Summer Nationals Review 8/30/14

It seemed like only yesterday that The Offspring rocked the the Pacific Amphitheatre, but now they are back again with a whole new cast of legendary supporting acts for The Summer Nationals tour. The Offspring, Bad Religion, and Pennywise firstcombed the United States together in 1994, and after 20 years they toured together again with ever rotating supply of openers. The five week tour had hit or miss dates with bands like The Vandals, Stiff Little Fingers, Naked Raygun, and even The Story So Far. This writer caught the show on September 30th at the Sleep Train Amphitheatre in Chula Vista, California, and was blown away by the sheer amount of punk rock royalty packed into one show.

_DSC7819Irish punk band Stiff Little Fingers may have been the openers on this particular show, but have been putting out solid quality records for over 37 years. The band released No Going Back earlier this year and proved despite several lineup changes Stiff Little Fingers can belt out new tracks and old favorites alike with enough energy to put younger bands to shame. Amidst old favorites the band covered iconic ska group The Specials and even had time to play the last track off their newest release titled “When We Were Young”. This was an awesome start to an unforgettable night, but had somewhat of a small audience.

vandalsThe pit began to grow once The Vandals hit the stage just in time to catch Warren Fitzgerald’s flamboyant attire. This band may not have taken themselves seriously, but end up being seriously hilarious. Their set kicked off with “It’s A Fact” and didn’t slow down the entire way through.  Brooks Wackerman filled in on drums as the rest of The Vandals danced, jumped, ran through hits like “Oi To The World”, “Anarchy Burger”, and “My Girlfriend’s Dead” before Warren energetically took center stage for the band’s cover of Queen’s “Don’t Stop Me Now”.

Once Pennywise, the first of the tour’s consistent members, hopped onstage all hell broke loose. Circle pits could be seen all the way back to the lawn, but that didn’t stop crowd surfers from hurtling over the front barricade. This was especially the case when Bad Religon’s newest member Jay Bentley was carried onto the stage for a fantastic Bad Religion cover. After songs like “Society” and “Perfect People” Jim Lindberg decided to show the crowd his take on The Ramones cult favorite “Blitzkrieg Bop”. By the time fans started chanting that ever familiar “Bro Hymn” chorus security had their hands full. Their set really got the crowd riled up, and ready for Bad Religion.

bad religion1Unlike Greg Graffin’s white hair, Bad Religion’s punk rock spirit hasn’t faded with the times. Their set was full of classic favorites like “Sorrow” and “I Want To Conquer The World”, but the crowd really started moving about half way through their set once they hit “Generator”. The Newest edition to Bad Religion’s roster, guitarist Mike Dimkich, was a true stand out. His mobile performance proved he belonged beside the greats, and kept this writer entertained until the band concluded their set with “American Jesus”

By this time the crowd was eagerly anticipating the night’s headliner. Chula Vista may be somewhat far from the band’s hometown of Orange County California, but that didn’t stop Offspring fans from flocking to the Sleep Train Amphitheatre in droves. Not only was this niight celebrating 20 years of Summer Nationals, but also was part of the Smash 20 year anniversary tour. At each show The Offspring careened through their junior albumSmash in its entirety for its 20 year anniversary. Smash is still one of the highest selling independent albums of all time, and originally gave The Offspring the popularity it took to headline 1994’s Summer Nationals tour. The Offspring blew through all 13 tracks off the iconic album like a nostalgic trip down memory lane, but the party was far from finished.

offspringAs the band took a short intermission Joe Escalante of The Vandals rode around the stage on a unicycle like a mad man. Once fans had a good laugh The Offspring ran back onstage andbust into ”Americana”, “All I Want”, “Staring at the Sun”, and “Gone Away”. Dexter Holland even brought out his acoustic guitar for a special version of “Why Don’t You Get A Job?” before finishing the set with “(Can’t Get My) Head Around You”, “You’re Gonna Go Far, Kid”, “Pretty Fly (For A White Guy)”, and “The Kids Aren’t Alright”. Their set really paid homage to the songs that got them so far in the punk rock world. Skipping all songs off their most recent record, Days Gone By, was a nice twist and fit well with the night’s old school theme.

Overall The Sumer Nationals tour brought together some of the best punk rock bands to ever walk the face of the earth for a crazy low price. What really made this show stand out was the short turnover between bands. This small tweak really helped keep the night’s energy alive. One thing’s for sure, if these bands stick around another 20 years By the Barricade will be there to cover it!

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