CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Iconic pop-punk trio blink-182 made a stop in Charlotte on Friday and delivered a full night of power chords and laughs in the spirit fans were waiting months for.
The band visited the Spectrum Center on the closing end of the American leg of their world tour which features the momentous return of founding guitarist and singer Tom DeLonge, who was absent from the band for nearly a decade. The last time a Charlotte crowd saw blink-182 with DeLonge was in September 2011 on the Honda Civic Tour with My Chemical Romance.
Friday's show was everything fans of this band have come to expect this year and maybe better. The songs alone are enough to satisfy casual fans while the teenage-style humor spilled into the microphone by DeLonge and bassist/singer Mark Hoppus kept the crowd entertained throughout the night.
Still, the party isn't for everyone. Maybe that's by design, though.
Hoppus mentioned halfway through the set that every review he's read of the tour so far has called the band "cringeworthy." DeLonge even mentioned a Washington Post article where the writer says he went to the concert just to prove he would hate it (he couldn't find himself to hate the band, though).
Rest assured, the writer of this article does not hold these opinions. Friday's concert was blink-worthy.
Maybe I'm not supposed to write about myself in these stories but blink-182 isn't about following the rules. They're the same band that released "Family Reunion" in 1999 as a single. The 36-second song's only lyrics are words I can't print here. They played the song on Friday night.
The band opened with "Anthem Part Two," a youth battlecry from Take Off Your Pants and Jacket (2001) that more or less summarizes the fanbase's angsty roots. They followed with another song from that album, "The Rock Show," a concert staple played on practically every tour.
"Man Overboard," "Feeling This," "Violence," and "Up All Night" followed, leaving little room for setlist surprises. The first somewhat oddity to appear was "Dysentery Gary," from Enema of the State (1999), which before this tour had not been played consistently with DeLonge since 2004.
"Aliens Exist," another song from the 1999 album, had not been played with DeLonge since 2001 before this tour. DeLonge briefly noted his UFO-related business ventures before they played the song.
The crowd got not just one but two renditions of "Happy Holidays, You B******" which the band played with all of the lights turned off, albeit as fire shot up from the stage. After playing it once at a normal pace, blink played the song at double speed which made the crude lyrics all the more hysterical.
Two songs that blink made while DeLonge was not in the band appeared in the setlist. "Cynical" and "Bored to Death," both from California (2016), were made with Matt Skiba on guitar and vocals. DeLonge did a serviceable job handling lead vocals on the latter song.
Delonge's vocal performance was noticeably in good form during Friday's concert. Some fans were not pleased with his singing during his 2010s performances with blink, but this tour proved he can still deliver the notes he's adored for.
Similarly in top shape was Hoppus, who is less than two years from overcoming a bout with cancer. He reflected on getting treatment for stage 4 lymphoma and overcoming the disease before the band played "Adam's Song." He thanked the crowd and the band for getting him through that tough period. Despite "Adam's Song" being one of the band's biggest hits, the band had not played it with DeLonge since 2009.
A blink concert review cannot be complete without mentioning the brilliance of drummer Travis Barker. The dynamic man on the skins kept the beat going all night and he was lifted in the air for the second half of the show. It wasn't the upside-down cage that he's played in before but it was still a neat feature of the night. DeLonge and Hoppus joked that they were planning to go on similar platforms during the concert but they, surprisingly, wisely declined to participate.
The usual inclusions of "I Miss You," "Stay Together for the Kids," and "Down" went over well with the crowd. A mix of fans old enough to remember Cheshire Cat (1995) being released and those younger than the untitled album were hooked onto every lyric and note being exerted by the group.
Before playing "What's My Age Again?" Hoppus acknowledged that it was not the last song in the set despite the band having to go through the typical motions of bands leaving the set before an encore.
The band closed with "First Date," "All the Small Things," and "Dammit" as the encore set. In all, it was a 26-song set that truly captured what blink-182 is all about.
Sure, there could have been more love for Budda (1994), Dude Ranch (1997), or other deep cuts but blink's discography is so solid that even a hardcore fan like myself doesn't mind hearing just the hits.
DeLonge and Hoppus's bickering between themselves and the crowd is worth a low-priced ticket on its own. Does it feel staged and played out for men with a median age of 50 to be acting like teenagers in front of tens of thousands of people? A little bit but that doesn't make it less fun for those who have idolized this band for years.
So, what makes blink so special to those of us that admire them? The songs are all fairly simple, the lyrics are cheesy and juvenile, and the jokes have been repeated thousands of times. This isn't a formula that should work. But for those of us that get it, it does. If you don't get it, you probably never will.
blink-182's last show on the American part of their world tour is in Nashville on Sunday. After that, the band will play in Europe, Australia, and Mexico, among other places. The band put out a new single, "Edging," in October 2022 and has hinted they could have a new album released soon.
