Is there really such a thing as a casual Blink-182 fan? A cursory glance at the nearly 4,000 fans who sold out the band’s July 23 show at the Joint leads me to believe the answer is “no.” If they weren’t dressed to the nines in their best Blink tees it was because their bodies were already permanently adorned with a tattoo of the Blink bunny. Yeah, Blink fans really love their pop punk trio of choice.
And that adoration is in spite of the long standing secret that every Blink diehard has to live with – the band has just never been that good live. That’s not to say that I’ve never had fun at a Blink show. I’ve always enjoyed hearing the band play the hits, and the jokes (depending on your sense of humor) make their show stand out as more of a performance. But the band has always had a hard time replicating their sound in a live setting.
This show, their first of two consecutive Vegas dates, brought Blink back to the city where they played their last show with DeLonge in 2014 as well as the venue they played their first reunion show together in 2009. It’s a fitting stage for fans to see the trio perform with their new guitarist and vocalist, Alkaline Trio’s Matt Skiba, who was introduced by bassist/vocalist Mark Hoppus (and sole original member) as “your new hero.” Just like ALF, Blink is back (though sadly not in POG form) and it was time to see if this incarnation of the band could finally put on a performance worthy of Blink’s back catalog.
So did they do it? The band was all smiles when the curtain dropped and they launched into Untitled opener “Feeling This,” the crowd, which contained more people than at every other show I’ve seen this year combined, losing their voices as they dared to sing louder than the band on the song’s titular refrain. Behind the band was the return of the flaming “FUCK” sign, a nice callback to the band’s Enema tour. From there, it was nothing but the hits. Songs lead by bassist and co-vocalist Mark Hoppus sounded fantastic. “What’s My Age Again?,” “Rock Show” and “Family Reunion” could have been plucked straight from the album if not for the fact they were played just a hair faster by drummer Travis Baker. The stage itself was a visual spectacle, as giant LED animations and ear blistering fireworks seemingly borrowed from a classic Van Halen tour kept things looking interesting.
The jokes were still present, though without DeLonge to bounce things off of, Hoppus acted as sole comedian. He was a Laurel without his Hardy, with Skiba responding with laughter instead of quips. When Barker broke his snare on “Built This Pool,” Mark, a self-proclaimed “professional time filler,” improvised a fun cover of The Oneders “That Thing You Do.” “This next one is an emo song, so I need you to put your bangs down” remarked a cheerful Hoppus, slightly getting my hopes up that they’d play their song actually titled “Emo” (alas, “Stay Together for the Kids” was played in its place). Mark also announced plans to make the most out of his two day residency at a hotel known for its lavish pool, putting out an offer to apply sunscreen to everyone who came out to swim the following day. Especially the dudes. Ok, just the dudes. (I mean, we all know why he built that pool, right?)
While Skiba is a newcomer to the band, he’s actually no stranger to The Joint stage – Alkaline Trio headlined the venue (with Against Me! in tow) for the Occult Roots Tour in 2008. This seemed to infuse the Blink rookie with much appreciated confidence, something that can’t be easy when singing songs so iconic to the fanbase. He took over lead vocals on the formerly DeLonge-lead tracks, with songs from the Untitled era like “Violence,” “I Miss You” and especially “Down” sounding fantastic in Skiba’s lower register. Not every song fared the same. There’s just something about Tom’s snotty, perpetual teenage sounding vocals that can make the immature stuff seem a little more endearing. That’s lost when it comes to Skiba’s more mature voice, such as on Take Off Your Pants and Jacket deep cut “Reckless Abandon.” That song did earn the band a respectable circle pit, though it paled in comparison to the floor engulfing pit openers A Day To Remember enjoyed during the entirety of their set. Guitar-wise, Skiba did a great job, though I still wish the band would enlist a second guitarist on tour help recreate the layers heard on the later albums, like Green Day does with Jason White. Drummer Travis Barker was unbelievably great, as usual, with his extended intro to “Violence” being a particular highlight of the night.
A number of brand new tracks from the band’s just-released album California made their way into the rotation. New songs can be a tricky venture for bands with even the most diehard of fans. People generally want the classic cuts, songs they can sing every word to. Luckily for Blink, California has been embraced in a way that previous album Neighborhoods never was (the band played zero tracks from Neighborhoods). “Los Angeles” and “No Future” received warm responses and new single “Bored to Death” had an audience sing along that rivaled old favorites like “All the Small Things,” “Carousel” and set-ender “Dammit.” The highlight of the new tracks was definitely “Cynical.” Barker’s blisteringly fast, skatepunk-influenced beat sounds like it’s ripped directly from a No Use For a Name song and Skiba’s shouted vocals brought back fond memories of hearing Alkaline Trio’s Goddammit for the first time. (Side note: can we start a petition to get the band to rename “Dammit” to “Goddammit?”) I wish Skiba sounded this raw on the actual album.
The best part of the show (besides the stellar digital display created by locals Space Cadets AV) was the fact that the band seemed to be having as much fun as their legions of fans. The big appeal of this band in their original incarnation was their camaraderie. The once-obvious friendship was endearing and infectious, inspiring countless others to pick up instruments and start bands, or just come out to a show and sing along. It also made imperfections in their live show more forgivable, though with Skiba on board, the band sounded tighter than I can ever remember (this was either the tightest Blink 182 show or the weirdest Alkaline Trio concert I’ve ever been to). The personnel change seems to have reinvigorated the band’s spirits and it shows, so when Mark and Matt sing “Thank God for punk rock bands” on new song “Kings of the Weekend,” you can tell they mean this band, with the fans who’ll continue to come out and sing each word.
-Emily Matview
Photos of Matt, Mark and Travis by Emily Matview from previous Blink-182 and Alkaline Trio shows
Blink-182 setlist
Feeling This
What’s My Age Again?
Family Reunion
The Rock Show
Cynical
First Date
Down
I Miss You
Bored to Death
Built This Pool
That Thing You Do (partial cover)
Dumpweed
Reckless Abandon
Stay Together for the Kids
No Future
Man Overboard
Violence
Dysentery Gary
Carousel
Encore:
Los Angeles
All the Small Things
Brohemian Rhapsody
Dammit
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