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Blink-182: A New Tour Begins, a Long Break Ends

Blink-182 is set to launch a summer tour after a long period of inactivity.  

The first show kicks off in Thackerville, Okla. at the Winstar Casino on May 10.  The band will spend 10 days grazing the U.S. before heading to Canada and Europe and will wrap up the tour in Lisbon, Portugal on July 21. 

Drummer Travis Barker live in concert; photo courtesy of Flickr

Fans can find  the complete list of shows and can purchase tickets at the band’s official website. 

Their July 8 show performance in Cornwall, UK makes up one part of an event called the Eden Sessions. Other bands to appear include Plan B, The Vaccines, Noah and the Whale, Tim Minchin and Labyrinth. Tickets and more information are available at the Eden Sessions’ official website. 

The tour marks the relatively recent September 2011 release of their new album, Neighborhood, the band’s first release of new material in eight years and their reunion album after a break that lasted four years. 

Factors contributing to the break included lead singer Tom DeLonge’s desire to spend more time with his family.  However, a plane accident that left drummer Travis Barker with serious injuries eventually drew the band members back together.

Tom Delonge live; courtesy of Flickr

By coincidence, DeLonge was at the airport boarding a plane when he heard the news.   He said the idea of losing Barker made him realize he wanted the band to reunite again.

“I thought he was going to die,” he said. “Instantly after the plane crash, I was like, ‘Hey, I want to play music with him again.’” 

Many fans and reviewers have noted that Blink-182’s sound has taken a much more serious, or “less fun,” tone.  Around the time of the album’s release, bassist Mark Hoppus told Billboard about the change. 

Mark Hoppus live; photo courtesy of Flickr

“I couldn’t write a happy song for this record,” he said.  “As people and performers, we definitely still have some stuff we need to work out, and we need to grow up with.  [The album] is lyrically pretty heavy in a lot of places.  Maybe that’s where we are in our heads.  We’ve gone through a lot of stuff over the past few years.  We’re in a better place because of it all—but we’ve gone through some shit.”

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