Eleven years
ago, Pop Punk heroes Blink-182, Tom DeLonge, Mark Hoppus and Travis Barker took to the charts with their debut album Cheshire Chat, in 2004, the same year Barker actually joined the
band. The o2 Arena, London, with its
16,000 capacity venue held host to hordes of Blink fans of all ages who were welcomed
with a fantastic night from the Pop Punk trio.
With support
from Four Years Strong and All-American Rejects, both of which
really warmed the crowd of and were perfectly selected for the audience in
hand. It’s clear, after their 2005 break-up, and re-launch four years later, as
well as postponing the show for a year, fans were more than welcome to finally
welcome the trio to the stage. The wide range of tracks on the setlist proves
the promise that Blink would play as
many songs from their latest album Neighborhoods,
as it was the reason they gave for putting the tour off last year. And
after all this waiting, the crowd is chock-a-block with anticipation.
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| Blink-182 |
The lights and
visual displays the band and their management have created for the tour were incredible,
as just the right amount of enhancement to the set. The grey and black colour
scheme, humours images and monstrous confetti match the much improved live
musical ability of the threesome.
Opening with ‘Feeling This’, ‘Up All Night’ and ‘The Rock Show’, Blink 182 are as spectacular at the start as they are at the end of
the start. Despite the members well and truly meeting middle age and
parenthood, their talent and light-hearted spirit that have carried them
through all these years, dragging fans with them, shines through. Although the
crowd isn’t as frantic and sweaty as younger Pop Punk audiences, it only
reflects how the fans have matured along with the band, but still love to enjoy
old Blink classics like ‘What’s My Age Again?’ and ‘Down.’
Fresher tracks
like ‘Wishing Well’, ‘After Midnight’, ‘Heart’s
All Gone’ and ‘Ghost on the
Dancefloor’ go down a storm however and the crowd look alive from start to
finish. The improvement in the bands technical live skill is immense, even since
shows just a couple of years ago, proving that they really work to please their
fans. The band’s quirky, childish humour fit seamlessly with fan favourites such
as ‘I Miss You’, ‘Blow Job Song’, ‘Dumpweed’,
‘Violence’ and ‘Always’.
Although the sound is not
fantastic in the o2, Blink 182 always know how to keep the
crowd interested and cater to all. ‘First
Date’, ‘Man Overboard’, ‘Fuck a Dog’, ‘All the Small Things’ and ‘Josie’ bring the set to a close, after
which Mark Hoppus lightly explains
that the band will go off stage for a while and pretend the show’s over,
keeping the jokey, young feeling alive. The encore, with a classic Travis Barker drum solo of ‘Can the Drummer Yet Some’ reflects that
he’s easily the most talented member of the band, despite his apparent quiet
personality.
Ending with ‘Carosel’, Damnit’ and ‘Family Reunion’, as well as floods of
slow-falling confetti, Blink 182 have
really brought the house down and show they really deserve their heroic status.
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