Blink 182 @ Sofi Stadium, Los Angeles

Words and photography by Heather Hawke.

Kids these days will never truly understand the term “selling out” as it was used toward musicians in the ‘90s/‘00s. Since that was pre social media/iTunes/etc and I grew up in Northern NV (far removed from the music industry/indie music stores) it was when band’s “sold out” and made their way to Top 40 radio / TV commericals / TRL / MTV etc that I became aware of them. I first heard the term “selling out” in 1999 when classmates in 6th grade referred to Blink 182 as such after “All The Small Things” had found it’s way to Top 40 radio / TRL. The timing felt unparalleled, it was right then that I began to get completely obsessed/immersed with discovering new music in any way possible – most of the time it was via TRL/MTV/VH1, radio, and/or going to Tower Records/Best Buy/Sam Goody/Barnes & Noble and scowering/devouring the new releases and the print music magazines. Once I was in middle school, a girl a grade older than me brought her portable CD player and a handful of CDs on the bus and she let me borrow one of the albums (Enema of the State). As corny as it sounds that was THE album that got me hooked and it felt like one I could finally claim as “my type of music.” The album set the stage for even more music discovery and a fondness of the type of music I enjoy most – music that takes its sense of humor seriously – and the appreciation for the band kept growing with each release of their 2000’s albums (and all the members side projects). All of this to say that it was wild to finally catch their live set this past weekend in LA. “Feeling This” is still one of my fav songs and the fact that they opened the LA show with it made it feel like a full circle moment. 

Check out some images from the show below!