the stage, beers were flowing and all that was missing was the music. Anticipation built to fever pitch as the stage lights flicked on and off. The reclining punters on the hill surrounding the heaving pit stood up in unison as the lights dropped out and it was showtime.

Sum 41’s logo flashed up on the screen, shattering the darkness on stage and, in a little nod to Australia, ACDC’s TNT blasted into the crowd. Large cheers rose from the entire crowd as the band took their place. Front man Deryck Whibley ran onto the stage and the crowd was met with epic pyrotechnics  and lighting (the photographer in me was loving it). Opening with their 2001 hit Motivation, Sum 41 let everybody know that tonight’s show was going to be about power and passion! Movement from all members of the band from all parts of the stage suggested that the enthusiasm the crowd had for the show was both received and reciprocated. The Hell Song was the next shot fired in the already action packed set. While this song comes from their 2002 album, Does This Look Infected, lyrics such as “ I feel I’ve come to realise, how fast life can be compromised” could easily have been written recently in response to any number of situations that have happened/are currently happening in the world. Over My Head followed and the crowd were now in fine form, singing and shouting lyrics, dancing and basically going berserk. We’re All To Blame hit the crowd with full force and Whibley demanded a circle pit start. He stooped over the crowd from centre stage and moved his hand in a circular motion like a wizard conjuring a spell with his (and the band’s) magic achieving the desired result. Underclass Hero (the title track from their 2007 album) gave the crowd a chance to help the band with their performance. Whibley got the stage lights turned off and asked everybody turn on the torch on their phones to help illuminate the stage. This was beautiful sitght from where I was and I can only image how amazing the view must have been from the stage. At the end of the song, a very grateful frontman took the time to express from him and the band how surreal it was for them to hear everybody singing  “These songs we wrote when were were fucking teenagers”. Walking disaster came next and the the musicality of the band was on display for all to hear. Once agin, timeless lyrics like “I pledge allegiance to a world of disbelief where I belong” could be any of us that turn on the television or look at social media and think WTF.

Whibley asked guitarist Dave Baksh to give us “all killer and no filler” and he broke into In Too Deep with a roar of approval from the crowd.  “You like that old school pop punk shit? asked Whibley at the end of the song  (to cheers from the Brisbane crowd ) “Well we better play some more pop punk shit” and they launched into Makes No Difference from their first album, Half Hour of Power (released in the year 2000). A guitar was bought from the side of stage and given to Whibley and he played some of Smoke On The Water to show the crowd how much he “sux on guitar”.  He also played the intro riff to Seven Nation Army as further evidence of his lack of guitar skill. The reason for the guitar was Pieces from 2004’s Chuck album. The song starts with a semi-clean chord progression before the rest of the band join in. For the record, Whibley does not “suck” at guitar, and his six string contribution to this song was vital. I am all for a punked up cover! In another life as a guitarist in a band, we used to do a punk version of Folsom Prison Blues that went over a treat.  I was stoked to hear Sum 41 crank out We Will Rock You like I have never heard before. Mid song the band bought the sound down and Whibley got the whole pit to get down on their haunches. As the band got louder and louder, he ordered the pit to jump, and that was exactly what they did. It was epic! The opening riff for Fat Lip sent the already manic crowd over the edge and into raptures. Still Waiting was the final song of the set with the angst driven lyrics still striking a chord some 20 years on from its release. At the end of the song Whibley said “bye bye” and suddenly they were gone. This was an absolutely blistering set from start to finish!

The band were flawless, dual guitar solos, rock steady drums and bass. Vocals on point as on any album and a performance not to be forgotten. Fans left the pit shirtless, soaked, disheveled and happy. The look on their faces told a story of pure joy and I can only assume it was a look shared by the band who were met with an energetic and enthusiastic group of fans. To call the songs nostalgic gives an impression that they come from a time of surpassed ideas or commentary. One only need look at any of the crises the “modern” world faces and realise that Sum 41 were on the ball all those years ago. It’s a shame the powers that be didn’t listen then, but will they listen now? No, Sum 41’s music is not nostalgia! It is as relevant now as it was when it burnt in the soul of the band all those years ago!

The Offspring were up next and as the stage crew got to work a count down timer appeared on the screen and the house party ensued. Members of the crew had cameras that they used to film the crowd and their footage was displayed on the big screen. The “cams” on display were pit cam (filming the crowd), beer cam (you had to scull your beer if you appeared on screen), moustache cam (if you had one they found you), kiss cam (pucker up, peeps), headbang cam (ACDC’s You Shook Me All Night Long was the sound track), Mullet cam (and there was no shortage of locks to shoot), booty cam (kinda self explanatory, huh?) and finally, fuck you cam (you gave the camera the finger). Three members of the crew also shot merchandise into the crowd from a makeshift giant slingshot. There was so much going on that the time flew by! As the timer got closer to zero the band appeared on screen from backstage which sent the crowd wild! The final minute arrived and passed with the final ten seconds counted down in unison by the crowd. The stage went dark, and it was on!

