Blink 182 kicked off its tour on Wednesday (July 4) in Moline, Illinois at Mark Of The Quad Cities, and the band literally proved to naysayers that it gives a flaming flying fuck.
As fans awaited the band, the theme from 2001: A Space Odyssey played. As the curtain opened, fans were greeted by a giant “FUCK” sign engulfed in flames, circa Kiss 1977. The rest of Blink’s set also contained a heavy dose of pyrotechnics.
Parents who accompanied their children to the show may have sat with mouths open in shock at the giant burning expletive in the background, but Blink 182 singer-bassist Mark Hoppus and singer-guitarist Tom Delonge said that their foul mouths and potty sense of humor shouldn’t come as a shock.
“There’s been a few parents that have taken their kids out of the shows because I guess, whatever… We’ve been doing the exact same stuff onstage for the last nine years that we’ve been a band, and some people don’t know what to expect,” Hoppus said.
Delonge added, “Now there’s people watching us, so now all of the sudden now it’s a problem. Now it’s an issue.”
Blink 182 has added a slew of new dates, starting with September 3 in Hartford, Connecticut. The tour now winds down in Chula Vista, California on September 15.
Revised Blink 182 Tour Dates (Subject To Change):
- July 6 – Indianapolis, IN – Deer Creek
- July 7 – Chicago, IL – Tweeter Center
- July 9 – Cincinnati, OH – Riverbend
- July 10 – Columbus, OH – Polaris Amphitheater
- July 11 – Cleveland, OH- Blossom Music Center
- July 13 – Kansas City, KS – Sandstone Amphitheater
- July 14 – Somerset, WI – Somerset Park – Warped Tour
- July 15 – St. Louis, MO – Riverport Amphitheatre
- July 17 – Burgettstown, PA – Post-Gazette Pavilion at Star Lake
- July 19 – Detroit, MI – Pine Knob Music Center
- July 22 – Wantagh, NY – Jones Beach Amphitheatre
- July 23 – Buffalo, NY – Darien Lakes
- July 24 – Columbia, MD – Merriweather Post
- July 26 – Holmdel, NJ – PNC Bank Arts Center
- July 27 – Camden, NJ – Tweeter Center At The Waterfront
- July 28 – Boston, MA – Suffolk Downs
- July 29 – Scranton, PA – Coors Light Amphitheater
- July 31 – Raleigh, NC – Alltel Pavilion
- August 2 – West Palm Beach, FL – Mars Music Center
- August 3 – Tampa, FL – Ice Palace
- August 4 – Atlanta, GA – Hi Fi Buys Amphitheater
- August 5 – Antioch, TN – AmSouth Amphitheater
- August 7 – Dallas, TX – Smirnoff Music Center
- August 8 – The Woodlands, TX – C.W. Mitchell Pavilion
- August 9 – Selma, TX – Verizon Wireless Amphitheater
- August 11 – Englewood, CO – Fiddler’s Green Amphitheater
- August 15 – Portland, OR – Memorial Coliseum
- August 17 – George, WA – The Gorge
- August 25 – Toronto, ON – Molson Amphitheater
- September 1 – Allentown, PA – Allentown Fairgrounds
- September 3 – Hartford, CT – Meadows Music
- September 8 – Marysville, CA – Sacramento Valley Amphitheater
- September 9 – Mountain View, CA – Shoreline Amphitheater
- September 12 – Long Beach, CA – Long Beach Arena
- September 13 – Anaheim, CA – Arrowhead Pond
- September 14 – Phoenix, AZ – Veterans Memorial Coliseum
- September 15 – Chula Vista, CA – Coors Amphitheater
