Concert Review: Blink 182, My Chemical Romance, Matt and Kim

Band: blink 182, My Chemical Romance Opener: Matt and Kim
Date: October 2, 2011
Location: Sleep Train Amphitheater, Sacramento, CA

Preconcieved Thoughts of the Band: blink 182 is my favorite band...EVER! I saw them, two years ago at their reunion tour and I was blown away (and in physical pain) from their performance. They are known for playing loud punk rock and as fast as they can. I knew what they were going to be playing in their set list, even their new songs off the album Neighborhoods. I was so prepared for them. My Chemical Romance on the other hand, is a different story. I haven't heard from the since middle school. Three Cheers for Sweet Revenge was pretty much it for me. I strayed away from the emo scene to more indie rock afterward. I knew a couple of singles form their Black Parade album but that was pretty much it. They did change their image to a more colorful one, but I was pretty DGAF about them. Finally Matt and Kim was another band I was crazy to see at the tour. They were on my playlist all of freshman year in college. I missed their performance at the Fillmore a year ago, but I wasn't going to miss them this time. 





What Actually Happened (BITCH SPOILER ALERT?) -  I am very fortunate to be in Concert Production class this semester. My professor knew the promoter for Sleep Train and invited the whole class to see the set up of the concert. I was blown away!!!! As the class started walking to backstage, I caught a glance of Mark Hoppus! I totally did a double take! He was wearing his shades with a coffee in his hand! That was amazing, I couldn't stop shaking. I went backstage, met the people in charge of the amphitheater and blink 182's production manager! as we started walking Mikey Way the bassist for My Chemical Romance passed by me. I was pretty DGAF, and 5 feet away from me was Gerard Way with a hoodie. Also DGAF. 
     After the backstage tour, we all sat down by the pit area and watched the production at the front. All of a sudden Mark Hoppus comes out again and starts soundcheck his bass! He turns around and says hi to us! My heart dropped. I felt like it was the best day ever!!


Concert -  This was my second Honda Civic Tour concert. The majority of the class got seat tickets, but I wanted to go all out, so I bought pit tickets. The merch line was ridiculous. I really wanted a blink 182 tour shirt but Matt and Kim were about to perform soon. I ditched merch and ran for pit.
     I met up with Relic and saw Matt and Kim. I LOVED THEM. They were so upbeat, played some old school and new songs as well. They played eye of the tiger and other songs in between sets. Kim was the funniest and most active. She cussed, danced and dropped it down. She even started dancing on top of the fans. It was great listening to their music. Sounds just as good as I imagined it!

     During the set up stage of My Chemical Romance, I stumbled upon a man with quite a few things to say, which is none. He had a pretty big lisp, and pretty band teeth. He was telling me that he got pit tickets because his step dad worked there. He was excited to see the band and other small talk nonsense. 
     I felt the crowd coming in, so at that point there was no way I would have to time to go back to merch. My Chemical Romance came on and all of a sudden this dude started putting his arms around Relic and I. We were freaking out, So during Planetary (Go!) Relic grabbed me and while everyone was dancing we were trying to get a away from this dude. we went to the other side of the stage and stayed there for a while. All of sudden we see a crowd surfer, and its him!!! this time we go back in the center of the stage and it was fine after that! they put on an amazing show! I can't believe I still remember their old singles. I felt like a 13 year old again.
     Finally after a two year wait! Blink 182 shows up, I'm right in front of Mark Hoppus. They start out with "Feeling This" and immediately the crowd just pushes me forward. Everyone is moshing!!! I got caught off guard and I was trying to push them off, while yelling the lyrics. The same thing happened when they played "Up All Night". Around this time, I lose Relic by the moshing, but I got closer to the stage. Afterwards, Things started slowing down. Their track "I Miss You" calmed the crowd down to a standstill. Their music got caught me off guard. I closed my eyes, while mouthing the words, and for the moment I realized I was crying. It was soo beautiful. The visuals were amazing! There were lasers everywhere! I sang every song at the top of my lungs and had a blast. Their encore was somewhat weird. Travis Barker couldn't do this solo because the roof wouldn't be able to support the drum kit weight. So after All The Small Things, Mark Hoppus sets down his bass guitar and walks away. 5 seconds later, He said "Well, ya know this is the time where you guys yell 'Blink blink blink!'" so we all do. Then he picks it up and playing Carousel, Dammit, and Family Reunion. It was a really weird encore.

Setlist -

1. Feeling This
2. Up All Night*
3. The Rock Show
4. What's My Age Again?
5. Down
6. I Miss You
7. Stay Together For The Kids
8. Dumpweed
9. Always
10. Violence
11. After Midnight*
12. First Date
13. Heart's All Gone*
14. Man Overboard
15. Ghost On The Dancefloor*
16. All The Small Things
17. Josie
-----------------------------
18. Travis Barker Drum Solo
19. Carousel
20. Dammit

21. Family Reunion

*New Songs

Verdict - Best concert EVER!! ....except for that creepy stalker dude.


Bitch Rate - .5/5


--Wolf James