Blink-182 returns with goofs, giggles

Tom DeLonge performs with Blink-182 Thursday, Aug. 20, at Verizon Wireless Music Center. (Credit: Robert Scheer / Metromix)

The distinct personalities of Blink-182 are intact.

Back on the road after a four-year hiatus for the pop-punk band, Travis Barker is a relentless and fierce drummer.

Bass player-vocalist Mark Hoppus is a smooth purveyor of melodies, and guitarist-vocalist Tom DeLonge is whiny when he sings, jagged when he plays guitar and sophomoric when he does anything else.

The reunited trio performed for an audience of 14,000 on Thursday night at Verizon Wireless Music Center, where a measure of maturity seeped into the work of Barker and Hoppus.

But no growing or learning for DeLonge, who spoke of hooking up with a NASCAR driver -- they're everywhere in Indianapolis -- and frequently apologized for his botched singing and playing.

Mistake-prone performances were an endearing hallmark of Blink-182 shows in the old days, and fans probably didn't go home wishing DeLonge had been sharper.

The band's music is fun and carefree, which makes it possible to resume a career as if nothing has changed. (An updated video presentation is recommended, however, because six circular screens showed the musicians to be no larger than could be seen with the naked eye.)

The songs "Feeling This" and "Miss You" -- both recorded for 2004's "Blink-182" album -- ascended to adrenaline-filled peaks. DeLonge and Hoppus presented the fickle nature of relationships back-to-back: The guitarist pined for forever on "First Date," and the bass player coldly dismissed someone on "Man Overboard."

Time may not be on the side of the supporting acts. This tour would have been a scorching attraction if it featured the 2005 editions of Fall Out Boy and Panic at the Disco.

Both pop-punk acts have slipped in popularity recently, and they've resorted to covering Journey's "Don't Stop Believing" with Panic's Brendon Urie joining Fall Out Boy in the role of Steve Perry.

It's also difficult not to feel slighted by the tour's routing, which took Weezer to half of America but subbed Fall Out Boy -- which performed locally in May -- for the rest.

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