{"id":265817,"date":"2025-05-11T21:54:48","date_gmt":"2025-05-11T20:54:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.backseatmafia.com\/?p=265817"},"modified":"2025-05-11T21:54:48","modified_gmt":"2025-05-11T20:54:48","slug":"live-review-gallery-simple-plan-and-the-offspring-ignite-qudos-bank-arena-in-a-full-throttle-punk-resurrection-11-05-2025","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sharp-agnesi.109-228-47-29.plesk.page\/?p=265817","title":{"rendered":"Live Review & Gallery: Simple Plan and The Offspring ignite Qudos Bank Arena in a full-throttle punk resurrection 11.05.2025"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

It\u2019s a Sunday night in Sydney, but inside Qudos Bank Arena it feels like the start of a long weekend. As I\u2019m walking through Olympic Park, I pass a pub where “Song 2” and “Smells Like Teen Spirit” are being blasted so loud they\u2019re echoing off the side of Accor Stadium \u2014 it\u2019s clear: tonight is going to be big.

Simple Plan<\/a> are first on stage, taking their cue from pop culture royalty \u2014 the Star Wars theme soundtracking their entrance. The crowd roars. Lead singer Pierre Bouvier beams: they were here last year and they\u2019re thrilled to be back, especially because they \u201clove the accents.\u201d Then comes a question that lights up the room: \u201cWho wants to go to the beach with Simple Plan?\u201d Cue \u201cSummer Paradise\u201d, and suddenly massive beach balls bounce across the pit. \u201cI can\u2019t believe we get to come to Australia and get to watch them play with our balls,\u201d Bouvier laughs.

They dive into \u201cWhat\u2019s New Scooby Doo\u201d and a parade of Scooby Doos flood the stage in a scene that\u2019s as surreal as it is joyous. Bouvier reflects on their Aussie connection, telling us they’ve been coming here since 2002, playing alongside Green Day and The All-American Rejects, and that even though they\u2019re Canadian, they\u2019ve always felt at home here. That sense of belonging powers them through \u201cWhere I Belong.\u201d

When \u201cI\u2019m Just a Kid\u201d hits, Bouvier notes the song is now 23 years old \u2014 \u201cit can drink in every country in the world.\u201d In a moment of chaos, drummer Chuck Comeau swaps places with Bouvier and takes to the crowd, crowd-surfing as if 2005 never ended. They wrap with \u201cPerfect\u201d, which, on a night like this, kind of is.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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As their set ends, a giant blimp begins circling the arena ceiling, flashing The Offspring\u2019s logo, hyping up the already buzzing crowd. Then it fades, the lights drop \u2014 and the familiar crackle of AC\/DC\u2019s \u201cThunderstruck\u201d tears through the room.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The Offspring<\/a> burst on stage and launch into \u201cCome Out and Play\u201d without missing a beat. They barely pause for breath, thrashing through hit after hit. It\u2019s almost impossible to keep track \u2014 a medley of snippets, from \u201cSmoke on the Water\u201d to a searing rendition of \u201cBack in Black\u201d, makes this feel less like a setlist and more like a jukebox on fire.

The new additions \u2014 Todd Morse on bass, Brandon Pertzborn on drums, and Jonah Nimoy on guitar, keys and congas \u2014 fit in perfectly, locking in behind Dexter and Noodles like they\u2019ve been here all along. At one point, they rip through a raucous version of \u201cBlitzkrieg Bop\u201d, with giant holographic skeletons flashing on each side of the stage like a dystopian Day of the Dead.

After a thunderous drum solo, the lights go black. A kid in earmuffs turns to his dad and says, \u201cWhere is the light?\u201d Actually, there are a lot of kids here tonight \u2014 seven, eight years old, discovering punk rock for the first time through the lens of their parents’ nostalgia.

When they return, Dexter takes a moment, sipping from a drink and offering a simple, heartfelt \u201cCheers.\u201d He sits at the piano and delivers a stripped-back, emotional version of \u201cGone Away\u201d. \u201cLoved ones are the lights in our lives,\u201d he says, asking everyone to light up their phones for someone special. The arena glows in tribute \u2014 and then, just as suddenly, the band launches into the original version, fireworks of sound, stage lights and catharsis.

Suddenly, the beach balls are back, the crowd bouncing them wildly as \u201cWhy Don\u2019t You Get a Job?\u201d and \u201cPretty Fly (For a White Guy)\u201d get rolled out \u2014 the cartoon graphics from Americana bursting on the video screen in time with every beat.

They close with \u201cThe Kids Aren\u2019t Alright\u201d, and it\u2019s a reminder: pop punk never really dies \u2014 it just waits for nights like this.

And while Sydney gets the riot tonight, the Supercharged Worldwide in ’25 tour now heads into its final run: two huge shows in Brisbane to close it all out. If tonight\u2019s any indication, Queensland better buckle up.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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OFFSPRING\/SIMPLE PLAN NEXT SHOWS<\/p>\n\n\n\n

WEDNESDAY 14 MAY 2025 – ENTERTAINMENT CENTRE, BRISBANE SOLD OUT!
THURSDAY 15 MAY 2025 – ENTERTAINMENT CENTRE, BRISBANE NEW SHOW!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Head HERE<\/a> for ticketing information.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Pop-punk perfection: Simple Plan and The Offspring just blew the roof off Qudos Bank Arena<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":265835,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[28,33,34,9,12],"tags":[29,31,35,36,32,37,38],"class_list":["post-265817","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-backseatdownunder","category-gallery","category-live-review","category-music","category-news","tag-backseat-downunder","tag-news-2","tag-pop","tag-punk","tag-rockmetal","tag-simple-plan","tag-the-offspring"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sharp-agnesi.109-228-47-29.plesk.page\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/265817","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sharp-agnesi.109-228-47-29.plesk.page\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sharp-agnesi.109-228-47-29.plesk.page\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sharp-agnesi.109-228-47-29.plesk.page\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/6"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sharp-agnesi.109-228-47-29.plesk.page\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=265817"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/sharp-agnesi.109-228-47-29.plesk.page\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/265817\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sharp-agnesi.109-228-47-29.plesk.page\/index.php?rest_route=\/"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sharp-agnesi.109-228-47-29.plesk.page\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=265817"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sharp-agnesi.109-228-47-29.plesk.page\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=265817"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sharp-agnesi.109-228-47-29.plesk.page\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=265817"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}