Blink-182 mixes up old favorites with songs from its new album
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Blink-182 members Mark Hoppus, Tome DeLonge and Travis Barker play to the crowd Thursday night at First Niagara Pavilion in Burgettstown. -
Gerard Way of 'My Chemical Romance.'
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The three guys who comprise Blink-182 all have someone at home who call them Dad, but put them on a stage together and they easily revert back to the bratty rock 'n' roll cut-ups who made albums like "Enema of the State."
On Thursday, a perfect September night to be indoors, Blink-182 returned to the First Niagara Pavilion for 90 minutes of grade-A pop-punk hijinks.
Having reunited in early 2009, Blink-182 is on the verge of being relevant again, or at least we hope, with the release later this month of "Neighborhoods," its first album in eight years.
After hitting the black and white stage with the full force of "Feeling This," one of the better songs from that last 2003 effort, Blink broke out the new stuff early, with the single "Up All Night." It came with one of Blink's more pile-driving guitar riffs and a whole load of night sweats about modern living.
"Heart's All Gone" rocked in the sturdy, stormy vein of Bad Religion, "After Midnight" seemed like standard-issue Blink, and "Ghost on the Dancefloor" was more epic in scope.
The trio seemed equally excited to lavish the faithful with a playlist of old faves, including "What's My Age Again?" "All the Small Things," "The Rock Show" and "Down," ending with a snippet of "Black and Yellow." Their voices blended beautifully, oddly enough, with bassist Mark Hoppus handling the lower melodies and Tom DeLonge soaring for the higher, snottier ones.
Naturally, the Mark and Tom Show didn't come without a good share of juvenile jousting between the two frontmen, who will never be too old to make jokes about their you-know-whats. Mark had fun ripping on Tom for complaining how cold it was.
Offsetting that were heartfelt moments like Mr. DeLonge's tender reading of "I Miss You," with stunning drumming from the beastly Travis Barker, and the weight of "Violence" and "Stay Together for the Kids," after which Mr. Hoppus hilariously insisted he redo the second verse.
Back in the day, it was always a little embarrassing to like Blink-182, but let's face it, there are sublime things about this band. And who cares what those old punks thought anyway?
Rather than touring with one of its many disciples, Blink brought New Jersey's My Chemical Romance, who go heavier on the drama, not to mention the eyeliner and orange hair dye. Gerard Way, the flamboyant singer, raged cheerfully through desperate, emo-fueled anthems like "I'm Not Okay (I Promise)" and "The Only Hope for Me Is You," with the six-piece band, including brand new drummer Jarrod Alexander, generating a synth-heavy clatter of sound.
It came to an emotional crescendo with a rousing "Welcome to the Black Parade" and a pained closing of "Cancer."
I would have caught indie-pop duo Matt & Kim if hadn't taken nearly two hours to get to Burgettstown from Squirrel Hill.
First Published September 16, 2011 12:00 am
