This summer as Blink-182 winds its way across the country for a come-back tour, the band has been picking up the current superstars of emo and pop-punk for stints as opening acts, including Popnography favorites Panic! At The Disco and Fall Out Boy for the month of August. The reunion of the two bands, who haven't toured properly together since 2005, has resulted in each of their front-men seemingly engaged in an escalating war of innuendo, to the delight of fans. As the two bands' set of dates wrapped up last weekend, we checked out a show to see how the battle of the gay was shaking down.
On the half-month of dates Panic picked up on this tour, Panic lead singer Brendon Urie has been baiting the crowds with some juicy tidbits about how songs about sex -- like "Lying Is The Most Fun A Girl Can Have Without Taking Her Clothes Off" -- are about how sometimes the band fucks girls, and sometimes they fuck each other. Or about how their new single is about blow jobs with dudes and/or about how hot Megan Fox is. At Darien Lake Brendon didn't disappoint, pointing out that the single should be dedicated to Megan Fox's Transformers co-star, Shia LeBeouf, since he too always looks good naked.
FOB bassist Pete Wentz, for his part, has been using the same song as a chance to practice his blow job skills, coming out to mime the act on Urie during the "can we fast forward to go down on me" line at acoustic sets. Now that lead singer Patrick Stump shows off more swagger during his live performances, Wentz has to get close on the few quiet chances he can, or, as he did this tour, invite a guest vocalist on stage to snuggle up to. For that part Urie has been joining the band for a shortened rendition of Journey's "Don't Stop Believing" that started off at Darien Lake with several ass-slaps and a few minutes of intense hugging between Brendon and FOB guitarist Joe Trohman (an example from the next night, where Urie was considerably more wasted, is here or here. At the close of the set, when Pete climbs into the crowd, as always, to sing "Saturday," he tried to hold the mic out for a crowdsurfing boy to sing into, but the boy had other ideas and firmly pulled Pete too him and landed a pretty solid kiss instead.
Of course this is all on a tour with the grandfathers of gay pop-punk band love, Blink-182, so the night ended with an hour of Tom DeLonge and Mark Hoppus trying to impress each other with acrobatics, silly faces and worshipful shredding at one another's feet. And nothing can make a amphitheater full of shirtless bros sing-a-long, scream, embrace and maybe shed a few tears like "All The Small Things." Seems the openers still have much to learn.
For a slideshow of photos from the Darien Lake show, check out BeGayLittleBird.com.
-- RAE VOTTA
Previously > Girl In A Coma Unleashes Vocal Fury
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