Blink-182 & Lil Wayne Bring The Classics To New Jersey
Blink-182 Celebrate The 20th Anniversary of Enema of the State
This summer has been filled with heavy hitting tours, among them in my opinion one the funniest you could attend is the pairing between Blink-182 and Lil Wayne. I know on paper this tour can seem a little wacky being Wayne comes from the hip-hop world and Blink are the kings of pop punk. However look closer at these two or even better attend one of the shows and you will see they’re a match made in live music heaven, plus they’ve actually worked together before.
Mark Hoppus, Travis Barker and recently added Matt Skiba known from the band Alkaline Trio are gearing up to release a new album, the guy’s recently released new music with the track “Happy Days” presumably off of the yet untitled and unannounced lp.
Lil Wayne is a rare sight to see live these days, the rapper who even though young in age has been around nearly 30 years making music and is arguably one of the best rappers alive. Wayne released his latest album Tha Carter V in September of 2018 and he’s bringing the songs to the live stage.
I caught the tour in it’s 7th city Holmdel, New Jersey at The PNC Bank Arts Center, 8th city if you count Blinks appearance on The Vans Warped Tour in Atlantic City, NJ just a couple weeks ago Shutter 16 attended.
Though different genres of music the crowds arrived early and one thing both acts most definitely have in common is massive production, but I’ll get to that in a minute.
Lil Wayne took to the stage first for an hour long 34 song setlist that spanned nearly every hit and even a few songs he’s done features on. Lil Tunechi as he introduced himself came out, blunt in hand and all smiles both happy and in his words “grateful to see the fans”.
Wayne’s stage setup had a full band and as he described “A band behind the band”, along with a stunning light show, some cryo blasters well hidden on stage and even some pyro. Yes Pyro! Also a giant light up screen with his YM logo for Young Money.
Throughout the set Tunechi reminded the crowd of 3 things
1)”I wouldn’t be here without God”
2)”I wouldn’t be here without you”
And 3)”I wouldn’t be here without you!”
Lil Wayne repeated that sentiment all night, the rapper genuine and humble took time to acknowledge the hard work security in the venue does to keep everyone safe and the crew behind the scenes who make the shows happen.
Tunechi blasted through tracks like “6 Foot, 7 Foot”, “Lollipop”, “I’m Me” and even paid tribute to his fallen comrade XXXTENTACION saying “Rest in Peace Triple X” then performing their collaboration from Tha Carter V “Don’t Cry”.
Wayne told the crowd “The homies in Blink are gonna come out and kick it with you” then proceeded to walk off stage as the band played the final notes.
After nearly a 30 minute set change, not shocking considering the scale of the bands production on this tour. Blink-182’s stage setup finds massive screens, pyro, a ton of cyro and even a drum contraption Barker plays in an spins around in.
The band is out on the road celebrating the 20th anniversary of their masterpiece album Enema of the State, a record that is a classic album in the eyes of music fans who love punk, pop punk and music in general. Don’t worry the band is also playing their fan favorite hits giving fans a ton of bang for their buck.
Blink kicked off the performance with “Dumpweed” before going into the third track of the set “Aliens Exist” which found the crowd tossing around inflatable alien dolls which I’m still not sure if they were given or solely purchased by a fan but nonetheless the band seemed to approve with smiles.
While I loved Tom Delonge, I must say Skiba is a great fit for Blink-182 and in my opinion they sound better, tighter and they look like they’re having a blast again.
The guy’s soared through tracks like “Going Away To College”, “What’s My Age Again”, “All The Small Things” and the ballad which was introduced by Blink as the sad song then instructing fans to put their lighters or cellphones in the air as they played “Adam’s Song”.
The 22 song set also included Mark and Matt performing “Down” & “Wasting Time” acoustic and Travis Barker doing a drum solo which was outstanding and a blast to see first hand. The band also performed classic Blink cuts like “I Miss You”, “First Date” and ending the set with “Dammit” from their album Dude Ranch.
Overall everything about this tour is fun, Lil Wayne brings a powerhouse set and fits right in with the Blink-182 crowd. Blink delivers one of their best performances I’ve seen to date, I mean everything from the sound, the production, the fun, laughter filled environment we remember from classic Blink shows. This is a tour I highly recommend catching, especially because it’s more than likely a once in a lifetime concert!
See full gallery of the night here!
Tour Date:
07/10 – Mansfield, MA @ Xfinity Center
07/11 – Bristow, VA @ Jiffy Lube Live
07/13 – Bangor, ME @ Darling’s Waterfront Pavilion
07/14 – Quebec City, CA @ Festival d’été de Québec ^
07/16 – Cuyahoga Falls, OH @ Blossom Music Center
07/17 – Darien Center, NY @ Darien Lake Amphitheatre
07/19 – New York, NY @ Good Morning America
07/20 – Virginia Beach, VA @ Veterans United Home Loans Amphitheatre
07/21 – Columbia, MD @ Merriweather Post Pavilion
07/23 – Charlotte, NC @ PNC Music Pavilion
07/25 – West Palm Beach @ Coral Sky Amphitheatre
07/26 – Tampa, FL @ MIDFLORIDA Credit Union Amphitheatre
07/27 – Atlanta, GA @ Cellaris Amphitheatre at Lakewood
07/29 – Jacksonville, FL @ Daily’s Place
07/31 – Houston, TX @ Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion
08/01 – Austin, TX @ Austin360 Amphitheater
08/02 – Dallas, TX @ The Dos Equis Pavilion
08/04 – El Paso, TX @ Don Haskins Center *
08/05 – Phoenix, AZ @ Ak-Chin Pavilion
08/07 – San Diego, CA @ North Island Credit Union Amphitheatre
08/08 – Los Angles, CA @ The Forum
08/09 – San Francisco, CA @ Outside Lands ^
08/27 – Irvine, CA @ FivePoint Amphitheatre
08/30 – Portland, OR @ Sunlight Supply Amphitheater
08/31 – Seattle, WA @ White River Amphitheatre
09/02 – Salt Lake City, UT @ USANA Amphitheatre
09/04 – Denver, CO @ Pepsi Center
09/06 – Wichita, KS @ Hartman Arena *
09/07 – Council Bluffs, IA @ Stir Cove *
09/08 – Kansas City, MO @ Providence Medical Center Amphitheater
09/10 – Detroit, MI @ DTE Energy Music Theatre
09/12 – St. Paul, MN @ Xcel Energy Center
09/14 – St. Loius, MO @ Hollywood Casino Amphitheatre
09/16 – Cincinnati, OH @ Riverbend Music Center
09/18 – Camden, NJ @ BB&T Pavilion
09/20 – Brooklyn, NY @ Barclays Center
10/11 – Sacramento, CA @ Aftershock ^
* without Lil Wayne
^ blink-182 festival date
