It’s a double-header of iconic punk bands rolling into the Bell Centre tonight, starting with LA’s Bad Religion, now in their 46th year of existence. 46! Their name burns in red on the giant screen behind the stage as the five-piece arrive and blaze right into the classic Recipe for Hate, the artwork from the corresponding 1993 album projected throughout. It’s a theme that follows the duration of the set, each song having its own visuals, whether it’s the parent album artwork or, in the case of the thunderous F** You*, a video montage of hockey fights; they certainly know how to appeal to a Montreal crowd!
The crowd goes pretty nuts for the duration of the hour-long set, on songs you’d expect, like the iconic Infected and American Jesus, as well as those you wouldn’t. Even newer songs like Candidate and End of History get the place jumping! After a storming The Streets of America, one of the band remarks, “you guys are going crazy, there’s still 40 minutes to go!”
One of the best gigs of my life was a Bad Religion show in 2002, when they toured their unreal The Process of Belief record, so obviously I freak out at the arrival of Sorrow and The Defense from that album, singing at the top of my lungs from start to finish. It’s a much different vibe tonight, sitting at the back of the Bell Centre compared to moshing in a tiny room at Manchester University, but I still have a blast anyway!
It’s a stellar hour; bassist Jay Bentley is quick to heap the praise on the crowd after the set, declaring, “Merci Montreal, you’ve been a second home for us for many years!” Thankfully, we don’t have to wait too long for their next visit, confirmed as a headliner at the Music 4 Cancer festival up in St Therese in September, with a host of other bands. Tickets are still available; you don’t wanna miss it!
Setlist
- Recipe for Hate
- Them and Us
- Los Angeles Is Burning
- Do What You Want
- 21st Century (Digital Boy)
- The Streets of America
- F** You*
- Come Join Us
- End of History
- True North
- The Defense
- We’re Only Gonna Die
- Candidate
- No Control
- Struck a Nerve
- You
- Infected
- Sorrow
- American Jesus
After a 25-minute intermission featuring a blimp dropping guitar picks onto the crowd and assorted “cams” on the big screens, headbanging cam, kiss cam, etc., The Offspring arrive onstage for the latest installment of their “SUPERCHARGED” World Tour, and just like on their last Bell Centre visit in 2022, launch into the massive Come Out and Play. All I Want and Want You Bad follow, also exactly like last time, and I find myself wondering if the set will be a carbon copy. Thankfully, things start to change up a bit with new song Looking Out for #1, Dexter spitting the verses hip-hop style over a punk rock backing.
The arrival of old song Walla Walla from their breakthrough 1998 Americana record is a welcome addition to the set compared to other nights of this tour, and one I haven’t heard live since the first time I ever saw them, back in 2004 in Manchester. After a fusion of Hit That and Original Prankster, two enormous skeletons inflate at each side of the stage, and the opening bars of Hammerhead roll out. The intro is huge, the riffs are massive, strobes blare, and the pit is furious. After confetti cannons erupt on Make It All Right, Bad Habit takes things up yet another level; the singalong is deafening.
And then, just like last time, we hit a section of random covers, including Black Sabbath, Ramones, and such, as well as a cover of Hey Jude by The Beatles after a couple of Offspring songs have us thinking things are back on track. For a band with 11 albums and clearly not lacking in material, is it really necessary to waste 15 to 20 minutes of a 100-minute set on cover versions? The odd one is fun, but this seems a bit overkill, especially when bangers like Americana and (Can’t Get My) Head Around You are dropped from the set as a result.
It’s the only gripe in an otherwise great set. A flurry of beach balls are unleashed onto the floor during Why Don’t You Get a Job? to get a carnival atmosphere going, causing guitarist Noodles to proclaim, “we always have the best shows in Montreal!” Just like last time, and indeed the time before in 2019 at Place Bell, the main set closes out with Pretty Fly (for a White Guy) and The Kids Aren’t Alright, and after draping half the floor section in an enormous Quebec flag, an encore of You’re Gonna Go Far, Kid and a monstrous Self Esteem. If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it, I guess!
A great show overall, and even if Offspring shows are following a standard format these days, I’d definitely do it again! But maybe a few less covers, if at all possible…
Setlist
- Come Out and Play
- All I Want
- Want You Bad
- Looking Out for #1
- Staring at the Sun
- Walla Walla
- Hit That / Original Prankster
- Hammerhead
- Make It All Right
- Bad Habit
- Electric Funeral / Paranoid
- Crazy Train
- In the Hall of the Mountain King
- I Wanna Be Sedated
- Gotta Get Away
- Gone Away
- Hey Jude
- Why Don’t You Get a Job?
- Pretty Fly (for a White Guy)
- The Kids Aren’t Alright
Encore
- You’re Gonna Go Far, Kid
- Self Esteem
Watch highlights below:
Review – Simon Williams
Photos – Simon Williams & Randal Wark
