Live Nation presents… The Honda Civic Tour 2011 with Blink 182 and My Chemical Romance, and special guests Matt and Kim at the 1-800 Ask Gary Amphitheater in Tampa, Florida.
First off, let me just say that this show was an extremely huge honor for me to even be there. Blink 182 and My Chemical Romance have been on my “Must See” list for over 7 years, so nonetheless, I was excited. The venue itself is beautiful, and as opening act Matt and Kim played, the sun set in the background and made for a sight to see. Anyways, on to the music…
Matt and Kim opened this show up, and with the three band bill that night, they each got a respectable set time. Now, I have never seen Matt and Kim before, but let me say that they are an energetic dynamic duo. With Kim on drums and Matt playing keyboard, I was impressed at their talent, to say the least. Even the little things added to their set, like having the audience blow up balloons for a song, or Kim booty dancing on her drum set, it was a very enjoyable performance.
It wasn’t long before My Chemical Romance hit the stage. They came on to Na Na Na, you know the catchy song on the radio. Anyways, their performance was flawless. They played Im Not Okay (I Promise) after that, and even played Our Lady Of Sorrows from their first record. Their set ranged everywhere from Teenagers, to Helena, Planetary (Go!), Famous Last Words, ect. They put on a great show, and let me tell you, Gerald, man, can that kid sing. He has come a long ways since Three Cheers for Sweet Revenge. One thing that really caught my attention was there final song. They didn’t end with a big band, they slowed things down, and ended with Cancer, which was, in my opinion, the best way to end the set.
Mark Hoppus is the biggest rock star ever. What does he do before the show? He was standing on stage tuning his bass and eating chips. No big entrance, no curtain, light went out, bands walks on, and show starts. Sweet and Simple. Blink 182 opened their set with Feeling This, which got the crowd into a great mood right off the bat. With the 90 Degree heat still weighting down, the band put on such an visually amazing show. The visuals were outstanding, and their stage presence was great. Cracking jokes on stage, puling pranks throughout the set, playing in the dark, it was really fun. They played three new songs, Up All Night, After Midnight, and Hearts All Gone, and played every big hit like, Stay Together For The Kids, First Date, I Miss You, and even played their song Fuck A Dog. Mark even jokes around before their encore, saying “Now were done playing, and there is no way were coming out to play three more songs, so everyone just go home, okay?” But even if you hate Blink 182, it would be worth wild to stay for Travis Barkers drum solo. D.A.M.N. There is no other way to describe someone on a moveable drumset, flying through the air, hovering above the pit, and seeing the drum God that is, Travis Barker. There outtro was pretty intense too. They ended, as always, with Dammit, and then Family Reunion, and just had fun. They walked off, came back on, shook hands, played some riffs, it wasn’t the normal serious performance bands give nowadays, it was fun, joking around, and everyone left knowing they got there moneys worth out of it all.
