As a fan of Blink-182 during the Matt Skiba era, it’s hard for me to really get back into Blink-182 with Tom DeLonge. As opposed to what many may think, I was a big fan of Skiba’s work with the band and I felt it breathed a new life into the band.
As a Tom DeLonge fan, still, it’s exciting to hear that the band kicked off their reunion tour with Tom DeLonge in St. Paul, Minnesota which featured some songs that Matt Skiba was previously apart of during DeLonge’s absence.
The setlist was a nostalgic journey through their career, starting with “Anthem Part Two” and closing with the classic hit “Dammit”.
I was especially shocked to hear that they played two tracks from their “Neighborhoods” album, “Ghost On the Dance Floor” and “Up All Night”, which hadn’t been performed in several years due to poor reception to that album.
The two Matt Skiba-era songs on the setlist were: “Cynical” and “Bored to Death” from Blink’s 2016 album “California”. It was pretty amazing and a head trip to see Tom DeLonge lend his signature style to these newer tracks.
Overall, it was a fantastic performance, albeit different because of the two varying styles between DeLonge and Skiba. The songs sounded as they should, but they also didn’t exactly sound like they should, if that makes sense.
Skiba had his own trademark on the band and of course, DeLonge has years and years of his style on the band. However, I would say that Tom’s style has changed over the years and we are hearing a much different trademark than we did in the early 2000s from DeLonge.
Regardless, I can’t wait to see what other surprises Blink-182 has in store for their fans on this reunion tour. Check out some videos below.
