The Offspring Bring The SUPERCHARGED Tour to Utah

Punk rock is alive and kicking and The Offspring proved it this past weekend at the Utah First Credit Union Amphitheater.  Joined by special guests Jimmy Eat World and New Found Glory, the SUPERCHARGED Tour delivered a night of sweat, singalongs and nonstop energy for both older fans and a whole new generation of music lovers discovering punk music. 

 

From the moment that fans poured into the venue, it was clear this wasn’t going to be just another nostalgia trip.  Sure, there were plenty of 90’s kids reliving their glory days, but teenagers and twenty-somethings came dressed up as the iconic “white guy” proving that Offspring humor still strikes a chord decades later. 

 

New Found Glory opened the night with a punch that is usually seen in most headlining acts set.  Frontman Jordan Pundik had the crowd jumping from the first lyric and even waded into the audience.  Their performance set a high bar for the rest of the acts to follow.

 

Jimmy Eat World built perfectly on that momentum, launching straight into their hit “Pain.”  What followed felt like a giant nonstop singalong with vocalist Jim Adkins leading thousands of voices through hits like “Sweetness,” “Bleed American” and of course “The Middle.” When the opening notes of “The Middle” hit the speakers to close out their set the crowds roar of approval could be heard through the night air. 

 

Next up was the intermission portion of the night as the stage crew worked to get it ready for The Offspring.  This one was different though, instead of a lull between the sets, fans were treated to a sports arena style halftime event.  The Hype gorilla dashed throughout the venue giving away merch, upgrading seats, and dancing with the fans while the screens hosted 8-bit game visuals, dance cams, kiss cams and game show quiz moments of the band. The change of pace kept the amphitheater buzzing and ready for the main event.

 

Finally, the moment came that everyone was waiting for.  The Offspring stormed the stage leading off with “Come Out and Play,” instantly starting up mosh pits and putting the fans in a frenzy.  Frontman Dexter Holland and guitarist Noodles fed off the energy trading banter with each other and the crowd throughout the evening, about the fans and chaos throughout the venue.

 

Midway through the set, the band paid a tribute to The Prince of Darkness himself, Ozzy Osbourne, performing Black Sabbath’s “Electric Funeral” and “Paranoid” then following that up with “Crazy Train.”  One more cover was on the way though as the band played a high energy cover of “I Wanna Be Sedated” by The Ramones with an assist from the Hype Gorilla who roamed the stage with a Sedated sign working up the crowd. 

 

The back half of the set was loaded with hit after hit “Gone Away,” “Why Don’t You Get A Job,” “Pretty Fly (For a White Guy)” and “The Kids Aren’t All Right.”   “Pretty Fly” turned into a spectacle as multitudes of “white guy” were shown on the screens dancing and grinning from ear to ear as the band performed.  After this the band took the ritual pause for the encore before being called back with a deafening chant of “one more song!”  The band didn’t disappoint, saving the best for last they closed out with a banger of a performance of “You’re Gonna Go Far Kid” and “Self Esteem.”

 

The Offsprings SUPERCHARGED Tour wasn’t just a showcase of punk nostalgia.  It was a reminder of the genre’s importance and enduring relevance and a whole new generation of fans there to live it with the fans from the first wave.  The music bridged the generation gap uniting thousands of voices regardless of age in a raucous celebration showing that punk rock is alive and kicking.