Music Review: blink-182 at the 2000 Big Day Out festival

Continuing the success of “Enema of the State,” Blink-182 headlined the Big Day Out festival in Sydney, Australia on January 26, 2000. Their 45-miunte setlist was performed on Australia Day to a crowd that filled the Sydney Olympic Complex’s capacity of 10,000 people.

To find the beauty behind a Blink-182 performance, one must look beyond the goofy stage presence, foul language, dirty jokes and occasional missed notes. The audience must recognize the cleverness and passion hidden in their lyrics, detailing the relatable, but serious, problems many face in young adulthood. In between songs, Blink-182 can make inappropriate jokes about incest and bestiality, but when they perform their songs, they talk about dealing with heartbreak or struggling with an identity crisis. The brilliance of Blink-182 comes in this duality. Their manic and immature stage presence does not take away from the raw power and emotion presented through their teenage anthems. The essence of Blink-182 stems from their beginnings as high school friends creating a band to impress their friends.

Blink-182 was formed in Poway, California, a suburb of San Diego, in 1992. After Tom DeLonge was kicked out of Poway High for being drunk at a basketball game, he attended Rancho Bernardo High School, where he met original drummer Scott Raynor at a Battle of the Bands contest. Through a friend connection, DeLonge soon meet bassist Mark Hoppus and their chemistry was evident as they spent hours co-writing songs in DeLonge’s garage, one of them being the popular “Carousel,” the opening track on 1995’s “Cheshire Cat.” After exhaustive writing and hustling to book shows, the punk rock trio slowly joined the Southern California punk scene. Blink-182’s first demo “Flyswatter,” which was recorded on a four-track recorder and featured a combination of original songs and punk covers, was released in 1993. The demo track was followed by another demo effort “Buddha,” which was released in 1994 and viewed as the band’s first real material. Relentless touring and initial airplay got the attention of Cargo Records, which helped the band put out their first studio album “Cheshire Cat” in 1995. Increasing success led to attraction from major labels as Blink-182 signed with MCA and released their follow-up LP “Dude Ranch” in 1997. Throughout these recordings, the band extensively toured North America and Australia and were constantly growing a following; however, the pressures of being on the road created some tensions within the trio. Raynor was abusing alcohol to deal with personal issues and was soon fired by DeLong and Hoppus in 1998. Raynor was replaced with Travis Barker, drummer for tour-mate The Aquabats. DeLonge and Hoppus were greatly impressed by Barker’s playing ability and Barker was asked to join the band full-time. In 1999, Blink-182 teamed up with producer Jerry Finn and released their third album “Enema of the State.” “Enema of the State” launched Blink-182 into stardom, with lead singles “What’s My Age Again”, “All the Small Things” and “Adam’s Song” becoming major radio hits and getting regular airplay on MTV. “Enema of the State” made Blink-182 the biggest act in pop punk music and inspired a new wave in the genre.

Enjoying the successes of their breakout album, Blink-182 traveled back to Australia, a place where they garnered their first real following, to headline the Big Day Out festival in January 2000. This fan-recognized iconic setlist seems overall simplistic at first glance. The band walked out on a stage with no screens, banners or decorations, which was very minimal even for a festival. There was no stage set or developments and there were no pyrotechnics used during the entire show. However, the schematic show development did not take away from the in-your-face, fast-paced punk rock performance. As Blink-182 walked on stage, the crowd roared, waiting in anticipation for 45-minutes of constant crowd-surfacing and mosh-pitting. Immediately, DeLonge and Hoppus stood behind the microphones and started their famous toilet-humor banter. The trio got straight to the point as they opened the show with “Family Reunion,” a song consisting entirely of cuss words. Following the first of their many joke songs was the lead track off “Enema of the State.” “Dumpweed” serves as the band’s big grand opening. It begins with a memorable guitar riff. Barker counts his bandmates in by striking the crash cymbal four times. Then, DeLonge hits the open low E-string, beginning the hammer-on and pull-off riff and preparing the audience for an intense punk rock show. The opening riff is followed by a simple palm-muted chord progression that accompanies the verses. The song is the perfect template for the ones that follow because it is characterized as a nursery rhyme on steroids.

