The Honda Civic Tour

Last week my sister, BFF and I went to see Blink-182 along with openers Rancid and My Chemical Romance on the Honda Civic Tour. While I absolutely loved Blink back in the day, I wasn’t that excited about paying $85 to get up close and personal, so we opted for $20 lawn seats. It was a nice night to be outside and listen to a little nostalgic (pop/)punk music.

First up was Rancid. I've seen them twice before and listened to them a little in high school because of my boyfriend, but not since then. I was surprised by how many songs I still knew. They played a pretty great opening set and sounded good for being older dudes in their late 40s.

My Chemical Romance was really good too. I was (and still am) in love with their cd Three Cheers for Sweet Revenge. It was a trip down memory lane for me since that cd reminds me of a specific time in my life. They also played songs from their newer two albums. It was a simple show, no theatrics or major stage set up and they only played for an hour. But since they were just the opener, it was expected and they sounded really good.

Blink-182 was fun. They aren’t as young as they once were and the college humor doesn’t seem to fit anymore, but they still attempted their signature witty/shocking banter between songs. This was my 10th time seeing them in concert, so it gets old, but I couldn’t help but laugh every once in a while. The show itself was pretty fun for an outdoor venue. There were a lot of fun graphics, lasers, fog and even confetti. They also used filters on their camera so the jumbo screen shots looked kinda cool. I used to have the biggest crush on Mark, but I think it’s shifted to Tom. He’s gotten better looking with age, although he seems a little douchier. 

Their new songs and really old songs sounded the best. The new songs seem more similar to their music of the early 2000s and not so much like their last album, which I liked, but it was kinda dark and slow. Tom struggled with some older songs because they were clearly out of his range now. They have never been the best live band, but it doesn’t stop me from having a blast while I’m there and always wanting to see them. They played three new songs, the old classics and all the hits in between.

If you’ve ever been to a Blink show you know that Travis always does some amazing drum solo. On previous tours he’s spun in circles, been surrounded by fire and even gone up into the air and played upside down. You can’t tell from my horrible video, but this time he was on a giant crane arm that carried him over the audience.

The worst thing about the show was the audience. A lot of seats were empty and most people were just sitting. Tom even made the comment that we were such a polite audience, just sitting back, relaxing and admiring them while they created their art. I don’t know about your town, but Seattle concerts haven’t been doing well at all. Besides Katy Perry, none of the shows I’ve been to this year have sold out. Groupons are constantly being offered for half price tickets (this happened for Blink last week) and still, no one is showing up. I’m sure it’s the economy, but they’ve got to stop putting these bands in large arenas. It looks so sad. Stupid Seattleites! Get to those concerts or the bands will stop touring here!

We also had fun playing with this Tom DeLonge mask. It had to do with promotion for his shoe line. Creepy, I know.

It was my first time sitting in the lawn during a show. It was nice to relax, talk, laugh, chill, eat and sing along. I could have done without all the smokers around me though. Does every single person smoke now? Gross. And sharing a concert with nature was interesting. A little brown field mouse scurried right by our blanket and a bee would not get away from my face for about 15 minutes. But I had fun, reliving three different time periods in my life and the next time Blink tours this area, I’ll be there!