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 Los Angeles, CA - Great Western Forum November 18, 2000 Artist: The Offspring I braved the heavy traffic on Saturday the 18th of November to get to the Great Western Forum here in L.A. to catch The Offspring. The anticipation was evident as I was scrambling to find the box office to pick up my tickets. It seemed like all walks of life came from everywhere to see The Offspring kick off the first show on a worldwide tour. After plunking down $8.50 for a glass of beer. I got to my seat just as MxPx was playing their opening set. The crowd's eagerness grew as soon as the next group took stage. That group would be Cypress Hill with special guests Fear Effect. After they rocked the house and the thin layer of pot smoke dissipated, Offspring took the stage around 9:30. The curtain rose to reveal a gritty downtown back-alley graffiti ridden set that stood ominously as the crowd cheered. Suddenly a guitar creeked and the crowd went bezerk. About a minute later 12 strobe lights glimmered and The Offspring kicked-off the first show of their worldwide tour. Inevitably, the mosh pit and crowd surfing commenced as "Keep it separated" filled the Forum. The crowd was just electric. From time-to-time a garage door would open up revealing their friends playing percussion. From the new album Conspiracy of One, they played a number of songs that included "A Million Miles Away" and "Dammit, I Changed Again." Some surprises for the night were when Intermission from the album Ixnay on the Hombre album signaled cannons to shoot off confetti filling the Forum. Lead singer Dexter Holland sat in a purple blow chair as the portly guitar roadie danced around in a speedo. Please keep in mind if you've ever seen The Offspring live, he's not the most fit person. To be honest with you I didn't need to see all that. Musically speaking, the songs off their new cd are not very different from their past albums. Although they are a bit more mature than their last album Americana, It seems they're sticking to their guns and playing what works for them. The fans seem to love every bit of it. As the show came to an end, hundreds of bic lighters lit up the arena and the band came on to finish out the night on a high note. One funny instance was my date elbowing me in the head during Pretty fly for a White Guy. I took one for the band and kept my composure and made it out alive to bring you this review. If you get the chance to catch them by all means do so. They rock! By Brandon Turchiano, from Buzzine - November 20, 2000 Read another review of this concert from Rolling Stone |
