If you are an iconic ‘90s/’00s band mapping out a massive, 93-date global 30th anniversary reunion tour, then scheduling a show at The World’s Most Famous Arena is a no-brainer. And that is exactly what the classic, long-time lineup of Blink 182 – Mark Hoppus, Travis Barker and Tom DeLonge – marked on their calendars last October when they made the tour announcement, along with the release of a new single, “Edging”, their first musical output since 2011.
Prior to the tour launch in St. Paul, MN on May 4th, and outside of a surprise appearance at Coachella in April, DeLonge had not been involved with the group formed in San Diego County, CA for the past nine years. But after finally overcoming the traumatic after-effects from a 2008 plane crash (Barker) and a cancer diagnosis in 2021 (Hoppus), the band decided to give it a go.
On a chilly mid-spring evening in Midtown Manhattan, the first of two bands providing support for Blink-182 was Beauty School Dropout (BSD), who took the stage at 7:35 pm. For the entirety of their 25-minute set, the renegade-pop band from Los Angeles, CA (featuring Cole “Colie” Hutzler, Brent “Beepus” Burdett and Bardo) wowed the audience members who had arrived early to the historic venue. Presenting material across a wide array of genres – including pop, punk, rock and hip hop – these young men handpicked by Hoppus himself, under his newly created venture capital music start up called Verswire, electrified the arena with emotionally-charged vocals, thundering guitar and stampeding drums. As the clock struck 8:00 pm and their set came to a close, BSD exited the stage to what else? Frankie Avalon’s “Beauty School Dropout” of course, made famous by said teen idol’s performance in the film version of Grease. BSD are definitely ones to watch, and their sophomore EP “We Made Plans & God Laughed,” is out now.
Accompanying Blink-182 on all their US and Canadian dates is Turnstile, a hardcore punk from Baltimore, MD who formed in 2010. The quartet of Brendan Yates, Daniel Fang, “Freaky” Franz Lyons and Pat McCrory is also joined on the tour by Meg Mills on rhythm guitar. Entering stage left at 8:15 pm, the melodic hardcore musicians have three studio albums in their discography, the latest being Glow On, which was released in 2021 to critical acclaim and garnered the band three nominations (Best Metal Performance, Best Rock Song and Best Rock Performance) at the Grammy Awards held this past February. In less than two years, the abrasive, guitar-driven band has gone from playing suburban basements to 1,500-person clubs to 20,000-capacity arenas, without blinking (no pun intended) an eye. Turnstile commanded the MSG crowd instantly, particularly frontman Yates’ vox, and for forty minutes, we were all entranced with their grooving chassis of riffs and emo-ish lyrics. Sans a bad song in their catalog, including “Holiday,” a portion of which was used as the soundtrack for a 15-second Taco Bell commercial via TikTok, I cannot wait to see what lies ahead for Turnstile or to catch them on their next late night talk show appearance.
At 9:30 pm, with the last road crew member’s shadowy silhouette barely visible as he checked to make sure no microphone cords were askew, the moment was finally here! As Richard Strauss’ “Also Sprach Zarathustra, op. 30″ erupted over the house PA, a portent of a significant event to come (like Elvis taking the stage in his later years), one by one they appeared. First DeLonge at stage left, then Barker took his stool behind the kit at center stage, and lastly Hoppus (the trio’s beating heart), waving to the crowd as he strapped on his Fender Jaguar bass at stage right. As a Gen Xer and self-proclaimed fanboy since the first Blink-182 earworm that grabbed my attention, 1997’s “Dammit” (Dude Ranch), tonight was more than special, it was festive and nostalgic, taking me and all the fans in attendance like me, back to yesteryear.
As Blink-182 ripped through one hit after another, including six offerings from their third studio album (Enema of the State) that contributed significantly to their meteoric rise to fame in 1999, Hoppus and DeLonge lived up to their reputation with humorous, and sometimes sincere and introspective stage antics and banter during song breaks. Here is a sampling of dialogue necessitating inclusion for this review, some of which transpired while Barker was performing high over the stage atop a levitating drum riser connected to four alloy steel chains:
We’re sorry if that [song] got you pregnant.
You’re mom was safe yesterday, but your mom’s not safe tonight.
Holy shit, we killed that. Did you notice that my hips and my knees didn’t give out when I went down to the ground?
Travis, when you were doing that drum shit, when I was watching you, I got an erection. I was so fucking hard. I have never been that hard before in my life.
There is a timing issue and I want you all to be aware of it. The next song is hard to play and I have usually been scoring about C+ on it, and I don’t know what to expect.
I wish I could be like Harry Styles and play 15 nights here for you all. Did someone fucking boo Harry Styles? Don’t pull that shit in here. Hey, I got a joke. How are One Direction and ‘70s porn alike? Harry Styles.
Somebody is smoking so much marijuana drug.
This next song I wrote at a part in my life where I was really down, and I didn’t know if I could go on. I was really sick with cancer. I was hooked up to chemotherapy machines and now I’m fucking here tonight at MSG with all of you. I love you all.
One of these shows I’ll get through a show without crying like a baby, not tonight, not tonight.
This is the last song of the show, and then we’re gonna play three more songs. You know why? You wanna know why? Because we’re contractually obligated!
Give it up for our bestest friends in Turnstile. But most of all, give it up for the greatest band to ever walk the face of the planet, Rage Against The Machine.
All jokes aside, for more than 90 minutes, the electric and synergetic atmosphere created and shared by Blink-182 and its adoring fans elevated the show from a mere exhibition to an experience never to be forgotten. Walking to my car 30 minutes or so after the show, I came upon a large circle pit of fans on the corner of 31st Street and 8th Avenue, still basking in the afterglow of the epic show. There was a stereo playing “All the Small Things” at its highest volume, fans were hopping up and down in synchronicity, all of whom were belting out the lyrics we all love and know by heart, “Say it ain’t so, I will not go. Turn the lights off, carry me home.” Suddenly, out of the crowded pit came Hoppus (the only member to remain in Blink-182 throughout its entire history), hopping up and down himself, with a huge grin across his face. His security detail, watching it all unfold beside me, were more than happy, however, to whisk him back into the waiting black SUV and speed off into the dark Gotham night.
After Blink’s final show of their North American leg concludes at the Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, TN on July 16, the band will take a much needed rest before resuming their world domination across the pond with twenty-four (24) dates in Europe (September 1 to October 16). Following a pair of shows in Las Vegas, NV on October 21-22 at the When We Were Young Festival, the boys will get another respite before heading to Oceania in early-February 2024 for sixteen (16) more shows, with the trek concluding in Latin America with a dozen shows – the last four of which taking place in Mexico City in early-April 2024.
Blink-182 Setlist: Anthem Part Two > The Rock Show > Family Reunion > Man Overboard > Feeling This > Reckless Abandon > Violence > Up All Night > Dysentery Gary > Dumpweed > EDGING > Aliens Exist > Cynical > Happy Holidays, You Bastard > Stay Together for the Kids > Always > Down > Bored to Death > I Miss You > Adam’s Song > Ghost on the Dance Floor > What’s My Age Again? > First Date (with snippets of “Pinhead” and “Blitzkrieg Bop” by Ramones) > All the Small Things > Dammit (with snippet of “No Scrubs” by TLC)
Beauty School Dropout
Turnstile
Blink-182 Gallery
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