Orlando, FL - The Edge
March 10, 1995

"We're the only band here tonight that doesn't have a new album out," remarked lead singer Dexter Holland, while on stage. On March 10, Offspring performed at the Edge concert field in Orlando as part of their Smash tour.

Opening bands for Offspring included No Use for a Name and Quicksand. Quicksand put on quite a performance with some very strong, overpowering guitar work.

At 7:45 p.m. exactly, Offspring overtook the stage and the crowd exploded in cheers, chucking handfuls of wood chips towards the stage and each other. They began with one of their stronger songs, "Bad Habit."

Halfway through the song, the crowd ran out of wood chips and began chucking each other at the stage. As hurled bodies came flying to the stage, burly security guards would intercept them in mid-flight and hurl them back. It was a very interesting sight, to say the least. Offspring went on to sing more favorites such as "Nitro (Youth Energy)," "Come Out and Play (Keep'm Separated)," and "Self Esteem."

During the beginning of "Self Esteem," the crowd erupted in singing and bouncing. At first, the band allowed them to fill in some lyrics, but as the song continued the crowd eventually overpowered Offspring and went on to sing the whole song by themselves. One audience member was hopping (perhaps you could call it vibrating) at a maddening speed while guzzling his beer and wiggling his head. Needless to say, nobody was going anywhere near this guy.

Overall, the performance was excellent. Strobe lights highlighted the awesome drum performance, while multi-colored lights turned the hundreds of crowd members into a sea of red, blue and green.

During the song, "Genocide," a video appeared behind the group, adding another dimension to the already powerful song. The only disappointment was the sound level of the guitars. There were three guitars onstage, yet they were still being drowned out by the drums. This was a disappointment, since on the Smash album the guitars create the back bone of most of the songs with their loud, crisp melodies.

Halfway through the concert, the guitars picked up a bit with the performance of "What Happened To You?," but then died down again. I wish the guitarists from Quicksand could have stuck around and helped out with the needed guitar-backing.

Other than that, the concert was a smash (no pun intended). Offspring played an awesome, energy packed show that kept the audience hopping and singing along for the entire hour (or so) that they were onstage.