Live Review: Blink-182 & The Vandals

27 February 2013 | 12:03 pm | Dylan Stewart

It might be over 17 years since Blink-182 first graced Australian shores, but frontmen Tom DeLonge and Mark Hoppus are still one of the fiercest one-two combo’s in pop-punk-rock/whatever they are these days.

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Aside from the humidity that already has everyone sweating, the first thing to be noticed upon entry into the Music Bowl tonight is the epic line for the ATM. WTF? Whatever. The Vandals are on, and they're kicking ass. It might have been 14 years ago that People That Are Going To Hell was released, but clearly the crowd are in for some nostalgia tonight, and that song helps them along the way. Dropping Queen's Don't Stop Me Now, however, to round out their 40-minute set is a great move, the audience lapping up every minute of it.

The quickest toilet-beer double ever ensues, which is lucky because Blink-182 come on stage about 15 minutes early. Kicking off with Feeling This, Up All Night and The Rock Show, even if it's been years since some of these songs have been heard, for a generation of 20-somethings (and a few 30-somethings), muscle memory kicks in and every word is gleefully sung along to.

Amid all the hoo-ha between Travis Barker and Soundwave promoter AJ Maddah about Barker pulling out of the tour, one thing is lost; his replacement, Brooks Wackerman (Bad Religion, Vandals, Tenacious D) is a great fucking drummer. Even in back-catalogue classics like Mutt and Josie – from a time before Barker – Wackerman mans up with some epic skin work.

Meanwhile, it might be over 17 years since Blink-182 first graced Australian shores, but frontmen Tom DeLonge and Mark Hoppus are still one of the fiercest one-two combo's in pop-punk-rock/whatever they are these days. Easy gags like, “You guys are way better than fucking Sydney” and jokes about vaginal teeth prove that age shall not weary them, and the crowd laps it up.

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For an encore, Tom and Mark (everyone's on first-name basis here) return on acoustic guitars, dropping Reckless Abandon and All Of This, with Mark singing Robert Smith's vocal part, and Boxing Day. Then it's down to business, closing out the set with Carousel and Dammit. It's a fun yet predictable way to finish the night, and with the humidity still hanging thick above the Music Bowl, everyone leaves just a bit sweaty – the way it should be.