LIVE: Blink-182 bring the Pop-punk vibes back to Manchester.

Rhiannon-Skye Boden
Jul 19, 2017
3 min read

Photos: Cai Dixon

Blink-182’s Castlefield Bowl show was, more than any other show I’ve been to, a product of circumstance. Moved from its original venue by tragedy, featuring a lineup that many consider to not properly count - everything from the new location, to Tom DeLonge’s visible absence, to his replacement (Alkaline Trio’s Matt Skiba) could easily have pushed the gig into feeling not like a Blink show at all.

However, as it turns out, the fears of the masses were unnecessary. Neither the rain, nor Tom’s abandonment of the band to focus on UFOs, was able to put a damper on what turned out to be an excellent night of pop-punk; one that managed to be a perfect example of good (if not clean) fun.

Fresh off the festival circuit, it was down to emo folk-punk darlings The Front Bottoms to open the show. Faced with a lukewarm crowd more focussed on their cheesy chips and cider than the band, frontman Brian found the pockets of diehard fans and played directly to them, delivering a witty and endearing 30 minutes that hyped the rest of the crowd up apparently by osmosis.

Living room stage-dressing in tow, they opened with a witty quip about falling into the canal before launching into a light and bouncy set that kept the saddest parts of their back catalogue at a minimum, with Skeleton, Maps and Au Revoir all daring the crowd to dance in quick succession. With that said, It was a pop punk show and so a little moodiness was expected, but sadder offerings like mournful West Virginia and angst-fueled Twin Size Mattress were wedged in with some adorably clumsy jokes about The Great British Bake Off and even Love Island.

Next came Frank Turner for his 2070th appearance with the Sleeping Souls to date, ready to prove that not even the grumpiest dads or the most sullen teenagers could resist his particular brand of self-depreciating folk rock. Armed with a little beer in their bellies and faced with the rapidly cooling air, the crowd were in a much better place to do exactly what they were told, and Get Better and Try This At Home both succeeded in turning the front third of the arena into a writhing, dancing mass.

Never afraid of his audience, Frank went from proudly declaring his love of organisation Safe Gigs For Women and espousing the benefits of feminism in the punk scene, to inviting one lucky audience member up on stage during Dan’s Song for what he called “the most tasteful mouth organ solo [he’d] ever heard”. Even an extended joke in which he referred to Blink as “a new, unknown band who won a competition” and pleaded with the audience to stay and see them play couldn’t turn the crowd against him, and classic cuts like I Wanna Dance and If Ever I Stray proved it.

Then it was time for the boys themselves. With a bizarre Snoop Dogg / AC/DC mash-up serving as their opening music, the Blink-182 boys (sans Tom) entered the stage to almost fanatical applause, and delivered just over an hour’s worth of hits from a discography whose length, breadth and quality made their legacy-act status undeniable.

Feeling This proved an aching nostalgic opening that set the tone for the entire evening, with follow up The Rock Show taking a crowd that were already at fever-pitch and pushing them to even greater heights. Though the absence of the original line-up was felt, Mark stepped in to fill the frontman shaped hole with practised ease, and that - coupled with the almost possessed energy of Travis Barker - ensured the crowd were never left feeling like there was something missing.

Of course, it wouldn’t be a British outdoor show without some classic British weather, and so pretty much right on schedule, the heavens opened. If anything, it only added another level of emotion to the neon-soaked, seminal emo classic that is Miss You, and encouraged moshpits both ironic (Built This Pool, anyone?) and (Los Angeles) otherwise.

One proposal, one epic 5+ minute drum solo, and one guest appearance/performance from Landon Asher Barker later, and there was only an impossibly anthemic rendition of All The Small Things to go. Then it was time for the crowd to follow suit, safe in the knowledge that no matter what form it took, pop-punk was not just alive, it was very much kicking too.

Check out a full gallery of photos from Blink-182s Manchester show below -