Blink-182 brought their 2023-2024 World Tour to the TD Garden in Boston, MA. This was a special tour with the return of Tom DeLonge who is back touring with the band for the first time since 2015. Blink-182 brought the band Turnstile to open for this stop on the tour.
Turnstile is a hardcore punk band that hails from Baltimore, Maryland. They got the night started with their hit, "Mystery", from the band's latest album, Glow On. Rolling Stone magazine ranked Turnstile's Glow On at number 8 on their Best 50 Albums of 2021. It was no surprise that the majority of their set was comprised of tracks from that critically acclaimed album. Turnstile did dip into their 2018 album, Time & Space, to ensure the crowd was getting sufficiently warmed up with the fast paced track, "Big Smile".
TD Garden was jammed packed and Blink-182 was back stronger than ever. The first songs of the night were "Anthem Part Two" and "The Rock Show" which had the Boston crowd on their feet right from the start of their 25-song setlist. Early in the show, Travis Barker put his talents at center stage and showcased an impressively powerful drum solo.
The trio's playful personalities were on full display adding Mom jokes and self deprecating remarks continuously throughout the night. Tom and Mark contemplated on stage about how it was possible they got this far with dick jokes. At one point in the evening, Mark Hoppus joked that "they named the Boston Creme pie after Tom's mom". Tom DeLonge agreed this was true before going into the next tune, "Up All Night". Later in the show, Tom let the ladies know he was "excited for your fallopian tubes" as the band started to play "Dupweed".
The night had so much more to offer than just profanity and adolescent humor. Right before the band played their massively popular track, "Adam's Song", Mark addressed the crowd: "I wrote this next song when I was at a really low point in my life and not long ago I found myself at another low point in my life. About two years ago I was diagnosed with stage four lymphoma and I was so weak I could barely walk up the stairs at my house. Now I'm here, at the Garden, with all of you, and with Tom and with Travis. I couldn't be more grateful. It's about pulling yourself up from the depths. Tomorrow does hold such better days. I love you all, this song is for you." It was rare to see Mark be so vulnerable with the audience when he is usually joking throughout the show, but the crowd appreciated his candor.
As the band was getting ready to play "What's My Age Again?", Mark let the audience know this would be the last song of the night. In the middle of the song, over Travis' drumming, Mark let everyone know that this really would not be their last song of the night. In fact, they provided three additional songs. He was getting the crowd pumped up and said, "do you want to know why?" The crowd started to cheer waiting for his response and Mark enthusiastically shouted "because we're contractually obligated!!" which was ironically followed up with even more cheers. The night finished strong with "First Date", "All the Small Things", and "Dammit" along with lots of confetti showering down on fans for an outstanding conclusion to the night.
About Photographer Lori Hynes
Lori Hynes is a Boston-based concert photographer that also works as a data analyst. She is a mother to two very active boys. When she is not taking her sons to their activities or photographing concerts, Lori enjoys snowboarding and is an avid ice hockey player.