Concert review: More than a year into their reunion tour, Blink-182 are bigger than ever
Some 15 months into pop-punk trio Blink-182’s reunion tour, one would forgive the guys if they seemed tired Tuesday night in front of a capacity crowd at Target Center in Minneapolis. That, and the fact that inter-band strife that has led guitarist/vocalist Tom DeLonge to quit the group not once, but twice.
If anything, Blink-182 put on an even bigger and better show Tuesday than they did when the group’s most popular lineup kicked off their first tour together in more than a decade back at St. Paul’s Xcel Energy Center in May last year.
The sheer demand for tickets last year sent prices spiraling up to Springsteenian heights. That intense interest has remained, as this time around, Blink-182 is playing on an in-the-round stage emblazoned with the band’s logo, allowing for seats to be sold around the entire arena bowl. The crowd full of gleeful Gen Xers and millennials crowded onto the general admission floor and filled seats all the way up to the top of the arena. (Gigantic screens suspended above the stage helped make the show feel a bit more intimate for everyone.)
Last year’s shows focused on the hits, but the guys released a new album “One More Time…” in October and incorporated a fair amount of it into Tuesday’s show, including its Billboard alt-rock chart toppers “Edging,” “More Than You Know” (the final song of the show) “One More Time” as well as “F— Face” with drummer Travis Barker on vocals/shouting.
Still, they found time to visit nearly every phase of their three-decade career, from their debut single “M+M’s” to the brand-new track “Can’t Go Back,” which bassist/vocalist Mark Hoppus told the crowd would be officially released “soon.” And as they did last year, they even did “Bored to Death,” a hit from the brief era when Alkaline Trio’s Matt Skiba had taken over DeLonge’s spot in the lineup.
Before they played “Dance with Me” from the latest album, Hoppus told the audience DeLonge was “super sick” but that he was soldiering through. DeLonge, who chewed gum and took several throat spray breaks, did sound a bit gruff particularly toward the end of the show, but then again, he’s never been known for his singing abilities. It was tough at times to understand his between-song banter — which Hoppus himself noted — so maybe blame that on his illness?
Whatever the case, the guys did keep the room pumping for the tight 95-minute set, even if the reception for the new songs was a bit muted. It was kind of hilarious when they were tearing through “What’s My Age Again” and Hoppus gave a shoutout to “one of the greatest bands on the planet, the Replacements” to a whole lot of blank stares. It was also fun to see Barker’s drum platform ascend 15 feet in the air for “Not Now” and then just hang there for the next few numbers.
Given the obvious adoration from the crowd and the aforementioned new song on the way, it seems Blink-182 is set for continued success. Unless, of course, DeLonge decides to go for a hat trick and quit for the third time.
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