Blink-182 at Musink

Musink. The 8th annual music and tattoo festival was hosted by Travis Barker and featured bands like Rancid, Bad Religion and blink-182. It was a three day event lasting from March 20-22. I had the pleasure of seeing my favorite band, blink-182, at the festival for the second time that week (I also saw them at The Roxy which I blogged about in my last post). Not only did I see my favorite band, but I got my first tattoo! It's on my left wrist and it's the album art from blink's self-titled album. I was tattooed by Baba from Vintage Tattoo who did an amazing job. I'm truly in love with how it looks. How many people can say they got a blink tattoo at a festival that blink played at?

Let's make this last forever

The setlist for Musink was very similar to the setlists from the previous shows that week in Hollywood and San Diego. Restrained by a strict hour and fifteen minute stage time, blink played fast without making the night seemed rushed. Mark sported a bass named the "Bassola" which was designed by Greg "Craola" Simkins and is currently being auctioned off here to raise money for cystic fibrosis. Travis played on a tall platform for everyone inside The Hangar to admire. Matt Skiba of Alkaline Trio filled in for Tom DeLonge, and while he added his own character to the band that people weren't used to, he helped make the night special to everyone who attended.

That night was Travis Barker's night. He hosted this entire festival which was filled with everything he loved: punk music, tattoos and old cars. Travis began his night by playing a 45 minute set with Yelawolf, a rapper from Alabama and close friend of Travis'. He then continued to play flawlessly for a little over an hour with blink-182. Seeing Travis play in person cannot be compared to anything else. It's easy to get lost in watching his technique and admiring his focus. It's great to see his kids air drum beside him and cheer him on.

The biggest question everyone was asking was how would Matt Skiba do filling in for Tom? He did amazing, and he did amazing for many reasons. One of the most important reasons, that I also mentioned in my review of the show at The Roxy, is that Matt did not try to be or act like he was replacing Tom. His voice was louder than it was at The Roxy and stronger than at both warm up shows. It was great to notice and visibly see him become more comfortable on stage. Since he is already a popular musician in his own band, he has his own way of performing on stage that he brought to blink. His vocal and guitar sound were neat and professional, but it was also obvious that he was having fun. The crowd gave him a warm welcome with a Skiba chant that made me happy, so I can only imagine what it made Matt feel. As I also mentioned before, there were many people sporting the Famous/Matt Skiba collab shirt that said "Who the fuck is Matt Skiba?" across the front. Some performers from the previous night were also wearing it! There was no awkwardness or tension with Matt being on stage because he put on an amazing, memorable show and that is all a fan could ask for.

Blink-182 are definitely at their best when they have big stage. I'm not saying they are bad at a small stage like at The Roxy, but they definitely seem to have more fun since they have more space to run around. Alright, I'm mostly just talking about Mark. He was all over the place that night, but it was great because the amount of fun he was having was could be seen on his face and how he played. Matt moved more than he did at the two previous shows which added even more energy to the stage.

Just as in the warm up shows, they played "Happy Holidays, You Bastard" with the lights off. I was so stunned by just how fast they played. Their strict time limit caused them to play a lot of the songs faster, but like I said, it never felt very rushed. They cut out both "Hearts All Gone" and "M & M's," but they did an impressive total of 22 songs. The songs that really stood out from all the others were "Always," "Dysentery Gary" and "Man Overboard."

I noticed at The Roxy that Matt added his own little touches to "Always," but they were even more noticeable at Musink. This is one of the songs that Matt impressed me the most. Matt also made the guitar at the end of "First Date" sound differently from what I'm used to. I'm not sure if it was how the song was supposed to be played or if it was just how Matt played it. Something that I have seen a lot of people say and I agree with is that one of the best things about Matt's performance is that we were actually able to hear what he was saying compared to when Tom performs live. So maybe that's why the guitar may sound different/clearer, because Matt takes the time to play it has accurately as it is supposed to sound. I know that Tom has the capability of playing like that, but it seems that over the years he doesn't put as much focus into how he performs. Following "First Date," Mark handed the mic to Travis who said hey to Musink. Travis is a man of many words.

In Mark's podcast where he interviewed Matt, Matt said that his favorite song to rehearse was "Dysentery Gary" and I don't think I have to guess why that is. The guitar in that song must be a fun challenge for any guitarist to learn and the song mostly features Tom's vocals. It's also quicker than most blink songs which makes it a great song to keep the audience and band energized.

Photo by Erik Voake

Blink skipped over the whole "okay this is our last song, just kidding, we have two more songs" trick in order to save time and be able to play their entire set. "Man Overboard" was a tough song to hear just like it was at The Roxy. It applies so well to the drama happening with Tom at the moment. Of course I missed seeing Tom on stage, but I'm not going to lie and say that Matt did a bad job like a lot of people are trying to convince themselves. Matt was without a doubt impressive on stage and he helped Mark and Travis put on an incredible show. All I know for sure is that I don't want blink to stop performing and touring, but I also want everyone to be happy with where they are.

It was obvious that something was wrong with Matt's guitar as they started "Reckless Abandon," and Mark even poked fun at it in the beginning of the song. However, Matt still played without pause even though his guitar was out of tune. He eventually switched out guitars near the end of the song, but I still find it fun to watch how bands handle little difficulties like that.

Blink ended the night with an encore, performing "Violence," "Dammit" and "Family Reunion." The confetti rained down on all the fans and Mark shouted "See you all next time!" Their energy never wavered throughout the entire night and it made me unbelievably happy to see all of them perform with such passion and smiles on their faces. I hope there will be many, many, many blink shows to follow this one.

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I'm still in shock that I was able to see these guys perform twice in less than one week. It's also very possible and most likely that Musink was Matt's final show filling in for Tom. The fans are left with many questions of what's next, but there hasn't been any concrete answers. In an interview at Musink, Travis said that blink wanted to record another album and there is a chance that they will go on tour with A Day To Remember who opened up for them during their warm up shows.

My blink tattoo :)

Matt Skiba will release his album "Kuts" under his band Matt Skiba and The Sekrets. In his interview with Mark, he talked about how Alkaline will be performing every single one of their eight studio albums in concert. They'll be touring starting at the end of April in cities like Cleveland, Boston, San Francisco, Santa Ana and other places then continue to do some shows in the UK during this summer. After seeing Matt live twice, I've been listening to a lot of Alkaline lately and they are a really talented band. I definitely suggest checking them out, especially their latest album "My Shame is True" and the album "From Here To Infirmary."

I'm going to wait for some definite blink news to be released, and then make a post about the recent drama and what may lay ahead.


Until next time,
Nikole