The O2, London, November 15 2025
Although they emerged in different generations, there’s a prominent connection that unites The Offspring and Simple Plan.
That’s the unbridled joy they get from creating good times.
It may seem like something that should come naturally to bands. After all, live music is your bread and butter, and putting on a show is part and parcel of what it means to grow and prosper in this game.
But few put so much focus on making sure every single person before them leaves with the biggest smile they have ever conjured plastered across their faces. Crafting an atmosphere that makes everyone forget about whatever else may be troubling them and off up the chance to lose themselves in songs that have been the soundtrack to every chapter of their lives.
It’s why the two bands go hand in hand, and why this stop at London’s The O2 on their freewheeling European tour is sold out and then some. Because in these strange and uncertain times, people need this escape, and the energy reverberating around this vast dome of a room on a Friday night to end all Friday nights shows just how ready they are for this one.
So first to Simple Plan. Walking out to the iconic title theme from Star Wars is a tall introduction for anyone, but when your roster is as stratospheric as theirs, it feels somewhat fitting. From the punchy intent of ‘I’d Do Anything’ and youthful rebellion of ‘Shut Up!’ through to the tropical jauntiness of ‘Summer Paradise’ and brash moodiness of ‘Your Love Is A Lie’, their whole story is represented in shimmering colour and delivered to utter perfection. It is pop-punk at its most vibrant and vivacious, and it is devoured hungrily by a crowd already packed to the rafters.
And that’s all before a legion of Scooby Doos find their way on stage and cause utter chaos, all to bolster an already crisp ‘What’s New Scooby Doo?’, another reminder of just how embedded into popular culture the band are. That’s demonstrated more so by the throwback one-two of ‘I’m Just A Kid’ and ‘Perfect’, rounding things out in true angst-riddled and adolescent style.
Still having so much of who you are and what you represent resonate just as much in 2025 as they did in 2005 is a blessing in itself. But for it to feel this thrilling and to be able to deliver it with this much vigour pushes things into a totally new echelon. Long may such a connection continue.
It sets things up perfectly for what The Offspring, who push the party to breaking point before they even take to the stage with a brilliantly constructed Intermission Show, complete with Booty, Kiss and Fuck You Cams, prize giveaways and a gorilla causing utter mayhem in the stands. By the time that ‘Come Out And Play’ kicks off, what already feels like a masterclass in punk-rock jubilance, the roof is ready to fly off.
Much in the same way as Simple Plan took this bumper attendance through every beat of their story, Dexter, Noodles and the gang are in a similar mood. From the frantic pit-fuel of ‘All I Want’ and ‘Bad Habit’ to the cheeky medley of ‘Hit That’ and ‘Original Prankster’ and gloriously rampant melodies of ‘Hammerhead’, the band set out to show exactly why they have stayed at the genre’s peak for so many years. The reaction is one of euphoria, every choral woah-oh and soaring refrain met with the sort of reckless abandon that life is made for. From the endless movement on the floor to the hips shaking and arms aloft in every corner of the stands, you can feel just how needed this performance was. As much a release of youthful energy as a solid prompt that this scene still has plenty of legs in it.
Speaking of which, even tracks from the band’s recent records, specifically the spiky ‘Let The Bad Times Roll’ and the brilliantly raucous ‘Looking Out For #1’, receive a rapturous response, a signal of just how welcomed modern-day work is into the repertoire, as much as the classics. It’s this devotion and unbridled love for what The Offspring conjure that goes a long way to showing why tonight is such a special occasion.
There’s even time for a tribute to Ozzy Osbourne via a tight run-through of both 'Paranoid’ and 'Crazy Train’, a nod to the punk forefathers with a gripping take on The Ramones' ‘I Wanna Be Sedated’ and a trip into classical with Noodles pulling out a properly impressive version of ‘In The Hall Of The Mountain King’.
And that’s all before we really get stuck in. A forever silly ‘Pretty Fly (For A White Guy)’, a spine-tingling ‘The Kids Aren’t Alright’, a carnage-laced ‘You’re Gonna Go Far, Kid’ and a snotty ‘Self Esteem’, as perfect a representation of all of the different masks that the band can wear, see proceedings out in breathless style.
And much like it was intended, there is not a frown in sight.
For a period, when rock music felt like it was taking a back seat, occasions such as this were not just few and far between, but also moments to hold on to, just in case they never happened again. However, this is just the way things are now. Be it the want of returning to a simpler time, or a reliving of a misspent youth, a want and need to experience the songs that made us who we are or a new generation finding themselves in this wondrous sound. The reality is that it is probably a little bit of all of this, and that is an amazing place to be.
Having bands like The Offspring and Simple Plan, which have seen and done it all but have no intention of slowing down, selling out, and dominating rooms of this size in 2025, is something that should be celebrated; it also shows what the benchmark now is. It also shows just how in rude health this thing that we love so much is right now.
So, savour it. Drink it in. Because it’s been a long time coming.