The only way to describe The Offspring’s entrance was cinematic. There was just enough light to make out the silhouette of the members of the band as etherial music played. Come Out And Play burst from the stage as the entire venue came alive with light and sound. I was 18 years old when this song hit my skate rat ears. I couldn’t say how many skate sessions had the 1994 album Smash as a soundtrack and while the ramps we built nor the skateboarding career endured, thankfully, these songs do! “Ya ya ya ya ya” sung Dexter and the crowd went wild! All I Want was sung too and from the crowd as Dexter decided to go for a walk down in the pit to say hi to the faithful (he would later go on to say they nearly killed him). Want You Bad started very differently to the Conspiracy Of One album version with Dexter’s vocals and an organ only! It was such an epic start to the song before it turned back in to the version everybody knows and loves. “Fuck yeah Brisbane, fuck yeah” yelled Noodles into the microphone. He claimed that everybody in attendance was afflicted with a condition called “Queensland crazy” that was an actual thing that you could Google (from the peeps around me I didn’t need to Google it for proof… it was real!). The title track from The Offspring’s latest album (and this tour) Let The Bad Times Roll was played next but not before Noodles thanked everybody “in the multiverse” for helping make it number one. Staring At The Sun from 1998’s Americana cranked the crowd right up agin as the pit surged in every direction in time with the song. Behind Your Walls is another song from the band’s latest album and it went over well with the fans who were singing and dancing as far as they eye could see.

The shaker and the riff let the crowd know “you can do it”, Original Prankster was met with as much love as it did when we all heard it on Conspiracy Of One. If you couldn’t hear the crowd sing  “you know it smells like shit, god damn” over the Brisbane River at Kangaroo Point, you must be deaf because it was loud! The haunting riff of Hammerhead rang out from the stage. For me this was a standout song from 2008’s Rise and Fall, Rage and Grace so it was awesome to hear it live. As the song was underway my attention was drawn to a glowing light on the stage which turned out to be a theremin type instrument. Prior to the solo Dexter created some wild ambient sounds just by moving close to the device and then moving away without touching it. A dark stage, a bass riff and some guitar squeals and feedback hinted at Bad Habit only to have all suspicions confirmed by dexter singing “Hey man you know I’m really okay”. Voices from all around the venue joined in with the well know song as it kicked into overdrive. The choral antics of the crowd were not lost on the band with Noodles stating that they had “angelic voices” and were “crazy as a shit house rat”… hard to argue with the facts.

Dexter claims that Noodles has played the riff from Sweet Child O Mine for six hours straight and while he took a break we entered the “Noodles plays with himself” section of the show. This section allowed Noodles to flex his considerable guitar chops for the crowd. Along with the Guns N Roses classic riff, he also played sections from Back In Black (ACDC), The Trooper (Iron Maiden) and In The Hall Of The Mountain King (Edvard Grieg). During the latter, an animated Noodles played on the screen and he and his digital doppelgänger traded guitar parts which was super cool! In keeping with the cover theme, the band launched into the Ramones classic Blitzkrieg Bop as one of the stage crew paraded up and down the stage with a sign that said “hey ho lets go” painted on it just incase you forgot the words. Gotta Get Away is my favourite Offspring song, hands down! The drum and bass intro and then THAT riff (but not before some string mutes) ahhhhh, it’s just a masterpiece! So how could I love it even more? By hearing it sung by every single person around me and, I assume, all over the venue! The lights went out and for a moment nothing seemed to be happening but in that dark a piano was being wheeled on to the stage. When the stage illuminated again there was Dexter sitting at the piano all alone on the stage. Gone Away could be, in my opinion, one of the saddest songs ever written. With lyrics like “maybe in another life, I could find you there” ugh, it just hits you, right? Well take those lyrics and hear it sung solo with only a piano as backing (and all the crowd holding their phone’s torches up) and you are dealing with a different kind of animal. I came wanting to hear this song in its original format (because that’s what I had expected) but now I’m glad I didn’t because this was something else!

How do you pick up the energy after such a somber moment? Beachballs obviously, and as Get A Job kicked-off, stage crew started kicking beachballs into the crowd. I swear it seemed like there were around 20 or 30 beachballs getting kicked or punched in every direction throughout the song. In a similar vein, Spare Me The Details  had the crowd jumping and singing like they were at a beach party and you can imagine Noodles sitting around strumming a guitar with sand between his toes and a beachball or 20 nearby.  It was time to ramp up the Queensland Crazy and (Can’t Get My) Head Around You was just the song. The crazy must have been contagious because following the song, Noodles lead the frothing crowd in a choral “Fuck Yeah!”. It started off with short bursts and finished with a “Fuck” so long that the crowd had no air left to add the “yeah”.  Gunter, Glieben, Glauchen, Globen… German for go crazy?  It must be because that’s exactly what happened as the 1998 Americana Hit  Pretty Fly (For a White Guy) met the ears of the crowd with inflatables of the character from the film clip standing on either side of the stage. The Kids Aren’t Alright closed out the set it seemed as the band left the stage but the fans were having none of that! The band returned to the stage to play You’re Gonna Go Far Kid before one final song that starts with one word…“la”. As in “la la la la la la la la la la” Self Esteem was the perfect song to end a perfect night!

Both Sum 41 and The Offspring were absolutely at their best for this tour! I am sure everybody that attended a show was in awe at the incredible display of musicianship they were privy to by these two legendary bands. All involved should hold their heads high for brining such an amazing show to the eyes, ears and hearts of Australian music fans. It’s was a privilege to get to go along, and it is a show I can honestly say I will never forget. As a final side note, it warmed my heart to see all the fans dressed in black (mostly) singing Sweet Caroline as they made their way to the gate.