BLINK-182 ~ JULY 14, 2023 ~ CHARLOTTE, NORTH CAROLINA

The Charlotte Spectrum Center was the place to be on Friday July 14th. Legendary pop punk trio blink-182 raided North Carolina on their continued World Tour that started back in February. Lines packed the streets for some teenage antics. Even though most of these fans were what people call “Elder Emos,” they still showed up past their bedtimes to enjoy a night of unforgettable memories. This is the first tour in years to feature the original lineup after Tom DeLonge (guitarist/vocals) made his return to the band. The night would be filled with mindless immature jokes that are not for your typical family gatherings. But what can you expect from the trio that gained their popularity through being little punks who didn’t care who they offended. Although, more often than not, they did direct the crude jokes towards each other or even themselves.

The iconic trio got the party started with “Anthem Pt. 2” (one of their hits from the 2001 album Take Off Your Pants And Jacket). The crowd exploded with screams from old and new fans who sang every word back throughout the night. The childish banter would continue not only in between songs but sometimes replacing lines or words of songs. This isn’t new, same ol blink. They may be older but they are still kids at heart doing what they love. As the night went on, Mark Hoppus (bassist/vocals) would get personal and bring up a past depressive state which produced one of their big hits “Adam’s Song,” from their breakthrough 1998 album Enema Of The State. He goes on to talk about that song saving him and even more recently being diagnosed with stage 4 lymphoma (and kicking it’s ass) to this whole tour and all the fans saving him once again. Blink can be serious and emotional when they want to be, but all in all, whether they are making genital jokes about each other’s dad or talking about dark times, they are still one of the biggest influential pop punk bands of their time and continue to be. Thus comes to the end of the night where the boys Mark, Tom and Travis say goodnight but not before one last “bang”. Yes, bang. For the last part of “Dammit,” Blink would unleash their load of sperm confetti onto the crowd. I can honestly say that the band in their almost 30 years has had many ups and many downs but in their current state is definitely their prime. Mark, Tom and Travis are the best trio to ever breakthrough in the pop punk scene. Their chemistry is unmatched and I can’t wait to hear what’s in store!