Whoever is in charge of scheduling at the Del Mar Races always seems to pair the Craft Beer Fest featuring more than 100 craft beers from over 40 local breweries with the rowdiest band playing for the season. It seems like a disaster in the making which is even more reason that Ingrid, Bob, Jasmine and I chose to go see The Offspring again at the very same place I last saw them three years earlier. Their newest album was still Days Go By released right before that last time I had seen them but let’s be real: they did not need new material to promote. The Offspring is always a fun time and have been around long enough and had enough success to release a Greatest Hits album. Part of the reason I love beer is that I know exactly what I am getting every time. The same can be said about The Offspring. There was nothing earth shatteringly different about this performance compared to all the other times I saw them but that consistent awesomeness is exactly what keeps me coming back for more.
SETLIST: All I Want, Bad Habit, Come Out and Play, Coming for You, Mota, Have You Ever, Staring at the Sun, Want You Bad, Genocide, Slim Pickens Does the Right Thing and Rides the Bomb to Hell, Walla Walla, Gone Away, Gotta Get Away, Why Don’t You Get a Job?, Americana, You’re Gonna Go Far, Kid, Pretty Fly (For a White Guy), The Kids Aren’t Alright, (Can’t Get My) Head Around You, Self Esteem
On August 10th in the year 2012 Ken, Tom and Jason joined me in Del Mar for some horse racing, beer drinking and The Offspring. They were touring for the album Days Go By that was just released about a month and a half before this and the only song I knew on the album was the re-recorded version of “Dirty Magic.” Upon first listening all I could think was “why would they do this?” The original version is so much better and is one of my favorite tracks on Ignition. Humble opinions aside I remember a tight set in which one song rolled into another without much banter between songs. The crowds have always been raucous each time I have seen The Offspring but this time the band actually had to temporarily pause the show after a couple songs in because the barricade in front of the stage had come down. Whoops!
SETLIST: All I Want, Come Out and Play, Days Go By, Have You Ever, Staring at the Sun, Dividing by Zero, Slim Pickens Does the Right Thing and Rides the Bomb to Hell, Bad Habit, Gotta Get Away, You’re Gonna Go Far, Kid, Hit That, Kristy, Are You Doing Okay?, Why Don’t You Get a Job?, Americana, Want You Bad, Pretty Fly (For a White Guy), The Kid’s Aren’t Alright, (Can’t Get My) Head Around You, Self Esteem
I had just seen The Offspring about a year before this at the Weenie Roast but now Rise and Fall, Rage and Grace was actually out and they were headlining their own tour. I am fairly certain Bob or his friend from work that went with us scored these tickets for free. I cannot tell you who opened but I can tell you that The Offspring were on point. The energy and performance of the songs were just too contagious to ignore. Then again if you were there voluntarily you were probably not there to avoid it. The highlight for me was right before Dexter played a solo version of “Gone Away” on the piano he played the Charlie Brown theme song. It put a great big smile on my face. I guess you had to be there…oh wait. Lucky for you someone caught it on video and posted it on YouTube so you can pretend you were there too.
SETLIST: “Stuff Is Messed Up,” “Bad Habit,” “You’re Gonna Go Far, Kid,” “ Come Out and Play,” “Have You Ever,” “Staring at the Sun,” “Half-Truism,” “Gone Away,” “Fix You,” “Intermission,” “Gotta Get Away,” “All I Want,” “Why Don’t You Get a Job?,” “Kristy, Are You Doing Okay?,” “Americana,” “Pretty Fly (For a White Guy),” “(Can’t Get My) Head Around You,” “The Kids Aren’t Alright,” “Hammerhead,” “Want You Bad,” “Self Esteem”
The KROQ Weenie Roast is an annual multi-artist music concert hosted by L.A.’s biggest rock station KROQ that was held at the Irvine Meadows Amphitheater up until it was demolished in 2016. This was the first time Marvin, Bob, Bob’s then girlfriend or I had ever been to the now defunct cookie-cutter amphitheater. I did not have a ticket but Marvin has his ways and found me a ticket in the parking lot.
