August 27th marked the 25th date in Blink-182’s 2009 reunion tour. The band, along with Weezer, Taking Back Sunday, Chester French and an audience of 25,000 people took over the Susquehanna Bank Center in Camden, NJ. The sold-out crowd varied in age from around fourteen to thirty-five, a fitting tribute to a lineup of bands that, for the most part, have been together for over a decade. In fact, it’s entirely possible that some of the younger attendees were still in diapers when Blink-182 released their breakthrough album Enema of the State in 1999.
A reunited Blink-182
When fans entered the venue, one of the first things they saw was the merch table selling Blink-182 tour shirts that read: “Blink-182-Crappy Punk Rock.” This statement is typical of the way the band sees themselves: They have never claimed to be an important punk band, or even a good one at that. They just call it like they see it. It is this attitude that’s allowed them to write some of the most genuine songs about the trials and tribulations of growing up. As a testament to these songs, not only did their original fans, now in their 20s and 30s, come out to see Blink-182’s reunion tour, but a whole new group of teenage fans were there as well. And every single one of them knew the words to “Dammit.”
The four-band lineup kicked off with dance-rockers Chester French. The sound during their short 15-minute set was very uneven, which I’m sure didn’t help the band much in their stated objective of recruiting new fans. I think it would be fair to say this goal went largely unaccomplished, as most of the audience was still tailgaiting during Chester French’s set. While there were a few kids dancing on the lawn, the majority of the crows seemed indifferent. Later on, during Blink-182’s set, there were audible boos when bassist Mark Hoppus gave a shout out to Chester French.
In the emo-wars of the early 2000s , Long Island fans of the genre were either on Team Taking Back Sunday or Team Brand New. It was clear from the flood of people who came rushing in at the start of Taking Back Sunday’s set who’s side Camden, NJ and Philadelphia, PA were on. The band played a short but energetic set complete with lead singer Adam Lazzara’s trademark microphone-twirling antics. The band dedicated their shout-along anthem “Cute Without The E (Cut From The Team)” to everyone from NJ who’s been with them from the start, which elicited screams from the crowd.
Weezer, dressed in white Devo-style jumpsuits, opened with a cover of Black Sabbath’s “War Pigs” that lead into their late ‘90s TRL staple “Hash Pipe.” While most bands releasing a new album in October would have filled their set with new material, Weezer played only one song from their upcoming album Raditude, the super catchy “(If You’re Wondering If I Want You To) I Want You To.” The rest of the set was filled with fan favorites from all of Weezer’s albums—from “Pork and Beans” and Troublemaker” off the band’s most recent record to “Island in the Sun,” “Beverly Hills,” “Good Life” and Blue Album classics “My Name Is Jonas,” “Sweater Song” and of course “Buddy Holly.” Band chatter was kept to a minimum, rock star moves abounded. There was even a trampoline on stage, which frontman Rivers Cuomo made good use of. With the full light show, attitude and hits to back them up, Weezer seems to have finally metamorphosed from the nerdy indie band that first came on the scene with “Buddy Holly” to the rock and roll stars of Rivers Cuomo’s dreams.
Fans who wondered if Blink’s onstage chemistry and sense of humor would still be intact after a four year hiatus, breathed a collective sigh of relief as the band entered the jam-packed arena to the sounds of the ‘80s hit “Everybody Have Fun Tonight.” They opened their set with “Dumpweed,” the same song that opened their 2000 live album The Mark, Tom and Travis Show, followed by “Feeling This” the first track from their self titled album. Their set was largely made up of tracks from their most recent albums, 2003’s Blink-182 and 2001’s Take Off Your Pants and Jacket with Enema of the State’s “What’s My Age Again?,” “All The Small Things” and “Adam’s Song” thrown in for good measure. Mark, Tom and Travis seemed genuinely happy to be playing together again, and their stage banter was full of the “Hey Mark!”s and penis jokes their live shows have always been known for.
Travis Barker's Drums of Death!
After a much too short hour and a half set, Blink came back for an encore. Even though a video of their encore has been making the rounds on the Internet, the crowd still went wild when the lights came up on Blink Drummer Travis Barker strapped into the seat behind his drum rig. As Travis started playing, the whole drum platform was lifted into the air halfway between the stage and the rafters. The platform began swinging back and forth, with Travis keeping a steady beat. This would have been enough for most bands, but not Blink-182: With Travis still pounding away, his drum platform was tilted completely perpendicular to the stage. The center of the platform then began spinning rapidly. The audience went crazy and Travis never missed a beat. Once Travis and his kit returned to the ground, the rest of the band came out to play old favorite “Carousel” and their definitive teen-angst anthem “Dammit.”
After four years of hiatus and six years since the release of their last proper album, it’s safe to say that Blink-182 are back and better than ever. Here’s to hoping there are many more tours and albums to come.
Update: The members of Blink-182 were dealt a tough blow last week. Their close friend Adam Goldstein, aka DJ AM, was found dead in his New York apartment on August 28th. At their Hartford, CT show on August 29th, the band honored their friend with a moment of silence.
