Concert Review: 311 And The Offspring (PNC Music Pavilion)

311 and The Offspring are midway through the Never-Ending Summer Tour, an awesome co-headlining summer tour that launched in California in late July and will ultimately end on September 9th in Wichita. We were able to catch them on their only stop in the Carolinas, August 8th at Charlotte's PNC Music Pavilion. Fun fact: to promote the tour, 311 covered The Offspring's "Self-Esteem" and The Offspring covered 311's "Down." I kind of wish the Pixies and Weezer had done something similar to promote their summer tour.

After a rain-delayed and rain-shortened set from Gym Class Heroes, The Offspring took the stage. Despite the rain, the band was on fire. Singer Dexter Holland sounded great, especially on the slowed-down and piano-driven "Gone Away." Guitarist Noodles tore up the guitar as the band played hit after hit from their glory days with a few newer tracks sprinkled in. Over half of the tracks they performed were from 1994's Smash and 1998's Americana. They even threw in a cover of AC/DC's "Who Lotta Rosie" for good measure.

The only complaint? Because this was a co-headlining tour, The Offspring's set was a little shorter than normal and there were a few more songs we would have loved to hear.

THE OFFSPRING SET LIST

"Americana"
"All I Want"
"Come Out And Play"
"It Won't Get Better"
"Want You Bad"
"The Noose"
"Staring At The Sun"
"Have You Ever"
"Whole Lotta Rosie" (AC/DC cover)
"Bad Habit"
"Gotta Get Away"
"Gone Away"
"Why Don't You Get A Job?"
"You're Gonna Go Far, Kid"
"(Can't Get My) Head Around You"
"Pretty Fly (For A White Guy)"
"The Kids Aren't Alright"
"Self Esteem"

I'll be honest: I was much more of a fan of The Offspring than 311. Sure I knew 311's radio hits, their Cure cover, and a few other tracks, but I wasn't what you might consider a "true fan." All that changed after seeing them live. Lead singer Nick Hexum is a great frontman who put on an energetic and charismatic show. The band sounded tight and guitarist Tim Mahoney was great behind his huge array of pedals.

But it was DJ/rapper Doug "SA" Martinez who won me over. He was spitting out rhymes as fast as he could, robot-dancing across the stage, before scurrying back to the turntable. Then all of the sudden, he'd be out of the shadows again, rapping and dancing some more. He was fun to listen to and even more fun to watch.

311 SET LIST

"Come Original"
"All Mixed Up"
"Do You Right"
"Prisoner"
"Wildfire"
"Don't Stay Home"
"Lovesong" (Cure cover)
"Lucky"
"Beautiful Disaster"
"Beyond the Gray Sky"
"Applied Science"
"I'll Be Here Awhile"
"Too Late"
"Amber"
"You Wouldn't Believe"
"Flowing"
"Creatures (For A While)"
"Down"

The bands will be touring together through September 9th and tickets can be purchased through Live Nation.