“So many moms, so little time.”

blink-182 is back and better than ever! Tom, Mark, and Travis are all back together for the first time since 2014. When I saw that they were doing a world tour, I was so happy to see that they were going to play a show in Seattle.

I had the privilege to see blink-182 play at Climate Pledge Arena and it was such an amazing show from start to finish. I had a great time reliving my middle school and high school days with those songs, it’s not a phase rather it’s a lifestyle.

I am a very big fan of blink-182 and my fandom started when I first heard the song “What’s My Age Again?” on YouTube and seeing them run through the streets of Los Angeles, California.

From there I went down the rabbit hole of their music from hit albums like Enema of the State and their self-titled album, to their early albums like Dude Ranch, and more recent albums like Neighborhoods.

Although Dude Ranch was recorded without Travis Barker in the band, he joined the band around the time the album was released after the band parted ways with their original drummer, Scott Raynor.

I also explored the side projects of blink-182 and loved the music that I heard from Tom, Mark, and Travis. My favorite side project from the trio is Angels & Airwaves, which is Tom Delonge’s side project.

Prior to the tour being announced the band released a single called “Edging” while teasing a new album, which has been a long time coming since the trio released Neighborhoods back in 2014. This is due to Tom leaving the band for a second time and prompting a delay in the recording process for blink-182.

Eventually, Mark and Travis replaced Tom with Alkaline Trio guitarist Matt Skiba, who filled in from 2015-2022. Matt recorded two albums with Travis and Mark, which were California and NINE.

Although the band had a different sound with Matt in the band, I thought it was an interesting period of music that they made as they augmented their sound with more electronic elements. I liked the change in sound but felt that it was always missing something when Matt was singing songs that Tom had written.

This is not a shot at Matt Skiba by any means, I love Matt’s music outside of blink-182 and what he did with the band. However, when I heard that Tom was coming back to the band, I was overjoyed to hear the news along with new music.

It was enough to make me cry tears of joy and make sure I wasn’t dreaming this at all. I heard rumors about Tom’s possible return but didn’t want to believe it until I saw it confirmed by the band themselves.

Enough of my blink-182 fandom for now and into the show at Climate Pledge Arena in Seattle, Washington. I thought the show was amazing from the opening song “Anthem Pt.2” to the encore “Dammit.”

The band played a lot of their classic songs during the setlist like “What’s My Age Again?,” “Aliens Exist,” “All the Small Things,” “Always,” “Feeling This,” and “Dysentery Gary” to name a few.

I was so happy that they played “Aliens Exist,” which is one of my favorite blink-182 songs. The visual showed Tom with a clip of him talking about his experience with UFOs and Aliens. I do want to point out that this isn’t new for Tom as he has been talking about Aliens since the band formed in 1992.

The band also played a couple of songs of their album California, which were “Cynical” and “Bored to Death.” That was a bit of a surprise to me since Tom didn’t record those songs, but when I heard him perform them live for the first time I thought he knocked it out of the park.

As the band ripped through their setlist they also took time to crack jokes on stage between each other, mess with each other on stage during songs, and banter with the audience for a bit, which I laughed at every single time. The band has influenced my own personal sense of humor and honestly, I can’t complain about that at all.

I enjoyed the show a lot and found myself singing through all 26 songs that they played that night in Seattle. By the time the show was wrapping up I began to start losing my voice right as the band began to play their final two songs. It was totally worth it as I got to relive the days of middle school and high school.

I can’t say enough how much I really enjoyed the blink-182 show and getting to see them play live for the first time.

The band has been a big part of my life, which I know middle school me would’ve been so jealous that I got to see them play live. I know it feels a bit overdramatic to say that but it is very true and I likely wouldn’t be the person I am if I never discovered their music.

I’m very excited to see them release new music soon, I can hardly contain my excitement about the new album!