25.7. 2019 Huora, Danko Jones & The Offspring @ Suvilahti, Helsinki

August 3, 2019

282

Growing up in the nineties, THE OFFSPRING was a huge band with classics such as “Americana”, “Self-esteem”, “The Kids Aren’t Alright” and of course who doesn’t know the classic “Pretty Fly For A White Guy”. I had taken some attempts to see the band live a couple of times, but it always fell through. That’s why when it got announced the punk rock act from America would play in Helsinki, I packed up my gear and made my way to Suvilahti. Supporting acts of the evening were HUORA and DANKO JONES.

The evening kicked off with the Finnish punk act HUORA, it was the first time for me to see these guys and gal play a set, and I was really hyped up because of their energy. Truthfully, I don’t think I could picture myself listening to their music at home, but I do recommend everyone who has a heart for modern punk, and a band who knows how to perform a dynamic show, to go see HUORA. As an opening act for THE OFFSPRING it definitely was in line with the style of the music, and they definitely did a great job. Many people already came to witness the first band play their set, which to me is proof of how well these guys are doing at the moment.

Up next it was time for DANKO JONES, the Canadian heavy metal act showed no mercy while playing their songs. Their presence in the event was a bit surprising to me, but nonetheless, I could definitely see why they were chosen to support THE OFFSPRING. I’m not too much up-to-date with what this band is doing, but apparently, they recently released their album “A Rock Supreme”. They played a couple of songs from the new album, and I could tell many faces in the audience already knew the words to the new songs. DANKO JONES surely knows how to entertain a crowd, with his often funny and exciting speeches in between the songs, DANKO JONES knew how to grab their attention and transition them to the next songs smoothly. Not being all too familiar with the song material, I enjoyed the music quite much, the sound was good, it was an energetic show, and all-in-all a great act to finally see live.

Now that the audience was warmed up enough, it was finally time for THE OFFSPRING. Even though the band was huge when I grew up, and they have been touring plenty, I never really had the chance to see them live. The only time I had actively planned to see the band, the festival was canceled due to being completely destroyed by a raging storm. The alternative concert that was free for the festival-goers, was in Paris and a tiny bit out of reach. I was, therefore, super stoked to finally see these brilliant gems of songs live.

The band started off their show smoothly with “Americana”, and their distinct trademark sound was immediately clear from the beginning. Over two decades after the release of their breakthrough album “Smash”, the band still gathered a great and enthusiast audience, that was singing along very loudly during “Americana”, this seemed to be lasting throughout the show, as hits such as “Come Out and Play”, “Bad Habit”, and “Why Don’t You Get A Job?” and many more filled up the industrial site of Suvilahti.

So far the set had sounded utterly fantastic, with a great vocal delivery of Dexter Holland, who sounded just as powerful as he once did on the studio albums. Guitarist Noodles energetically played riffs on his guitar and blasted happily through the power chords. Even though the band might not jump as much around anymore as they did in the nineties, they had impeccable focus and great energy to finally witness live. When the encore came, the audiences truly exploded with hits like “Pretty Fly (For a White Guy)”, “The Kids Aren’t Alright”, and “Self Esteem”, I couldn’t believe that I finally had the opportunity to witness these songs live, in such great quality.

The setlist was a great combination of their classics, even though the band played over 15 tracks, the concert lasted only a little bit over an hour, due to little speeches in between the songs. Personally, I wouldn’t have minded if the band had played a lot more songs, especially considering the concert tickets were kind of on the higher side, but with a setlist that great and performance that dynamic, the band totally made up for it. All-in-all, if you ever get the chance to catch the band play live, don’t hesitate to go see that show, this classic band from the nineties offers a great show, with nostalgic songs.