The Offspring Live at AO Arena Manchester Review
Manchester never stood a chance. The Offspring rolled into the AO Arena and left the entire city in a sweaty, deafening, beautifully chaotic heap — but honestly, the night kicked off long before Dexter even grabbed a mic.
THE INTERMISSION CHAOS (AKA: The Wildest Half Hour of Your Life)
Normally, gig intermissions involve staring at your phone, buying an overpriced pint, or pretending you’re not judging the shoes of the person next to you.
Not tonight.
Not this tour.
Between Simple Plan and The Offspring, the AO Arena turned into a full-on circus run by absolute lunatics — and we loved every damned second of it.
- A giant gorilla appeared like it had escaped from Donkey Kong, firing a T-shirt cannon like its life depended on it.
- The crowd got whipped into mass karaoke with “Take On Me” and “Dancing Queen”, sung at top volume by 15,000 very sweaty Mancunians.
- A full suite of arena cams kept everyone entertained:
- Kiss Cam (plenty of awkward couples and yes they showed the coldplay one.
- Lookalike Cam (which successfully found Captain Jack Sparrow, Ed Sheeran, Jesus.
- Booty Cam Shake that ass.
- F* You Cam**
- Headbang Cam
- Kiss Cam (plenty of awkward couples and yes they showed the coldplay one.
- All hosted by the funniest hype-man voiceover you’ve ever heard — part game show host, part unhinged uncle at Christmas.
- And floating above everyone like some rebellious Zeppelin was an airship circling the arena proudly flashing “F* YOU”** in giant letters.
A true moment for art.
By the time this absolute carnival ended, the entire sold-out arena was feral. Primed. Ready. Hungry.
And then The Offspring walked out…
FULL-THROTTLE PUNK CHAOS
The band hit the stage with “Come Out and Play” (with Jason “Blackball” McLean adding fire), and the arena ignited.
Mosh pits weren’t happening — they were spawning, popping up everywhere like whack-a-mole on steroids.
The crowd? Off the charts. Untamed. Glorious.
Straight into “All I Want”, “Want You Bad”, and “Looking Out for #1”, they had Manchester bouncing like it was running on pure caffeine and childhood trauma.
Dexter’s voice? Still sharp enough to slice concrete.
Noodles? A gremlin with a guitar, cracking jokes between riffs like he was warming up for a Netflix special, speaking of which Simple plan have one but its on Prime.
MAYHEM, METAL & CHAOS
We got it all:
- “Bad Habit” (complete with the passionate arena-wide “YOU STUPID, DUMB S***HEAD!”)
- A fiery mash of “Paranoid”, “Electric Funeral”, and “Crazy Train” a great tribute to Ozzy.
- A completely unhinged “In the Hall of the Mountain King”
- A riotous “I Wanna Be Sedated”
- A drum solo that could rattle fillings
And then Dexter went soft on us — in the best way.
MOTION, CHAOS AGAIN, AND DEXTER’S BONUS SERENADES
The piano version of “Gone Away” dropped the arena into pure silence — a whole sea of people swaying, hugging, or pretending they weren’t emotional.
Then Dexter decided to play Manchester’s favourite game:
Guess the stadium anthem.
And yes, he nailed both:
- “Wonderwall” (cue 15,000 Mancs screaming like they’d been waiting all year)
- “Hey Jude”, which turned into a chaotic karaoke war between the two sides of the arena.
Then back into chaos:
“Why Don’t You Get a Job?”, “Pretty Fly (for a White Guy)”, and the almighty “The Kids Aren’t Alright.”
Encore? Chef’s kiss.
“You’re Gonna Go Far, Kid” → “Self Esteem.”
A perfect trifecta to finish us off.
SIMPLE PLAN – PERFECT STARTER COURSE
Before the madness, Simple Plan set things off with a nostalgia-laced pop-punk blast.
“I’m Just a Kid” felt like rewinding everyone’s life to 2003, but with better microphones.
FINAL VERDICT
The Offspring didn’t just play Manchester — they obliterated it.
This wasn’t a gig.
It was an event.
A night of epic proportions, chaos, comedy, nostalgia, sweat, riffs, and one very rude airship.
If you missed this tour… you NEED tickets for London next year.
No excuses.
⭐ Rating: 10/10 — A perfect storm of punk rock, stupidity, talent, and absolute joy.
Gunter gleiben glauchen globen mofo’s
READ MORE….
The Offspring Live at AO Arena Manchester Review @RockNews