At the conclusion of the song, DeLonge and Hoppus continued with their on-stage banter that consists of improve and making fun of each other. Whether their jokes in between songs were to waste time or let them catch their breath, they were entertaining to the audience regardless. Barker does not seem lost in the dynamic of DeLonge and Hoppus, as he was often seen laughing at their goofiness and providing rimshots or stings to play along with their jokes.

The duality of Blink-182 became evident in “Don’t Leave Me.” The song was about heartbreak and pleading for a significant other to stay; however, you could not tell by its fast-paced playing and DeLonge and Hoppus’s flailing around stage.

The track was followed by “Pathetic.” This song was another example of the trio’s duality. As DeLonge and Hoppus ran around and missed quick notes, the song detailed adolescent confusion and problems concerning an identity crisis. However, the track featured surprising vocal harmonies, a unique characteristic to the California punk scene. At this point in the performance, it was evident that DeLonge and Hoppus might not be the best technical musicians, but they put a lot of energy into their performances and enjoy what they do. Barker, on the other hand, commanded the band throughout the performance, acting as a supervisor and keeping DeLonge and Hoppus in-line and in-time.

The band then launched into their first radio hit “What’s My Age Again?” The song featured the bright tones of DeLonge’s surf green Stratocaster and a bouncy bass line from Hoppus but exploded with distortion in the chorus. Throughout the entire set, Barker’s drum riser was constantly shaking, but that could be from the craziness of the crowd or from his passionate playing. The hit single was followed by another joke song, “Blowjob Song.”

Barker truly shined during “Aliens Exist.” Barker brought in the song with a catchy drum intro, which was soon paired with a muted-power chords and sustained octave by Delonge, who leads the verses. The song futured strong transitions from verse to chorus and chorus to post-chorus, mainly due to the lyrics “I’m not like you.”

“Going Away to College” began with beautiful open chords on a clean channel from DeLonge’s Stratocaster. However, the bright tones do not last, as the song explodes with distortion and a powerful drumbeat. Hoppus captured the fear of unwanted change with the lyrics “I haven’t been this scared in a long time. And I’m so unprepared.” After the first chorus, Mark changed the lyrics to pay tribute to his now wife Skylar, singing “and you’re so beautiful Skylee.”

Hoppus and Barker take over during “Mutt” with a drum and bass intro. DeLonge soon joins in with a melodic guitar riff over distortion. “Mutt” was the slowest song of the entire set, but that did not stop the audience from continuing their energized frenzy.

Before the start of their biggest hit to date, “All the Small Things,” Hoppus sang a cover of “Genie in a Bottle,” mocking the cliché and inauthentic styles of pop music during that time. This is ironic because “All the Small Things” was probably the simplest chord and lyrical progression of all the songs in the setlist.

Nearing the end of the set, the band played “Untitled,” a slower song that jolts into an old-school skateboarding punk song.

“Carousel” quickly followed. The song began with an iconic bass solo intro, which Hoppus wrote during his first songwriting session with Delonge. The guitar and bass have a nice harmony, but the simplicity of the drumbeat made it evident that this song is pre-Travis era. Another joke song, “The Country Song,” was played following the end of “Carousel.”

To conclude the show, DeLonge and Hoppus graciously thanked the crowd for attending and then Delong launched into the intro guitar riff for “Dammit.” The song has a simple chord progression that gets lost behind the emotional manner of Hoppus’s lyrics which parallel the subject of heartbreak. Blink-182 seemed to acknowledge their growth and achievements as musical artists at that point in their career, graciously taking in the entire experience and exclaiming “well, I guess this is growing up.”