AS A TEENAGER I was a huge fan of Blink 182 where I attended one of their gigs over 10 ten years ago.

Discovering that they were retouring this year, I was very excited not only to rehear some of their classic pop-punk songs but also to hear songs from their latest album California: Deluxe Edition.

The original album California was the first album to feature new vocalist/guitarist Matt Skiba replacing former member Tom DeLonge.

The Motorpoint Arena was completely sold out with fans anxious for their arrival on stage.

With no introduction, the rock band burst onto stage with Feeling This followed by Rock Show. This was an ideal way for them to start with long term fans rocking out, jumping and screaming with excitement.

This was followed by Cynical, one of their newer songs. Loyal audience members were all singing along setting the tone for the rest of the night.  

Other songs played from their latest album included: Bored to Death, Built This Pool, She’s Out of Her Mind, Sober and Los Angeles.

While highlighting their newer songs, the band did justice to their most famous songs playing the best tracks from the albums Enema of the State (1999), Take Off Your Pants and Jacket (2001) and Blink 182 (2003).

The night ended with All The Small Things followed by Dammit with confetti canons exploding, filling the whole stadium.

A male child finished the show with a drum solo who I believe is the son of one of the band members – he definitely had picked up some skills from Travis Barker!

Now more mature, they haven’t lost it and didn’t fail to deliver their well-known pop-punk style.

Definitely one of my favourite gigs of this year.