But this Montreal five piece hit that fastball over the fence. Although the crowd was not ready to enjoy any other band, some were cheering and grooving to the beats of Auf der Maur. Head by Melissa Auf der Maur of both Hole and Smashing Pumpkins fame, Auf der Maur was more than just Melissa and her past, which was refreshing. Where it could have been easy for Melissa to take over on stage and relish in her past, she decided to take a new road and think about the future. Sure, for marketing purposes, the name of the band and biography and posters and album covers and God knows what other pieces of propaganda are going to contain and talk about Melissa and her past, but the music speaks differently.

Live, Auf der Maur was tight with quality playing and deadly precise timing. They were able to transform their recorded music into live sounds with the ease that Emeril can whip up a 3-hour pasta dish in seven minutes on the Food Network.

But perhaps what comes across most on stage is the freedom Melissa has to be feeling. Being in both Hole and the Smashing Pumpkins, Melissa was in a situation that came down to, play what we tell you to play. Where now, Auf der Maur is a true reflection on the musical integrity and intelligence that Melissa has gained along the way. By branching out and being herself for perhaps the first time, Melissa brings a sense of independence and rebellion usually seen in teenagers.

As Melissa says in her tour diary on the web site about the music, “Once their fuzzy paws get a hold of it then their cute ears can open up and listen, and then maybe their heart will warm up to it...or better yet, their hips will begin to sway and head begin to rock back and forth. This idea makes me happy.” Although it seemed as if most of The Offspring crowd tried as hard as they could to not sway the hips, some were overcome by the music to do so. And for the others, well, they did a better job of repressing the urges.