Blink-182 rocks out at Brady Theater

Last Tuesday the punk rock band Blink-182 took the stage at the Brady Theater. I was fortunate enough to attend. Blink-182 has been one of my favorite bands since I was a child.
The main question I had going into the concert was: “is Blink-182 still Blink-182 without Tom DeLonge?” For those who don’t know, DeLonge, the iconic voice behind “All the Small Things” and many other Blink songs, left the band in 2015. Matt Skiba of Alkaline Trio fame filled DeLonge’s role as guitarist/vocalist not long after.
I was worried that without DeLonge’s whiny voice Blink just wouldn’t live up to my childhood expectations. Fortunately, I was completely wrong.
Hearing Matt Skiba sing DeLonge’s vocal parts was a bit strange at first, but Skiba’s non-whiny voice pushed the songs a little bit away from the pop-punk sound in a way I enjoyed. The many people that might have been put off by DeLonge’s voice should give Blink a second chance. I would certainly be interested in the band re-recording and releasing some of their older songs with Skiba singing.
The trio played a really good mix of old and new tracks. Only seven of the twenty-two songs they played were from their newest album, and two of those songs were under fifty seconds combined.
This is in spite of the fact that the tour they’re on is named after their new album, “California.” The songs they did decide to play from the new album were songs that I actually really enjoy. I think my favorite part of the night was hearing “Built this Pool,” a 17 second song about building a pool to see naked dudes, live. Mostly I was just surprised they even played it.
The opening band, The Normandys, were pretty good too. They’re a local Tulsa punk band, though they lean into screamo a little too much. Despite that, I enjoyed them. They seemed like they were just happy to be opening up for Blink-182. In an impromptu decision, the band started playing “We’re Not Gonna Take It” by Twisted Sister, though the lead singer forgot the words halfway into it.
The entire night was just so upbeat. Blink seemed like they were just having fun on stage. Bassist Mark Hoppus may have the best stage presence of anyone I’ve ever seen live and drummer Travis Barker was absolutely crazy. That energy definitely transferred to the crowd. It honestly lived up to all of my expectations.