Images: Offspring and Mercy Music July 24, 2016 at Brooklyn Bowl Las Vegas

My first experience at Brooklyn Bowl Las Vegas was seeing Modest Mouse destroy to a packed crowd inside this extremely luxurious building. Brooklyn Bowl is a proper venue with all the proper venue amenities that makes a living-room-show-loving punk like myself feel extremely out of place. The ceilings are high, there’s an escalator ride that leads you into the action, along with a restaurant, smoking area with a balcony view, multiple bars, a goddamn bowling alley, and of course, a gorgeous stage with an incredible sound. It’s the kind of venue you get asked to play when you know you’re doing things right.

Any hard working artist given the chance to showcase what they’ve made on this stage is facing a daunting and arduous task. That’s exactly what locals, Mercy Music, would be doing on this night; being direct support to The Offspring at what felt like was a nearly sold-out show.

Mercy Music have laboriously become a proud staple of what the Vegas scene can be capable of producing. I’ve seen these guys effortlessly slay a backyard as easily as they do in front of hundreds of people, with the same amount of energy and intrepidity that broods a sense of talent that is second-nature to this raw trio. Words don’t do them justice, it’s something you have to witness in person to fully comprehend. You’re watching professionals work their magic. This set was nothing short of that.

By the time Mercy hit the stage, the sea of people cramped together ready to experience them for the first time was heartwarming. Belting away song after song, Brendan Scholz (guitar/vocals), Jarred Cooper (bass), and Rye Martin (drums), played as if it would make or break for them, which in many ways, it might. Playing key tracks from their debut record When I Die, I’m Taking You with Me, the audience was loving every minute of it.

Every dream I had as a kid of whaling an epic guitar solo in front of a sea of people is pretty much beyond me now, but it’s a reality for Scholz, who looks and sounds like a seasoned guitar god. The heaps of air guitars raised up following along to Scholz’s wizardry was an epic sight to behold, and set up against the locked-in rhythm section Martin and Cooper have nailed down, it just makes me wonder why the fuck these guys aren’t the biggest thing around. They’re certainty more than ready for it.

After being properly warmed up by Mercy’s incredible set, the Brooklyn Bowl crowd was amped for The Offspring to hit the stage. As they did, the mosh pits instantly started, and to the credit of crowd stamina, didn’t stop the whole night. By this point in time, Offspring require little to no introduction, or reminders of their cred. These Huntington Beach punks have pretty much accomplished all there is to accomplish in the music industry, and it’s evident they deserve the place they hold in the punk community. As they initiated their set, I looked out into the packed room and saw first hand in the smiling faces of the crowd the impact they’ve had on a whole generation of people.

Dexter Holland still has that magic touch the band had in their prime. His voice is intact with time, and he can command a crowd like no other. I forgot just how many memorable hits Offspring has had over the years. Besides two songs that I wasn’t quite familiar with, their entire set consisted of hit after hit, something that is rare among bands. Every word was sung along to by the crowd throughout the night. I saw kids and adults who poured their hearts out giving back the same energy the band was putting out on stage. It’s one of those magic moments in music. Time has passed and they’re definitely older, but behind their instruments they might as well be the same age they were when their albums were going platinum and gold, and gracing the cover of every music magazine and MTV music video.

I was ready to start bashing any notion of trying to capitalize on the fame they once had, had they happened to give out that vibe, but that was the opposite of the case. Talent was the keyword of the night. Talent that’s been worked on and mastered with years of grueling tour schedules and album cycles. The Offspring can out perform almost any young hyped up band today.

-Alan Madrigal

Photos by Anthony Constantine | https://www.facebook.com/anthonycphotography