Blink 182 and Weezer: Concert Review

Sold Out Crowd For Reunion Tour at PNC Bank Arts Center

Aug 27, 2009

Remember those three goofy guys who became the forerunners of pop punk in the 90's? Well after a four year hiatus they are back and are just as immature as ever.

On August 26th, 2009, Blink 182 made a stop at the PNC Bank Arts Center in Holmdel to play for to a sold out crowd; however, the band had some help in drawing in huge numbers of diverse fans. This time they brought some friends along - they ran the gambit alright, inviting the past, present, and future of alternative rock.

The lineup boasted Chester French, newcomers to the pop/rock scene, Taking Back Sunday who enjoyed the throne as pop-punk patriarchs of the early 2000's, and alternative rock legends of the 1990's and the still widely popular, Weezer.

With such a loaded bill, its no wonder the show was able to quickly sell out a venue with an enormous maximum capacity of 17,5000 people. Fans piled in increasingly as the show progressed, with a sizable portion of fans rushing in during Taking Back Sunday's set.

Taking Back Sunday PNC Performance

Taking Back Sunday played mostly song from their last two albums which struck a chord with the bands growing fans base and the youth of the pop punk movement. Adam Lazzara danced around stage twirling his microphone wire like... well like the front man of a popular pop-punk band.

The band sounded tight; however, some of their new material lacked diversity and the set tended to bleed together into one uniform session of sing-along choruses and mildly catchy breakdowns.

Weezer PNC Performance

Clad in uniform gray and navy blue Nike jumpsuits, Weezer took the stage ready to deliver an energetic live set infused with clever tricks, sing-alongs and plenty of maneuvers to get the audience involved with the show.

The band sounded better than ever, and front man Rivers was more animated than he has been in the past. Passing guitar duties onto former drummer Pat Wilson (a fifth touring musician played drums), River bounced around the stage like a bat out of hell pounding the fists of fans and bouncing like nerdy Frankenstein with a Harvard degree.

Some of the highlights of Weezer's performance included "The Good Life," a gem from their second album, Pinkerton, and tracks from their critically acclaimed self-titled Blue Album. Front man Rivers Cuomo was hitting all the notes and the band belted out over an hour of pop-driven alternative rock complete with catchy hooks and guitar solos.

Blink 182 PNC Performance

Blink 182 took the stage and immediately belted out an energetic rendition of "Dumpweed," the opening track to their 1999 release, Enema of the State. The band played a setlist that was really nothing more than a greatest hits show. They strayed very little from their most popular tracks, this got a large bulk of fans pumped and singing along; however, left some of the bands die-hards feeling alienated and disappointed.

The show played out like any Blink-182 show, in-between songs band mates heckled each other and made a series of jokes than can best be described as "toilet humor." The band sounded decent at times, and at other times, front-man Tom Delonge seemed to forget he was playing a show. He would temporarily stop playing guitar or forget lyrics to songs he's sang millions of times. However, this is something Blink 182 fans probably are accustomed to and Delonge embraced. "I'm only giving seventy percent!" Delonge jested.

Blink 182 Setlist PNC Bank Arts Center

Encore

This show was very successful in that the sum of all its parts provided a great night of pop punk music and nostalgia for fans. The artists sounded good, but the fans and the integrity of the pop-punk genre was the real winners.

The copyright of the article Blink 182 and Weezer: Concert Review in Pop Music is owned by Todd Christopher Petty. Permission to republish Blink 182 and Weezer: Concert Review in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.