Blink 182 bring Reading 2014 to a close

Let’s be honest, for most attendees this weekend, Blink-182 are here to conjure up nostalgia: for the young or old, casual or dedicated, the trio’s music perfectly epitomises youth. Therein lies their power, at the very least. Having already played two intimate warm up shows at London’s Brixton Academy earlier this month, they gave fans a taste of what could be to come from their headlining stints. As it turns out, they sold themselves short. They’re no longer the kind of band who can operate on just a plug-in-and-play basis: they need to be headlining arenas, stadiums, festivals because that’s just where they work best.

Tonight, there’s an unrelenting energy to their set from the word go: never have you witnessed a happier crowd at Reading. Voices are raised, everyone sings along with each and every word. The long disputed quality of their vocals doesn’t matter, with however many thousand people ready and willing to help out.

There, of course, are the hits. Every song that once soundtracked a teenager’s summer day is thrown into the mix. There are the new songs, too, and they’re received just as well. Tonight is a team game, with the band and crowd aligned and while, yeah, maybe it’s time for the trio to hang up the ‘…your mom’ jokes, they’ve still not lost their charm. At least, that’s what the 60,000-strong crowd tonight would have you believe, and that’s no mean feat.

Blink-182 played:
Feeling This
What’s My Age Again?
The Rock Show
Up All Night
Down
I Miss You
Dumpweed
Wishing Well
Happy Holidays, You Bastard
Always
Stay Together for the Kids
Asthenia
First Date
Easy Target
All of This
Hybrid Moments
Man Overboard
Ghost on the Dancefloor
All the Small Things
Carousel
Violence
Dammit
Family Reunion