Blink-182 at Reading Festival: a welcome return for the unfiltered pop-punk pioneers

“No one can compete with what we do,” Tom DeLonge calls into the mic, greeted by thousands of fans who seem to agree wholeheartedly. “No one is as good as us… it says it in the bible.” The latter part of this statement may be a bit of a stretch, but with their first performance at Reading and Leeds in a decade, one thing is for certain – pop-punk is having a resurgence, and Blink-182 are paving the way.

It’s almost a year now since the trio made their comeback with the original line-up, and it’s fair to say a lot has changed since the trio were last on site here. Bassist Mark Hoppus overcame his battle with stage four lymphoma in 2021, drummer Travis Barker ventured into the hip-hop world and married a Kardashian, and DeLonge took his passion for UFO research to new heights.

However, when they walk on stage tonight, you’d be forgiven for thinking that no time has passed. Here at Reading, the three deliver exactly what you’d expect from a Blink show – a healthy dose of nostalgia, an abundance of onstage antics and the same unsophisticated teenage humour that first put them on the map.

As expected, boyish crudeness fills up the majority of the dialogue between hits like ‘The Rock Show’ and ‘What’s My Age Again?’. Pair that with Hoppus’ perfectly apt ‘Your mom’ hoodie and his gentle reminder that you’re to blame for your parent’s divorce, and there’s no mistaking that this is Blink in their element.

This is the band at full force. The effortless wit between Hoppus and DeLonge, no matter how juvenile, was sorely missed during the latter’s time away from the line-up, and the unmatched vigour in Barker’s playing throughout is something that only becomes more awe-inspiring over time.

While many artists at Reading and Leeds this weekend will use their platforms to speak out about big cultural and political issues, Blink instead opt to do what they do best — provide a lighthearted escape from reality with dumb, lighthearted fun. That isn’t to say that the trio haven’t evolved since their early days, though. While the smutty innuendos may take the spotlight for a large portion of the set, there is no doubt that a strong undercurrent of gratitude and reflection still runs throughout.

In contrast to ‘Feeling This’ and ‘Dammit’, tracks like ‘Bored To Death’ and ‘One More Time’ come as a poignant contrast. With each lyric, the band seem to be consciously aware of the way things could have turned out differently, and a seem little more grateful to be back on the stage together than ever before.

This set marks a long-awaited return for the pop-punk pioneers, and as far as Blink-182 shows go, it is adamantly clear that the trio have no intention of letting go of that same charm that helped get them to headliner status in the first place. But, given what they’ve overcome in recent years, their dynamic in 2024 feels more nuanced than ever before, and the effortless showmanship and technical ability push their set beyond the realm of nostalgia into something that will stand the test of time.

Blink-182 played:

‘Feeling This’
‘The Rock Show’
‘Man Overboard’
‘Aliens Exist’
‘DANCE WITH ME’
‘Bored to Death’
‘EDGING’
‘Up All Night’
‘MORE THAN YOU KNOW’
‘Stay Together for the Kids’
‘Not Now’
‘CAN’T GO BACK’
‘I Miss You’
‘Down’
”When Your Heart Stops Beating’ (+44 cover)
‘There Is’ (Box Car Racer cover)
‘FUCK FACE’
‘ANTHEM PART 3’
‘Always’
‘What’s My Age Again?’
‘First Date’
‘All the Small Things’
‘Dammit’
‘ONE MORE TIME’

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