WORDS BY DAVID TAYLOR AND PHOTOS BY PAM WHISENHUNT | Go Venue Magazine
On Tuesday, July 23, The Offspring rolled into La Vista, NE to play a rock show at the Astro Amphitheater. This was my first time attending a gig at the amphitheater of the Astro, and I was impressed with their outdoor setting for concerts. Also, the weather was nice, so that was a plus.
StrateJacket from the Bay Area was the opener of the bill. Sure, the Green Day comparisons are out there, but they still played fun, energetic, original pop punk that warmed up the crowd. They seemed like humble kids excited to get out there touring the country and playing on a big show like this. They did a cover mashup of “Folsom Prison Blues”/“Rock and Roll”, which was pretty neat. Overall, it was a solid set from them. Check out their self-titled EP wherever you listen to music.
Ska band Save Ferris from Orange County was up next. If you remember the movie, 10 Things I Hate About You, the main characters went to prom and the band that played their prom was Save Ferris. Lead singer Monique Powell is such a fun presence on stage that you can’t ignore it. Whether she is chatting with the audience and changing her wardrobe, she is having the best time. And she was getting friendship bracelets from fans, which was nice. Shout out to the horn players in the band, from a former trombonist like myself. They performed some Operation Ivy and even did a little bit of “Shout!” from the Isley Brothers, which is kinda a requirement for bands if they have a horn section. They ended their set with their amazing cover of “Come On Eileen”. It was so cool to see Monique and the guys still out there preaching the word of ska.
The Urge from St. Louis was the direct support of the bill. I hadn’t seen these guys since Knotfest 2012, so it was such a treat to see them play again on a level like this. They have had enough skin in the game for a while, so it was cool to see them still bring it live and give a hundred and ten percent. Seeing them jump around at their age gave me hope for me when I’m older. I love the juxtaposition between the heavy riffs and the horn section. They combine that so flawlessly. They also brought out Monique Powell from Save Ferris to help sing “One Love” by Bob Marley. I honestly think this was one of the best sets of the year I’ve seen. I hope The Urge never calls it quits and continues forever.
Finally, the packed crowd was ready for The Offspring’s return to the metro area. The Offspring is one of those bands I was hooked on when I first listened to them when I was younger. I loved Dexter Holland and Noodles’s banter with each other on stage. It felt like watching an older couple interacting with the audience. Noodles joked that he knows parts of songs on guitar, so they played a little bit of Black Sabbath’s “Iron Man” and Guns ’N Roses’s “Sweet Child O’ Mine”. Noodles also did this Freddie Mercury-esque call and response with the phrase “fuck yeah” that was hilarious. The whole band was phenomenal, but I want to shout out drummer Brandon Pertzborn, whom I think I saw for the first time with Marilyn Manson in 2019. That guy is just an insanely excellent drummer with quite a future as a session musician. If he doesn’t drum for The Offspring for the rest of his life, I’ll follow him to his next gig immediately. Speaking of musicians, they brought up Ron Emory of T.S.O.L., one of the legendary West Coast punk rock bands, who lives in Sioux City, IA, to play a ripping cover of T.S.O.L.’s “Abolish Government/Silent Majority”. A very cool moment for the band since they are huge fans of that band. And obviously, they played hits like “Pretty Fly (for a White Guy)” and four songs off of Smash (“Bad Habit”, “Come Out and Play”, “Gotta Get Away”, and “Self Esteem”), which is celebration it’s 30th(!) anniversary this year. They are such a tight-knit band and would be down to see them, again. I couldn’t ask for a better first show at the Astro Amphitheater.
The Offspring
The Urge
Save Ferris
StrateJacket
All images © Pam Whisenhunt
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