POP MUSIC REVIEWS : Loyalty to Punk Rock Brings Fans to Offspring

Orange County’s prodigal sons, the Offspring, returned to the Los Angeles area Saturday night for their last show of 1995, closing the books on a surprising year with an equally unpredictable performance at the Olympic Velodrome.

Before last summer, the Offspring would have been lucky to play to a crowd of 200 around Los Angeles. But on Saturday--with 4 million copies of their aptly titled “Smash” album sold since then--the group played to around 8,000 fans, many of them following the band’s songs word for word.

The size and attentiveness of the crowd was the only sign this was an arena-rock concert. The Offspring played it like it was a club show, offering a stripped-down sloppy sound, a minimal lighting system and a punkish informality not typically seen at concerts this size.

On one hand, this could be seen as a sign that this quartet is still unprepared for large-scale concerts. It’s nicer to think, though, that this was somewhat intentional--that the band wants to keep it simple and, more important, punk.

And staying punk has to be a concern of the group. One supposed fan brought on stage to help sing “Come Out and Play” ended up grabbing the microphone and declaring, “The Offspring are a bunch of [expletive] sell-outs.” (He, of course, then made the farthest stage dive he could). That, like much of the criticism commercial success has brought them, had to hurt.

But the Offspring are still on the independent Epitaph label, still do not gouge fans with high ticket and merchandise prices, and still play what could more or less be called punk rock. Songs like “Killboy Powerhead,” “We Are One” and even the new “Smash It Up” single were played with the same drive and energy of old Black Flag or Minor Threat numbers. And judging by the restlessness, the haggard appearance and the overall attitude of the young crowd Saturday night, if the Offspring aren’t selling authentic punk, they sure are fooling a lot of people.

Two benefactors of the Offspring’s success also played Saturday. First up was Wax, one of many new punk bands popping up on major labels. Then came the Vandals, an early ‘80s outfit that proved it has, in fact, come back to life. New York hard-rockers Quicksand, meanwhile, performed the night’s most impressive music, but their guitar-driven set didn’t impress the crowd that was mostly there for the punk rhythms.