The punk rock ethos was alive and pulsating at Hard Rock Live at Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Hollywood, where Blink 182 kicked off their "Missionary Impossible" tour to a crowd hungry for a taste of nostalgic rebellion peppered with the band's irreverent charm. The Thursday show marked the beginning of a journey through memory lane as the pop-punk stalwarts dished out anthems from their storied catalog, reported CBS12.
Opening their set with a burst of energy, the band, consisting of guitarist/vocalist Tom DeLonge and bassist/vocalist Mark Hoppus, played fan favorites such as "The Rock Show" and "First Date" from their 2001 album "Take Off Your Pants And Jacket," they didn't stop there, they trundled through their hits, mixing humor with heaps of nostalgia, eventually spotlighting "Josie" from their 1997 breakout "Dude Ranch," a song they hadn't performed live since 2018, and for the first time with Tom DeLonge since the same year. In an entertaining twist, Bruce Buffer made a virtual cameo to introduction the concert, drawing laughter from the audience in a pre-taped segment, as per CBS12's details.
Critics, however, weren't just amused; they were impressed. The Miami New Times detailed the band's knack for balancing self-deprecation and performance prowess, with Hoppus jokingly warning the audience they might mess up performing "Online Songs" for the first time in over two decades—"You cheer like that’s a good thing. But we’re gonna fuck it up pretty bad," he commented in a statement obtained by Miami New Times.
And the hits kept coming, for over an hour the duo dipped into their extensive back catalog, delivering the first performance of "Wishing Well" since 2016, and the first time with DeLonge since 2014, they also included "Roller Coaster" which hadn't seen a live rendition since 2001 according to CBS12—the setlist was a veritable highlight reel of their career, culminating with their largest hits "What's My Age Again," "All The Small Things," and the evergreen crowd-pleaser "Dammit."
The Miami New Times also noted the inclusion of "Hope," a Descendents cover not performed live by the group in more than two decades.
The 2025 tour is slated to continue its rollick through 21 dates, bringing Blink 182 to audiences in Tampa next, culminating at the "When We Were Young" festival in Las Vegas, Nevada, scheduled for the October 18 and 19, finding the band weaving their irreverent humor into the fabric of their historied tunes across the country.
