Audacious and Unleashed - Offspring’s Pop-Punk Uprising in Manchester
- Matty Bez
- Nov 17
- 3 min read
AO Arena, Manchester, 16th November 2025
WORDS MATTY BEZ / IMAGES FEDERICA BURELLI
The Offspring were in town and it was a full-throttle punk-rock blast from the past, present, and somewhere very loud in the future. Tonight, The Offspring cranked the dial all the way up at Manchester’s AO Arena on their “Supercharged Worldwide ’25” tour, delivering a masterclass in arena punk: familiar, cheeky, and surprisingly heavy — an audacious attack on the eardrums from start to finish.
After a fun-packed intermission — which included T-shirt cannons, fan competitions, lookalikes and kiss cams (made infamous by the Coldplay “incident”) — the band burst onto the stage and blasted off hard into their tried-and-tested set for this leg of the tour. Highlights included “Come Out and Play,” “All I Want,” and “Want You Bad.”
What stood out most was the mid-show section: a head-spinning tribute featuring a string of covers. There was a dose of Sabbath with “Paranoid” and a blistering hit of “Crazy Train,” paying homage to Ozzy. The nod to Sabbath and Ozzy felt genuine, not gimmicky, and was followed by a chaotic, high-speed Ramones cover of “I Wanna Be Sedated.”
Back to their own catalogue, the arena swelled for “Gotta Get Away,” before dropping into something more tender with a stripped-back version of “Gone Away.” The arena fell still as the piano-led rendition turned the room solemn, the crowd lighting up phone torches as Dexter’s voice cut through with pure emotion.
And of course, no Offspring show would be complete without the sing-along bangers: “Why Don’t You Get a Job?”, “Pretty Fly (For a White Guy),” and the powerful, bittersweet “The Kids Aren’t Alright.” Then the encore hit like a sledgehammer — “You’re Gonna Go Far, Kid,” followed by the eternal chorus of “Self-Esteem.”
From the off, the energy was manic. The tour’s production was as impressive as you’d expect — big video screens, cheeky visuals, fire effects, confetti cannons, bouncing balls and even giant inflatable skeletons flanking the stage.
Dexter Holland and Noodles remain the charismatic heart of the show — always joking, always commanding, always tight. Newer members (including bassist Todd Morse and drummer Brandon Pertzborn) held their own effortlessly, locking into that signature Offspring groove with swagger.
This wasn’t your dusty old punk show — The Offspring proved they can still own an arena without losing their scruffy charm. They balanced nostalgia with new energy and managed to feel both familiar and unpredictable. Crowd-pleasing bangers, theatrical covers, heartbreaking quieter moments — all wrapped in a production that made the AO Arena pulse.
If you were in Manchester tonight, you witnessed a punk-rock veteran band still proudly Supercharged — and they showed exactly why they’re still worth shouting along to, decades in.
SET LIST
Come Out and Play
Want You Bad
Looking Out for #1
Staring at the Sun
Hit That / Original Prankster
Hammerhead
Make It All Right
Bad Habit
Electric Funeral / Paranoid
(Black Sabbath cover) (Snippet)
Crazy Train
(Ozzy Osbourne cover) (Snippet)
In the Hall of the Mountain King
(Edvard Grieg cover)
I Wanna Be Sedated
(Ramones cover)
Gotta Get Away
Gone Away
Hey Jude
(The Beatles cover)
Why Don't You Get a Job?
Pretty Fly (for a White Guy)
The Kids Aren't Alright
Encore:
You're Gonna Go Far, Kid
Self Esteem
FOLLOW THE OFFSPRING
Comments