Blink-182, review: Jolly punk rockers show a hint of something darker

They couldn’t have lasted since the Nineties without acquiring a little depth, says David Smyth
Still got it: Blink-182
David Smyth20 November 2017

Known for their jolly pop-punk and gags, behind the scenes Blink-182 have been having less fun. Putting aside drummer Travis Barker’s near-death experience in a 2008 plane crash, co-frontmen Mark Hoppus and Tom DeLonge’s entertaining onstage bickering took a turn for the worse when DeLonge quit the band for a second time in 2015.

Hoppus and Barker had the last laugh, bringing in Matt Skiba of Alkaline Trio and making a new album, California, that earned the band their first Grammy nomination and UK No 1. In concert, although Skiba played his musical role flawlessly and offered strong lead vocals on songs such as Reckless Abandon and Anthem Part Two, he couldn’t help but feel like a secondary member.

The lack of banter was glossed over thanks to Barker, who drummed like a man trying to get your attention from a distant hillside. The pyrotechnics blazed relentlessly too. Even their one sensitive ballad, I Miss You, ended in a barrage of fireballs. A flaming F-word opened the show in suitably puerile fashion. Taking them seriously was actively discouraged, whether it was the crude teen heartache of Dysentery Gary, or the riotous chorus of their biggest song, All The Small Things.

Yet there was a small hint of something darker in the new songs Sober and Los Angeles. They couldn’t have lasted since the Nineties without acquiring a little depth. For the three people on stage at least, this evening was no joke.

O2 Arena, SE10

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