“Fuck the thunderstorm!” yelled Blink-182’s frontman Man Mark Hoppus to a packed pavilion at Blossom Music Center last night.
Moments before co-headliner Lil Wayne was set to take the stage, a severe thunderstorm broke out and a rain delay commenced. Fans fled the lawn for shelter, and by the time both Lil Wayne and Blink-182 took the stage, they played to a deserted lawn. But neither act seemed to mind, nor did the lucky fans with a roof over their heads.
You can see a slideshow of photos from the concert here.
Blink-182 played a hit-filled set for the youthful crowd; many of those fans were too young to remember when Dude Ranch, Enema of the State and Take Off Your Pants and Jacket were released.
Hoppus and Alkaline Trio’s Matt Skiba, who replaced longtime singer-guitarist Tom DeLonge in 2015, divvied up the lead vocals evenly throughout the set. Skiba played the same neon green guitar for the entirety of the show while Hoppus made just one trade before the lengthy finale.
Blue, green and purple inflatable aliens floated through the crowd. Fans were on their feet, dancing and singing throughout the entire set, having fun, even when Hoppus told them not to.
“This song is so sad, so I don’t wanna see anyone smiling or having a good time for the next four minutes,” he said before breaking into 1999’s “Adam’s Song.”
From there, the power trio transitioned into “All The Small Things,” during which Skiba and Hoppus shared the lead vocals.
Fans went especially crazy when the first few chords of “What’s My Age Again?” were strummed. Hoppus took back the reins for the fan-favorite, and nearly every mouth in the crowd moved along with his.
Hoppus is a low-key performer. At times, he joked around with Skiba and Drummer Travis Barker. But he’s also a perfectionist with an unmatched precision, which was brought to light after the crowd’s cheers died down.
“I have a confession,” said Hoppus, “I fucked up and missed a note. I don’t want anyone to leave without seeing the full show, so I’m going to play the note I missed.”
The punk trio’s energy was high throughout the entire set as Hoppus and Skiba ran around the stage, climbing stairs and sweating through their black T-shirts while a shirtless Travis Barker banged his drum set with his own rock ’n’ roll flare.
The show concluded with an extended encore featuring smash hits “Damnit,” “I Miss You” and “Bored to Death” along with “Blame It on My Youth,” a new track from the band’s record set to release in September.
Lil Wayne kicked off the show an hour late due to the weather delay and a 15-minute intro by his DJ/hype man, DJ T-Lewis.
The raspy-voiced rapper wore a bucket hat, heart-shaped sunglasses, several chains and a white T-shirt as he pranced around the stage, pleasing the crowd with hits like “Lollipop” and Young Money’s “Bedrock.”
The rapper smoked a total of three blunts and thanked the Power Above several times throughout his set. Weezy wrapped up his 50-minute set with a cameo from his two sons, which led to a massive cheer and a mob of camera flashes.
“We all ain’t shit without the love from above,” Weezy declared. “And I ain’t shit without you.”
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