By Dave Kasiorek
Despite the rainy forecast, time and lineup change due to a broke down tour bus both Blink 182 and Lil Wayne delivered a show full of party-esque fun for the thousands of a mostly college level crowd. Blink 182 chugged through their songs with precision and determination to make this show high energy. A highlight for me was the drum solo (since I am a drummer myself). It took so many twists and turns while Travis Barker (drummer, Blink 182) pounded through several arrangements over a backing track of various styles of music, all while playing inside of a spherical cage that moved in 360 degrees. Another cool highlight is when the band joined the audience for a small acoustic set near the back of the pavilion sending a horde of fans rushing to get close enough to the point it felt like a campfire sing-along with Blink 182. Stand out songs for crowd response were “All The Small Things”, “Adam’s Song”, and “Dammit”.
Not coming on until after 10pm and without his own stage due to tour bus issues Lil Wayne still came out and powered through to keep the party going. Lil Wayne scanned the stage as his band torched through the songs with bass loud enough to shake the ground and tremble your entire body. Although rap is not my style of music I have a lot of respect for Lil Wayne as a performer and the fact that he comes out with a full band is a really nice addition to a rap show. His band was no slouch either, full of thick grooves, guitar solos, and instrumental breakdowns where you sometimes thought it was a rock show. Lil Wayne’s DJ kept thousands of hands in the air as they ripped through the set full of fire and smoke.
Overall if you get a chance to see this tour it is well worth it for a night out of entertainment. It may seem like a strange lineup on paper but both bands delivered a show that should satisfy most frequent concert goers.
