Worcester, MA - Worcester Centrum
December 13, 2000



Offspring revives punk with catchy tunes, no-frills playing

The Offspring and Cypress Hill at the Worcester Centrum on Wednesday night.

The Offspring is the high-budget version of punk rock: big sound, big lights, big staging and mile-wide hooks.

When the band took the Worcester Centrum stage on Wednesday to a weighty taped intro and a wall of strobe lights, it looked like a big-time arena band was hitting town.

But as soon as band members started playing, the spirit of the Ramones and the Clash was in the house.

Of all the bands on the punk-revival circuit, the Offspring might write the catchiest tunes, and it has a distinctive, radio-friendly lead singer in Dexter Holland.

On Wednesday, the band was aided by a backup singer and a percussionist; but guitarist Kevin Noodles Wasserman, who plays chunky rhythm chords and hardly ever solos, kept them down to basics.

Except for a jokey intermission (with taped cocktail music and a near-naked Santa Claus) band members didn't waste any of their hour onstage.

Novelty hits such as "Why Don't You Get a Job" blended well with no-frills punk numbers from the band's early indie albums.

During Cypress Hill's opening set, frontman B-Real fueled speculation that he'll be the new singer for Rage Against the Machine. "You might have heard rumors that I'm about to join another band," he noted. "Let's just say that I would never leave this band.

"As for that other band, we'll see, baby. Watch your Web sites."

Maybe he's practicing to join Rage, because Cypress Hill is now doing some rock/metal along with its trademark brand of stoner rap.

The group's last album, "Skull & Bones," included a CD of each; and, on Wednesday, Cypress Hill made some jarring leaps between the two.

Thus a rap number urging the audience to do bong hits was followed by a rock tune urging it to start a riot - and those two activities hardly ever go together.

Cypress Hill's rock segment also included a surprising cover of Black Sabbath's "War Pigs," perhaps chosen because it's one of the easiest songs in the world to play.

By Brett Milano, from Boston Herald - December 16th, 2000

Read another review of this concert from NME