Ticket secured and however many beers later we walked in at the top of the hill to a band playing that looked like it was being fronted by a dark hairy mass with a guitar that resembled Kim Thayil from Soundgarden. Just as I was laughing with the boys about this I realized that the frontman was a beard clad Daron Malakian from System of a Down. I did not know the songs because Scars on Broadway were still a couple of months away from releasing their eponymous album but I was instantly hooked, especially once I saw his brother from System of a Down John Dalmayan drumming behind him.
Apparently we missed MGMT on the second stage but that is because none of us knew who they were yet. Seether was next on the main stage and I had literally seen them a month before this. No complaints here as they were just as rocking during the daylight hours as they were headlining their own show in the darkness.
The Raconteurs were touring for their newest effort Consolers of the Lonely that was released about two months before this. I had the pleasure of seeing them one other time in a tiny place after the first album (see The Raconteurs 7/19/06) and was more than ecstatic to see the new songs performed live. Jack White = Guitar God.
Apparently the only time I saw The Offspring about seven years prior to this was not long before they took a little hiatus, but now they were back to promote the album Rise and Fall, Rage and Grace that was about to be released. We did get a teaser of the new album less than two weeks before this show with the release of the single “Hammerhead.” Solid setlist, solid performance and so much energy that even the crowd in the very steep lawn section got moving. This was the first time I saw bonfires break out in the lawn section if that gives any indication of how rowdy the crowd was. If that’s not rock n’ roll then I don’t know what is.
SETLIST: Come Out and Play, The Kids Aren’t Alright, Hammerhead, All I Want, Gone Away, Staring at the Sun, Gotta Get Away, Want You Bad, You’re Gonna Go Far, Kid, Bad Habit, Pretty Fly (For a White Guy), (Can’t Get My) Head Around You, Self Esteem
We were still about four months away from the release of Death Magnetic at the time of this show and I had not seen Metallica since the very first time I saw them over 12 years prior at Lollapalooza 1996. Both the show and upcoming album marked the introduction of bassist Robert Trujillo but Metallica avoided playing any new material. This was a set of balls-to-the-wall epic Metallica classics and they looked happy to be out of the confines of the studio and back onto a stage.
SETLIST: Creeping Death, Fuel, For Whom the Bell Tolls, The Unforgiven, Wherever I May Roam, Harvester of Sorrow, The Memory Remains, Fade to Black, Master of Puppets, Battery, Sad but True, One, Enter Sandman, So What, Seek & Destroy
Much like Rockfest this concert was also a ways away from Portland. Lucinda and I journeyed about an hour the opposite direction but it was once again well worth it. I bought the ticket just to see The Offspring but wasn’t complaining that Stabbing Westward and Everclear were there as well. Nickelback was also there and on the verge of coming into mainstream consciousness with their song “How You Remind Me.” I’ll admit that I like that song but am not a fan of Nickelback. I only caught about 10 minutes of their set and I do believe they were on the second stage. It is pretty funny since they turned out to be one of the most commercially successfully bands of the 2000’s and one of the most made fun of as well. I learned about Stabbing Westward because Rose was a huge fan. I like a handful of their songs and they put on a decent show from the second stage. This was my third time seeing Everclear but this occasion was different. They thickened their live sound by adding two members from the Sweaty Nipples to play percussion and guitar respectively. This was still in essence a hometown show for them so they put their best foot forward much to the delight of the audience. The closers were The Offspring. Jack insisted I listen to the Smash album after he learned of them from the single “Come Out and Play.” The Offspring became a friend favorite from that moment forward but I never had the chance to see them until this show. They were touring for the album Conspiracy of One by this time but didn’t hesitate to go deep into their catalog. From the moment they took the stage until the time they went off the whole place was insane. They just played fast three-minute songs one right after another. The entire floor area was a mosh pit and I especially enjoyed the songs they played from Ixnay on the Hombre.
