By Jae-Ha Kim
Chicago Sun-Times
May 15, 1997
There are few things as irritating as bands that slag other groups from the stage. At the Offspring’s show Tuesday night at the Aragon, vocalist Dexter Holland repeatedly slammed the Spice Girls and took a couple of cheap shots at Guns N’ Roses as well as the youthful trio Hanson.
The irony is that this came from some musicians whose two best songs start with “Ya ya ya ya ya!” and “La la la la la!” intros.
Say what you will about the stage presence of the Spice Girls and Hanson, but Guns N’ Roses in its prime could have mopped the floor with Offspring. Guns N’ Roses constantly challenged itself with punk-inspired hard rock as well as overblown opuses. And just as important, the band almost always delivered live.
The Offspring – which also had a sold-out show Wednesday at the Riviera – is a highly talented and accomplished band that happens to be much less interesting at shows than on records.
Wearing camouflage pants, a black T-shirt and a green jacket, Holland worked hard to get the audience revved up.
And they responded by turning the main floor into one furious, swirling mosh pit as the four-man group from Southern California whipped through anthemic rockers such as “Self Esteem,” “Gotta Get Away” and “All I Want.”
Holland’s voice, which is equal parts whiny defiance and desperate longing, conveys an urgent edge that makes people sit up and listen. And his vocals held up well through the night through cuts from the current album, “Ixnay on the Hombre,” and the 1994 breakthrough “Smash.”
For 80 minutes Tuesday the musicians cranked out song after song at a breakneck punk pace, but that speed (and decibel level) grew old about halfway through.
So did their pandering to the adolescent audience by repeating the f-word ad nauseum. The first time, it makes an impact. The 10th time, it’s time to think of another expletive or, better yet, something interesting to say.
