Blink-182 back on tour after four-year hiatus
Published 1:33 pm Thursday, September 3, 2009
Blink-182 isn’t known for its subtlety, so the group’s route of announcing its reunion earlier this year was at least a little uncharacteristic.
“We’re back,” the group stated bluntly in a press release. “We mean, really back. Picking up where we left off and then some.”
The announcement glossed over a dramatic period for the pop punk band, filled with in-fighting, separate tours and a plane crash.
The band hit a rocky patch in 2005, going on an indefinite hiatus. Bassist Mark Hoppus and drummer Travis Barker used the time to form one band, Plus 44, as guitarist Tom DeLonge started another, Angels and Airwaves.
DeLonge virtually stopped speaking with his old bandmates until Barker was badly injured in a plane crash.
Barker’s hospitalization brought the three guys back into the same room. The group put aside its differences and now is playing its biggest hits — “All the Small Things,” “I Miss You” — in massive venues nationwide.
Weezer opens the show. The quirky group most recently landed on the charts with its third self-titled album, featuring the No. 1 rock hit “Pork and Beans.”
6:30 p.m. Thursday, White River Amphitheatre, 40601 Auburn Enumclaw Road, Auburn; $20 to $68; livenation.com or 877-598-6659.
Dave Matthews Band: Saxophonist LeRoi Moore’s 2008 death didn’t deter the guys in Dave Matthews Band from recording a new album.
Instead, the group saw a chance to pay tribute to their band mate, who died following an ATV accident. The result was another No. 1 album, “Big Whiskey and the GrooGrux King.”
The success of that album aside, many consider the group at its best in a live setting. Its three-night stand at the Gorge will help prove why.
6 tonight through Sunday, the Gorge Amphitheatre, 754 Silica Road NW, Quincy; $48.50 to $70; ticketmaster.com or 800-745-3000.
Keane: This British group broke into the United States on the heels of Coldplay, with soaring tracks such as “Somewhere Only We Know” finding a home both on the radio and on “Grey’s Anatomy.”
However, the group’s most recent album, “Perfect Symmetry,” ditched the falsetto balladry for a more straight-ahead pop approach, which could make the group’s show at the Moore Theatre an upbeat affair.
8 p.m. Thursday, Moore Theatre, 1932 Second Ave., Seattle; $33; stgpresents.org or 877-784-4849.
Chris Isaak: Isaak is a bit of a chameleon.
He first drew attention with his reverb-heavy rockabilly, and then started landing acting roles, in part thanks to his matinee idol looks.
The singer now splits his time between acting and recording.
While he hasn’t had a big hit since 1999’s “Baby Did a Bad Bad Thing,” he maintains his fan base. His February album, “Mr. Lucky,” hit No. 29 on the Billboard 200.
7 tonight, Chateau Ste. Michelle Winery, 14111 NE 145th St., Woodinville; $45 to $79.50; ticketmaster.com or 800-745-3000.
Gipsy Kings: The long-running French act created its own niche by melding flamenco, pop and other world music influences into one jubilant sound. The group may be best known for its 1990 U.S. hit, “Volare.”
7 p.m. Saturday, Chateau Ste. Michelle Winery, 14111 NE 145th St., Woodinville; $50 to $90; ticketmaster.com or 800-745-3000.
Bonnie Raitt and Taj Mahal: The two blues singers have sold out their Woodinville date.
7 p.m. Sunday, Chateau Ste. Michelle Winery, 14111 NE 145th St., Woodinville; sold out.
Andy Rathbun: 425-339-3455; arathbun@heraldnet.com.
