Live Review: Blink-182, Sydney

Wednesday February 20
Allphones Arena, Sydney, NSW

The rise, breakdown and inevitable reprise of Blink-182 has been a steady one. Their first few albums were a ’must own’ for anyone who even feigned an interest in NOFX or the pop punk genre, and their comeback album Neighbourhoods was skillfully deconstructed by music journalisms’ elite in 2011. Now, in their 21^st year together (if you don’t count the five-year breather) the band are still a formidable juggernaut and back in Australia for the first time since 2004. Last night’s sold out show at Sydney’s Allphones Arena will be followed by another sold-out concert in Brisbane before the nationally exhausted Soundwave Festival kicks off this Saturday.

When they took the stage with fill-in drummer Brooks Wackerman, the disappointment in Travis barker’s absence was obvious. But noone was insensitive enough to mention the missing tripod leg, he had a pretty rad reason for not getting on the plane three days ago. Any bitter despondency was spat out as soon as Wackerman sat down, his fervent skills honed with bands like Bad Religion, Suicidal Tendencies and Infectious Grooves meant Blink percussion already swam through his veins.

The 26-track set borrowed predominantly from the trio’s last two records, however tracks from Dude Ranch and Enema Of The Statewere met with the most avid response. Fans were tested with the 35-second song Family Reunion from their 2000 live album and DogsEating Dogs, Boxing Day and Disaster from last year’s EP Dog’s Eating Dogs – the last of which was preceded with Mark Hoppus claiming Tom DeLonge’s mother was “a whore, a dirty fucking whore.”

Those who caught DeLonge last year with Angels and Airwaves were relieved to see he hadn’t lost his toilet humour.

Here’s some highlights of Tom’s between-track banter:

“I think my underpants are going into my scrotum.”

“What’s a devil damn? Is that like a clitoris condom?”

“I’ve gone from dick jokes to fart jokes, you guys gotta grow up. You laugh at all that dumb shit.”

“That smelt like meatballs.” Said after he picked up a gifted bra from the stage.

What was abundantly apparent though, was the band’s underlying professionalism; beneath all the fuck, shit and dick slurs was a genuine desire to offer a pop punk show that stirred nostalgia and reckless abandon.

Closing with a two-part encore, Hoppus, DeLonge and Wackerman gathered at the front of the stage for acoustic versions of Reckless Abandon, All Of This and Boxing Day. If they had ended on that note, there may have been a riot; thankfully they switched back to the comfort of electric for Carousel, Dammit and Family Reunion. The white confetti fell, DeLonge and Wackerman left the stage but in true Blink style, Hoppus had the last laugh.

“Are you ready for the big finish?” he yelled. Down on bended knee he built the tension before a single, slightly off-tune strum of his bass.