The Offspring, Simple Plan @ Entertainment Centre, Adelaide 4/5/2025
A blimp flies overhead, explosions have become common, lightning has cracked from the sky and the masses have gathered to defend their city. The Offspring are in town and its Supercharged.
In a fun battle of intergalactic titans, Simple Plan go first and introduce the evening, on May the Fourth no less, with the John Williams penned Star Wars theme song.
Looking like he has not aged in twenty years, vocalist Pierre Bouvier skips and strides across the stage like a vibrant comet, the crowd following his every move to clap during I’d Do Anything, bounces during Shut Up! And sing while bathed in pink hearts for Addicted.
The next wave of attack, Giant beach balls are fired into the arena for Summer Paradise, a pervading sense of warm evenings along the jetty with ice cream takes over before the hounds, well Scooby Doo really, are unleashed for What’s New Scooby Doo?
The party with ten thousand of Simple Plan’s closest friends continues through I’m Just A Kid, which despite everyone signing, and Bouvier swapping spots with the drummer Chuck Comeau so Chuck can go crowd surfing, is just a warm up for closer Perfect, a anthem that lights up the venue like a galaxy of stars to finish the set.
Crackling blue lightning engulfs the room, after some kiss cams moments, to the tune of Thunderstruck. A skeleton on screen demands more noise aka American sports style. It’s time for The Offspring Strikes Back.
Opening with All I Want and Come Out And Play, streamers are unleashed to the rafters and space invaders played on the back screen. The Offspring are a well-oiled hit punk rock machine.
Led by Dexter Holland and Noodles, they have pulled every scream and every jump from an Adelaide crowd that is every part of the songs.
I Want You Bad, a perfect example of this unwritten partnership. A church organ introduces the song and ends with fireworks exploding with the crowd singing every lyric.
This symbiotic relationship is almost cult like. When the screen asks you to wave, you wave. When Holland gestures to light up the room with your cameras like the night sky, you do.
It’s not just classics all night, Make It All Right from latest album Supercharged has the bands sound as fresh and lyrically wicked as days of the bands yore.
Inflatable skeletons flank the stage, one signifying a rib missing, as the middle section newer tracks are sprinkled with Original Prankster and a smoke filled room of Bad Habit.
The crowd around me have barely sat all evening, powering out every word as it’s their last night on earth and the band themselves take the opportunity to switch up with snippets of rock classics before a furious Blitzkrieg Bop.
As the years have gone by, The Offspring have embraced the theatre of playing arenas around the world as their own November Rain moment in the emotional classic Gone Away proves. Holland, alone, plays the piano during the heartfelt song to a room as one.
Holland and Noodles on stage banter is fun, and they keep that going with the crowd throughout the show, or one big party, as beach balls bounce around during Pretty Fly (For A White Guy) and the band stop playing during the last verse allowing the crowd to bring that home in a pretty cool punk rock home run.
Self Esteem finishes, on this day when we are visited by intergalactic superstars, and we are reminded that music is the best weapon and cure to the dark side of life.
Live Review By Iain McCallum