- I grew up in South America listening to all the popular punk bands from the 90s and 00s.
- As an adult, I've been trying to go see all my favorite bands from when I was growing up.
When I heard Blink-182 was going back on tour after Tom DeLonge's second return to the band, I was determined to finally see them live.
When Blink became mainstream in the late '90s, I heard about them from my high school boyfriend in Brazil. I remember carrying "Dude Ranch" — the band's 1997 album — in my JanSport backpack, ready to play the CD on my way back home from school.
Blink-182 got me through my teenage angsty years when I felt no one got me. Their lyrics complaining about how much life sucks as a teen made me feel less alone. The band's music was also the soundtrack to my relationship until I broke my boyfriend's heart, and then years later, he broke my heart in return.
Since moving to the US as an adult, I've made a point of seeing all the bands I grew up listening to that didn't make it to South America with their tours, like Garbage and Rancid. I checked off most of my list over the years, but not Blink-182. Last night, I finally saw the band in Boston, a two-hour drive from my home in Maine.
Getting tickets for Blink-182 was stressful
While getting tickets was not as complicated as trying for Taylor Swift's tour, where families are spending $21,000 for a handful of tickets, it wasn't easy either. As soon as Ticketmaster opened the virtual queue, I sat there staring at my browser for what felt like an eternity.
When I was finally let in to choose my seats, almost everything was sold out or being resold for thousands of dollars. With a tight budget, all I could get was two seats in the nosebleeds and hope for the best.
For one night, I felt like a teen again
After waiting months for the date to finally come, I was torn on whether it was going to be a night to remember or just a reminder of how time flies by.
In the past, I've seen bands I loved on stage only to leave thinking, "Wow, they can't keep up anymore." As if I could jump around on a stage for three hours while playing an instrument and never singing off-key, but that's beside the point.
I was worried that seeing Tom DeLonge, Mark Hoppus, and Travis Barker in their late 40s and early 50s was going to remind me of my own aging, but thankfully it was the opposite.
DeLonge and Hoppus's humor is still the same, featuring lots of "your mom" jokes. They are just two boys with instruments having fun, and for one night, we all felt like teenagers again. Especially when Tom referenced all the women in the stadium as "girls."
Blink-182's setlist is one hit after the next
From the second the band was onstage, the entire crowd in the TD Garden area was on its feet, with everyone singing at the top of their lungs. I took some moments to look around the crowd, and it was moving to see so many smiling faces singing one hit after the next.
The trio can definitely keep up, especially Barker, who still looks like he has eight arms when he is playing a drum solo There is no other explanation as to why he is so jaw-droppingly good.
I do wish I could have gotten floor tickets to be closer to the action. Maybe even to just mosh for a little — if my knees allowed it.
Still, it was worth the drive and spending $375 on two tickets to feel like my heart had never been broken, I still had my entire life ahead of me, and my checkered Vans were still cool.