By Brent Michael, Rock At Night Tampa Senior Correspondent
Venue: MIDFLORIDA Credit Union Amphitheatre, Tampa, Florida–July 12th, 2025
Band Websites: New Found Glory, Jimmy Eat World, The Offspring
Band Facebook: New Found Glory, Jimmy Eat World, The Offspring
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When New Found Glory exploded onto the stage, my first thought was, “Hot damn, these guys are good!” Let me explain something about my approach to concerts: I never research the bands before the show. Obviously, many of the bands I’ve heard of, and some are even favorites of mine, but I’ve never been one to get hung up on the personalities, politics, or public foibles and drama of the bands. I prefer to focus on the music personally, so I often can’t name a single band member before I walk in the door. Now I’ve been involved with music as more than a fan since 1977, when I sang my first song on stage, I was in a band, worked as a DJ, and have used lots of music in videos I’ve shot and edited, spend a fair amount of time in local venues seeing cover bands perform, etc., so I’ve heard of most bands that have ever broken onto the national charts at some points, especially bands from Florida. But not this one, and I was astounded to learn they’ve been around since 1997, have put out a dozen albums plus, been compared to Blink-182 and Green Day as one of the three top pop punk bands, and had mostly the same lineup! Currently, that includes Jordan Pundik – lead vocals (1997–present); occasional rhythm guitar (2014–present), Ian Grushka – bass (1997–present); occasional backing vocals (2013–present), Cyrus Bolooki – drums, percussion (1997–present), and Chad Gilbert (who has been battling cancer for several years, and was not present. – lead guitar, backing vocals (1997–present); rhythm guitar (2013–present). Chad’s touring substitute is David Knox – lead and rhythm guitar (2024–present), and Dan O’Connor – rhythm and lead guitar, keyboards, backing vocals (2022, 2023–present).
I do have one complaint: Their set was too short! Only eight songs! I know, everyone has time limits, but I would really like to see more of them!
Next up was Jimmy Eat World, most known for their 2001 single, “The Middle,” which was played at the end of their set, and, “Pain,” which they opened with. Formed in Mesa, Arizona, in 1993, the band is composed of lead vocalist and lead guitarist Jim Adkins; rhythm guitarist and backing vocalist Tom Linton; bassist Rick Burch; and drummer Zach Lind. They have released ten studio albums, all but the first featuring the current line-up. Since 2011 their touring lineup includes Robin Vining on keyboards, rhythm guitar, percussion, and backing vocals. They have more of a pop-punk sound than New Found Glory, and I wasn’t surprised to learn they are also associated with emo as well. They had a bit longer of a set with twelve songs.
Finally, the band I came to see arrived, and they did not disappoint! Okay, funny story: It was 1994, I was working as the DJ/Emcee at a wedding, I had just picked up Smash, and while I was setting up I popped it into my CD player and cranked it up! After playing a couple tracks, one of the ladies working as a caterer -and at the time, I thought of her as “older” though she was probably about fifty! – asked me what I was playing. “The Offspring,” I replied, and she said, “Sounds like the Devil’s Offspring!” I’ll bet the band would’ve been honored! It sure made that memorable.
And here I am, 31 years later, finally getting to see them live! Well, two of them: Dexter Holland – lead vocals, rhythm and lead guitar (1984–present), keyboards (2006–present), bass (2018–present) and Kevin John “Noodles” Wasserman – lead and rhythm guitar, backing vocals (1985–present). They are now joined by Todd Morse – bass (2019–present), rhythm guitar (2009–2019; as touring musician), backing vocals (2009–present); Jonah Nimoy – rhythm guitar, keyboards, backing vocals (2023–present; 2019–2023 as touring musician), percussion (2020–present); and Brandon Pertzborn – drums (2023–present), the latter of who was featured on a killer drum solo towards the end of the night!
They kicked things off with “Come Out and Play (Keep ‘Em Separated)” and kept the high-energy rolling through 19 songs, and then returned for a two-song encore that included “Self-Esteem!” Of course, they also played their other hits like “Why Don’t You Get a Job?, Pretty Fly (for a White Guy), The Kids Aren’t Alright, Original Prankster,” and more, plus some covers including a metal medley, “Smoke on the Water / Iron Man / Detroit Rock City,” and the punk anthem, “I Wanna Be Sedated.” Oh, and let’s not forget the call-and-response chorus of “Fuck Yeah!” after noting to the audience that highly-educated and intelligent people have been proven to curse more!
The Supercharged Tour continues through September 7th, grab your chance to see three great bands while you can!
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When not in custody, I've been involved with music, photography, and writing my entire life. Ever since I was a young boy and played those silver tunes, I've had the beat, but being a drummer didn't suit me so I became a lead singer, which lasted a few years. Settling down, sort of, I translated my knowledge of audio and glib tongue into mobile emcee work, and my training as a photographer and videographer into a living in the wedding, party, bar/bat mitzvah, and entertainment industry. During this time I also managed to bamboozle my way into a master's degree in writing, worked for a couple of magazines (yes, I took photos for a nudist magazine!), have photographed hotels, done commercial work (shot the cover of Tablet and Capsule magazine), published a few articles, hosted some public access shows (a couple times in drag, but that's another story), and generally made a nuisance of myself until I landed here.
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