Blink-182 Refuses to Grow Up at Bridgestone Arena

The last time Blink-182 stopped off in Nashville, it was during the SoCal pop punks’ dark, DeLonge-less days — the seven-year stretch during which, after internal tension, co-frontman Tom DeLonge was replaced by Alkaline Trio’s Matt Skiba. The years since have seen fellow Blink frontman Mark Hoppus defeat Stage 4 lymphoma and DeLonge return to the band, and it was Blink’s best-known lineup that returned to Nashville for a snotty, good-time nostalgia bomb Sunday night at Bridgestone Arena.

Damn near full to the rafters — though not necessarily a full-blown sellout — Bridgestone was crawling with 30-somethings sporting beards and/or neon streaks in their hair, plus more than a few women wearing nurse costumes and at least one guy in a banana suit. Openers included Midwestern pop punker KennyHoopla as well as Baltimore hardcore punks Turnstile, and the latter’s 40-minute set breezed by with high-energy happy-hardcore bangers like “Holiday." My companion noted that Turnstile looks a little bit like if Euphoria were a hardcore band — I don’t necessarily disagree, and I’m certainly not mad about it. Put ’em on a bill with Britpunks Idles and watch them sell a million tickets.

By the stroke of 9:30, it was time for our headliners. And from a pyro-peppered opening salvo of “Anthem Part Two” to a crowd-pleasing, show-closing rendition of Dude Ranch standout “Dammit” (complete with a little snippet of Taylor Swift’s “We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together” thrown in there for good measure), the band’s trademarks were all present. There was juvenile riffing about sleeping with each other’s moms (as well as an acknowledgment that music journalists don’t get the potty-mouth stuff); Travis Barker’s impossibly athletic drumming holding everything together (with his drum riser actually levitating via some kind of suspension system during a run of songs beginning with “Down”); and a megaton of nostalgic pop-punk riffs.

There were a few relatively tender moments as well. A guy proposed to his girlfriend during “The Rock Show” (she appeared to have said yes), and in the middle of a late-set run of sad songs, Hoppus stopped to acknowledge just how much the band and the fans meant to him during his cancer diagnosis. It was a moment that brought DeLonge — his friend and collaborator of three decades — to tears.

The thing about Blink-182: These guys are a lot more self-aware than many critics tend to give them credit for. With the exception of Barker’s world-class chops, they were never the most technically impressive or culturally impactful punk band under the California sun, but they were never exactly trying to be. Nevertheless, from “Dumpweed” to “What’s My Age Again?” — and, yes, “Aliens Exist” — they’re a band that created some undeniably fun, relatable, silly, angsty pop tunes with genuine staying power.

Frankly, a bit of midset banter from Hoppus characterizing Blink’s arena shows summed the night up about as well as I ever could: “Was it funny? I don’t know. Were they good? I can’t tell you. But I had fun.”

That’s exactly right.