Blink-182
Venue: Molson Amphitheatre
Rating: ****
The punk rock kids are growing up.
In the past, acts such as Blink-182, Weezer and to a lesser extent, openers Taking Back Sunday, were renowned for having antics that were almost as popular as their music.
While the case with Weezer was more of a prima donna situation and Blink seemed happier to use foul language than actually perform, as the pop/punkers and pop/rockers age, they seem to have found a modicum of grace. At that, they have also learned that despite continued popularity, their earliest efforts are still what rouse fans.
In the case of construction suit-sporting Weezer, a set focusing on musical talent found guitarist Jason Cropper taking over the drum stool for aged hit “My Name Is Jonas” and front Rivers Cuomo piddling around with every instrument during a curious rendition of “In The Sun.” Still, while providing a spotless set covering their almost-20 year history, the capacity crowd were still only motivated by the tracks from their debut effort, namely
“Say It Ain’t So,” “Undone—The Sweater Song” and, of course, “Buddy Holly.”
More of the same applied to reformed snotty pop/punk trio Blink-182 who are finally paying attention to the disgruntled press as of late. Furious at their preference for potty humour and gabbing over actually playing songs during this tour, many fans and critics have said their piece. The act smartened up for their set and let the music do the talking. Again though, other than an encore that found Travis Barker soloing as his drum kit was suspended over the stage, fans were rather sedentary until “classic”—term used loosely—tunes such as “The Rock Show,” “Adam’s Song” and “What’s My Age Again” were unfurled.
And in all honesty, it was the perfect way to see both bands: somewhat humble, entirely professional and realizing that pleasing the fans meant dropping the ego and digging deep into their past.
