The Summer Nationals Tour rolled into Boston Monday night as The Offspring headlined a bill that also featured Bad Religion, Pennywise and The Vandals. Not surprisingly, Bad Religion killed it, opening up with “Fuck You” from last year’s True North and tearing through punk rock classics “Infected,” “American Jesus” and the title track to 1992’s Generator.
The Offspring have been spending the spring and summer celebrating the 20th their breakout album, Smash, by playing it in full. Bolstered by the hits “Self Esteem,” “Come Out and Play” and “Gotta Get Away,” it’s surprising how robust the record still sounds two decades on. Those sentiments went out the window with the post-Smash encore that featured the corny late-90s radio favorites “Pretty Fly (For a White Guy)” and “Why Don’t You Get a Job?,” textbook examples of what pisses punk purists off most about The Offspring’s catalog.
Photos by Michael Christopher
