LIVE REVIEW: The Offspring @ Resorts World Arena, Birmingham
When more people are sitting in the Five Guys across the road than there is in the block you’re sitting in, you know that live music still isn’t quite back to normal. Or is it? A quarter of Birmingham’s Resorts World Arena is cut off tonight, covered by black curtains. Whether it’s at the band’s request or low ticket sales, it doesn’t matter as tonight’s bill, headlined by pop-punk godfather’s THE OFFSPRING is one of the year’s best value-for-money lineups. So, do they live up to the billing?
On a bill boasting one of pop-punk’s biggest bands (THE OFFSPRING) and one of the most exciting live bands on the planet (THE HIVES), it might seem like a suicide mission trying to open up for them. Genre-hoppers BOB VYLAN have no such trouble and pull no punches as they introduce themselves as one of Britain’s most vibrant, vital and vicious new bands.
Their 30-minute set sees the duo dish out their socio-political stances like their hot dinners. Even when vocalist Bobby Vylan takes time between each song to stir the pot, wield a baseball bat, and share his love for THE OFFSPRING, there’s never a moment to catch your breath. Their set runs the gamut: RAGE AGAINST THE MACHINE, SLEAFORD MODS, FEVER 333. New singles GDP and Pretty Songs are the telling highlights, as they set to take 2022 by the horns.
The only hick-up is that the arena isn’t even half-full yet, and their two-piece set-up isn’t quite ready for stages this big, so it sometimes falls on deaf ears. But there’s so much promise in these two that it wouldn’t surprise us to find them headlining here one day.
Rating: 8/10
It’s been a hot minute since garage rock revivalists THE HIVES have hit our shores, and tonight they more than makeup for their leave of absence. Donning the stage dressed to the nines in matching glow-in-the-dark suits, they play a career-spanning set like they’re strapped to rockets about to go off.
The opener Come On riles up the audience, but it’s the rambunctious riff of Main Offender when the crowd amps up. Saying that THE HIVES are put to work to get the crowd warmed up. It might just be the post-pandemic blues, but tonight’s crowd seem reluctant to do much but sway from side to side and sip their drinks.
Frontman Howlin’ Pelle Almqvist has a career in politics if he ever packs it in, as he’s the town crier this tour needs tonight. He never once stops working the room, taking a crowd that wouldn’t even dance to one eating out of his hands. Like a pack of adrenaline junkies, the closing double-whammy of Hate To Say I Told You So and Tick Tick Boom has the crowd mosh-pitting and moving like maniacs. On the latter, Pelle hops the barriers and heads out to the middle of the crowd, quipping “I feel like Moses!” before making everyone sit down and jump up in a moment of madness. Warm up the crowd for THE OFFSPRING or attempt to upstage them? Either way, mission complete.
Rating: 9/10
The bars are still busy banging out pints minutes before THE OFFSPRING hit the stage tonight, but Resorts World Arena is finally feeling full. For a band who’ve been at the top of the mountain, it’s the least they deserve, right?
Despite touring their first album in nine years, the SoCal punks opt for a 19-song greatest hits set. It’s no surprise they’ve been at it for years as they serve a masterclass in structuring a setlist: opening trio Staring At The Sun, Come Out And Play, and Want You Bad bring the sing-alongs few acts can manage this early on.
It’s testament to the strength of their back catalogue that they can drop some of their biggest hits so early on. In fact, their set tonight serves as a reminder of just how many bangers they’ve given the world. From Let The Bad Time Roll’s colourful ska-punk to Gotta Get Away’s grunge-riddled grit and Can’t Get My Head Around You’s FOO FIGHTERS–esque alt-rock crunch; they’ve just got the hits.
They’ve also got the chemistry. They’ve been running the same double-act shtick since time immortal, yet there’s something infectiously charming about Dexter and Noodles. They make you feel like part of a moment, whether it’s Noodles claiming we’ve broken the world record for most smiles – approximately two point three billion – or Dexter affectionately showing his love for his guitar-playing compadre.
Of course, what goes up must come down, and their set isn’t without its faults. Flying through an opening quarter jam-packed with hits was bound to hit a speed bump, and true to form, it happens. Whilst it’s funny watching Noodles go riff-to-riff with a big-screen animation of himself, the ensuing GBH, BLACK SABBATH, and IRON MAIDEN covers are fun but feel unnecessary. Elsewhere, their set feels bloated with filler moments, like a piano-only edition of Gone Away, which sees several punters hit the toilets instead of shining their torches.
At times, the trio – joined by touring drummer and VANDALS/DEVO member Josh Freese – look and feel like they’ve lost their way. They largely stick to their sides of the stage, which feels jarring following how audience-heavy BOB VYLAN and THE HIVES are tonight. Furthermore, they’re not quite the same-sounding band they once were, with several tracks coming off-tune here and there.
Nonetheless, a ridiculous seven-song closing run of Why Don’t You Get A Job, We Never Have Sex Anymore, Pretty Fly (For A White Guy), (Can’t Get My) Head Around You, The Kids Aren’t Alright, You’re Gonna Go Far Kid, and Self Esteem shows that no matter what, THE OFFSPRING still know how to throw a pop-punk party after all these years.
Rating: 7/10