April 17, 2002, 10:00 am PT
Blink-182One of this summer’s must-see concert tours would have to be Pop Disaster (allstar, Feb. 15), which kicks off Wednesday (April 17) in Bakersfield, Calif.
If the lineup – Green Day, Blink-182, Jimmy Eat World, and Saves the Day – isn’t enough, Blink-182 drummer Travis Barker promises a drum stunt that will put Tommy Lee to shame.
“I have a surprise for my drum solo in the middle of one song,” Barker tells allstar. “It’s crazier than Tommy Lee.”
Barker is keeping mum on the specifics, but let it be said that the somersault and roller coaster stunts of Lee’s Motley Crue days will be tough acts to follow. Barker remains fairly confident, however, danger notwithstanding. “Hopefully, I’ll live through everything,” he says.
Otherwise, the 75-minute Blink-182 set will be pretty much on par with what people expect from the trio. “[It’s the] same old shit, really,” says Barker. “We basically go out there and play music, have a good time, acting like complete assholes as if we’re at practice in front of 20,000 people. Whatever happens, happens.”
Green DayWhile Green Day and Blink-182 will co-headline the affair, Jimmy Eat World, currently enjoying a hit single in “The Middle,” will open the show through May 20 in Charlotte, N.C., followed by Saves the Day through the tour’s curtain call on Aug. 17 in Minneapolis.
One ironic angle of the Pop Disaster tour is the fact that Blink-182 is often slagged off as mere Green Day clones, in much the same way Bush gets pinned down as a wannabe Nirvana, or Oasis is accused of thieving from the Beatles. Now both bands have embraced each other on equal ground.
“I never thought the two were alike, even before I was in Blink, ” Barker says. “Green Day writes super rad, mid-tempo punk rock songs. Blink is so different. Green Day doesn’t even really write about girls anymore!”
Blink-182 certainly doesn’t have that problem. The band’s latest single, “First Date,” is merely one of many, many songs in the band’s set devoted to the art of hooking up. Meanwhile, Green Day has turned to more serious topics in the band’s latter years, like politics, isolation, and religion.
“I think Blink has a totally different take on music and we have a super ‘I don’t give a shit’ kind of vibe,” says Barker. “Green Day is actually a serious band now.”
