Before setting foot in the O2 arena itself, there is a comforting uniformness of the crowd. From a sea of blink-182 merch to other band tees of a similar era, chequered hoodies and black nail varnish, it already felt like we’d been transported back in time.
The band appears exactly at show time, on a simple diamond-shaped stage emblazoned with their logo. Mark Hoppus and Tom DeLonge take the outer edges while Travis Barker is surrounded by his drum kit fortress behind. The band is placed in front of a large screen which elevates every track with a unique, funny and clever animation, always matching the song lyrics. These vary from graffiti walls, to road trips, to sketches but always with that signature blink-182 mischief.
The trio begin with ‘Anthem Part Two’, which has an appropriately long instrumental introduction, heightening the anticipation of hearing Tom’s signature voice for the first time. Both Tom and Mark’s voices sound just as good as the original album recordings from decades ago. The two of them are connected by an invisible thread as they glide past each other on stage, engaging crowds on both sides, and occasionally turning to face Travis. Although he is set back from the front and does not have a mic for most of the night, Travis is arguably the glue of the band. His extraordinary ability is mesmerising, and at points feels as though his arms are moving faster than the speed of sound. For ‘Man Overboard’, Mark even covers Travis’ face with a towel as he continues to play blindfolded with no hesitation.
The set begins with a run of favourites, including ‘The Rock Show’, ‘Feeling This’ and ‘Violence’, which again, sound just as energetic and exciting as they did on your CD player as a teenager. Sometimes the band flows straight into the next song, but most of the time there is a little immature but endearing back and forth between Tom and Mark, which continues to set the tone of rebellious but harmless punk rockers. This also allows time for the never-ending rotation of guitars handed to them by crew. The entire set is accompanied by impeccably timed pyrotechnics, lighting effects and lasers which electrify the experience.
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The middle part of the set features three new tracks from their upcoming album, including ‘MORE THAN YOU KNOW’ and ‘EDGING’. Even though these have not been out for long, the crowd sings them back like they’re songs from the 90s. It’s not long after this that during Down, Travis Barker’s mini stage elevates above the main one, as he continues to play drums from a raised height for most of the show. This increased visibility seems appropriate given his anchoring effect to the band in more ways than one.
My personal favourite and most cathartic moment of the night was ‘I Miss You’. Singing along to this heartbreaking song with 20,000 other fans is unparalleled, and a perfect precursor to ‘Adam’s Song’. Mark talks sincerely about writing it years ago, battling with depression and suicidal thoughts, and how it came into its own again more recently when he was reeling from cancer treatment and dealing with mental health struggles once again. They play this effortlessly with the original video playing behind them instead of new animation.
From here, the show picks up tempo, ending with hits like ‘What’s My Age Again?’ (during which the screens split in two, revealing an enormous inflatable rabbit and carrot) ‘First Date’ and of course, ‘All The Small Things’. As true rockers, they come on for an encore of their newest single, ‘ONE MORE TIME’, which is written about them reuniting, starting with the touching lyrics, “Strangers, from strangers into brothers / From brothers into strangers once again”. This is the only song Travis sings into the mic, cementing their brotherhood on stage.
This tour felt like a reunion in more ways than one. The trio themselves doing a world tour after 30 years in the industry and still performing to an exceptional level is cause for celebration alone. But layered with an international crowd singing back every word of every song, and an upcoming album which feels like a return to form, blink-182 have beat all the odds and are still very much in the game.
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Words: Nicola Davies
Photography: Clemente Ruiz