Gig Review: Blink-182 at the AO Arena, Manchester

On Sunday evening, pop-punk royalty Blink-182 impressed with a heartfelt, and at times emotional, set at a sold-out AO Arena.

The band have had many ups and downs since their formation in 1992 and have had more splits than a teenage couple, but when it was announced last year that the band were having a reunion tour, demand for tickets was incredible as people clamoured for a blast of nostalgia.

Co-vocalist Tom DeLonge rejoined the band after bassist and co-vocalist Mark Hoppus’ recent battle against cancer gave him a fresh outlook and he realised he missed being in the band.

Supporting Blink-182 were fellow Cali rockers The Story So Far. They set the tone of the evening perfectly with The Glass, Roam and Proper Dose being extremely well-received.

With their arms aloft waving to the bumper crowd, the trio entered the stage to a rapturous applause. The rockers opened up with Anthem Part Two, Rock Show and Family Reunion before giving lesser celebrated hits Man Overboard and Up All Night an airing.

Flamethrowers, fireworks, streamers and confetti were just a few of the impressive visuals thrown into the action-packed set. Drummer Travis Barker’s riser was even lifted 20 feet above the stage for an extended period.

Covering his head with a towel, Barker proceeded to play Violence blindfolded – further confirming his place as one of the best drummers in the industry – with a mesmerizing and masterful display. Despite sustaining some pretty bad cuts to his hand during the set, Barker didn’t miss a beat at all.

With playful, puerile and crude jokes at each other’s expense aplenty, you could see the band relished in being in each other’s company again, the crowd laughing at their snipes and jibes which were an earmark of their persona in their halcyon days.

The middle order saw the band dip into their new, ninth studio album One More Time with More Than You Know, Edging and Dance With Me – all three songs in keeping with the band’s drum heavy, anthemic sound but a little less-polished vocals from 47-year-old DeLonge and 51-year-old Hoppus.

A poignant moment came when Hoppus retold his ordeal of surviving cancer “This song saved me, everyone who has come to these shows has saved my life a second time – thank you – I love you all.” He then performed a stirring rendition of Adam’s Song – a classic hit about mental health struggles.

The trio then had a packed AO in raptures when they played mega hits First Date, What’s My Age Again? All The Small Things and Dammit, before raising their hands and thanking the crowd for coming.

The band returned to the stage after a brief break for the encore which featured One More Time from the self-titled new album and a final nod to Manchester with a superb cover of Oasis’s Don’t Look Back In Anger, each heartfelt lyric echoing around the AO. A befitting end to an entertaining night.