Show Review: blink-182 Hartford, CT

Neither New England's rainy weather nor Travis Barker's busted up hands could keep blink-182 and their droves of Connecticut fans from the Hartford stop of the Honda Civic Tour last Sunday night. Playing to a nearly full house at the Comcast Theatre (their first show there in nearly two years), the band presented themselves as a cohesive trio who are once again comfortable enough with each other to take some chances on stage.

The SoCal natives opened up with their hit single, "Feeling This" off their 2003 Self-Titled effort. With the crowd warmed up, blink immediately jumped into "Up All Night", the first track released from their upcoming LP, Neighborhoods.

As the set continued, it was clear that blink had found their stride again. They seemed much more comfortable with each other on this tour than their previous North American tour in 2009 where their stage banter and song choices were more reserved.

Perhaps that was best demonstrated after "What's My Age Again?" when guitarist Tom DeLonge slipped on stage. As if it were the late 90s again, bassist Mark Hoppus wasted no time in making fun of his fallen comrade. But never to be outdone, DeLonge shot back, taking a dig at Hoppus' mother - which even got a rise out of drummer Travis Barker.

From that point on, the show proved very lighthearted and fun. Between songs, blink even busted out some rarely heard material from their earlier years including "Family Reunion", "Happy Holidays, You Bastard" and a short, mashed up cover of My Chemical Romance's "Na Na Na".

The band also made sure to cover all their bases, playing cult favorites such as "Man Overboard", "Carousel", "Down" and "Josie", amongst others. In addition to the hits, blink flew seamlessly through another three brand new songs from Neighborhoods - "After Midnight", "Heart's All Gone" and "Ghost On The Dancefloor".

But, as with any amphitheater performance, the show was much more than the music. Blink managed to put together a set design that was bigger and more visual than anything they'd previously had. Complete with moving LCD screens, a laser light show, fog machines and the unforgettable Travis Barker drum solo high above the crowd in the pit, the band have proved that outdoing themselves is an understatement.

Blink were supported at this show by the Atlanta, Georgia outfit, Manchester Orchestra and the goth-emo rockers, My Chemical Romance. For more information on tour dates near you, click HERE.

And take a look at some of Backstage Press' photos from the front row. We'd also like to give a shout-out to our new friends who held it down front row in the pit with us - Joe, Kyle, Andy, Big Lou and Abby. You guys rule!

Daniel Bobis Benefit Show Tonight

**UPDATE: 7/27** - Last night's Benefit Show raised over $2,000 to help the Bobis family fund the search & rescue efforts in Indonesia. Thank you to everyone who went to the show, donated or helped spread the word.

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Long Island musicians are rallying together to help raise money for a missing friend, musician and surfer, Daniel Bobis.

Bobis, 32, who works as a teacher at Long Beach High School in New York, was vacationing with his wife in Indonesia on Tuesday when he ventured out to catch a few waves. While riding one in, Bobis reportedly clipped another surfer's board and lost control, falling into the water. His board washed up on shore, but Bobis never came up.

In the time since the accident, Bobis' wife has employed helicopter search parties, dive teams and local surfers to help find her husband. But unfortunately, all this is coming at a hefty price to her and her family. In other words, funds are running out.

Having heard this, local Long Island musicians, including Envy On The Coast/North Korea members Ryan Hunter and Brian Byrne, have teamed up with other artists and the community to bring together a benefit show to support search efforts.

Tonight, Tuesday, July 26th, the Daniel Bobis Benefit Show will be held at The Leaky Lifeboat Inn in Seaford, New York at 9:30 p.m.

Hunter has reached out to musicians including Francesco Montesanto (Sainthood Reps), Ian Kenny and Tommy Fleischmann (NGHBRS), and Mike Desmond and Dylan Ebrahimian (Gabriel The Marine) - who will all be performing special acoustic sets tonight at the show.

Donations will be taken at the door and proceeds are going straight to fund the search efforts and help the Bobis family through their tough time.

In a statement about the tragic event and the show Hunter said, "Here on Long Island, we always help each other out in times of need, and I'm very fortunate to have a lot of great, talented friends who are going to come down and help raise money for Daniel's rescue. I'll be doing an acoustic set, and so will a lot of other great dudes."

"This is the quickest I've ever thrown a show together," continued Hunter, "but we've got to be quick, and I would like to get the cash to Daniel's wife as soon as possible."

For directions to the venue for tonight's show, click HERE. Again, the show starts at 9:30 p.m. and will be held at The Leaky Lifeboat Inn in Seaford, New York.

View Daniel Bobis Benefit Show - 7/26 in a larger map

If you would like to donate but cannot make tonight's performance, a PayPal account has been set up in Bobis' name. Simply log in and send your donation to dannybobisfund@gmail.com.

Let's come together as the tight-knit music community we are to help bring a fellow musician home to his family.