Virgin Mobile FreeFest at Merriweather Post Pavilion 8/30/09

Who: Blink-182, Weezer, The Bravery, Jet, Public Enemy, Taking Back Sunday, etc.

When: Sunday, August 30, 2009

Where: Virgin Mobile FreeFest at Merriweather Post Pavilion

The Virgin Festival this year was amazing. Good music, good food, good people. I had tons of time in the beginning before any of the good bands went on to kill time with my friends by singing karaoke, checking out the different stands, and getting a photo pretending to be in bed with a hot chick. Taking Back Sunday used their set time to the fullest, playing all of their top singles and songs from their new album in an hour and a half, Jet was rocking Merriweather with their loaded tambourine and cowbell, Public Enemy protested the war and economy along with their sick rapping, Weezer and Rivers Cuomo didn't even have to play their instruments to sound good, and Blink-182 just stole the stage as they did when I saw them at Hershey a couple of weeks ago. Blink's fart jokes and changing of lyrics into vulgar were greatly appreciated as well. For free (well, 15 bucks for me), was well worth it. I even got some laughs from folks in the bathroom by acting like the Tourette's Guy.

Blink-182 at Hershey Park Stadium 8/12/09

Who: Blink-182 w/ Fall Out Boy and Panic! at the Disco (no Chester French because of rain)

When: August 12, 2009

Where: Hershey Park Stadium

This show was a dream come true for me. I never thought that I would be able to see Blink after they broke up. I've been listening to Blink since 2nd grade, and they sound as good as ever live. It started pouring rain when at 6:30 when the show was supposed to start, and lasted past 7, so Chester French didn't get to play, but Panic! at the Disco was great, even though they were missing 2 members, and Fall Out Boy put on a great show as usual too. They even pulled Journey out of their asses. Blink-182 made up for the shitty rain by putting on a great show, as I thought they would. Tom made his sex jokes, Mark made fun of Tom, and Travis, as expected, slammed those drums. Tom messed up his guitar solos, Mark sung "Chocolate Rain," and Travis...said no to singing "Reckless Abandon." It was everything that you would expect at a Blink show. They played not only their singles, but their non-hits from their latest 3 albums. I would've liked some more played from Dude Ranch and Cheshire Cat, but I'm guessing their still rusty from not playing for 5 years. I highly recommend to anyone who likes crappy punk rock to check them out on tour.