Stink 182 (Blink 182 tribute) supported by Peanukle
Saturday 9th February 2002, Bedford Esquires.

I came down to Esquires tonight expecting it to be packed for such a high profile gig, but when I arrived I realised that it wasn’t as busy as I expected.

The night opened with the hottest young punks around, Peanukle. They launched into a very energetic set with some new material, which took a very Blink 182 sounding chorus, but a ska style verse. It was nice to see some new material from the boys. This was one of the best sets I’d seen them play for a long time, and the band just seem happy to get a response from the audience. Apparently the under 16’s show didn’t provide a very good crowd. Belsen was an excellent front man as usual, and the band backed him up with a very tight performance.

When Stink 182 took the stage, I don’t think anyone really new what to expect. I think some people thought they were going to make up for the Blink boys cancelling their European tour, but they certainly didn’t do that. Musically, I couldn’t fault them because they sounded very similar to Blink themselves, with the whiney Tom Delonge vocals down to a tee. However, although the bassist provided backing vocals, he didn’t share any of the lead vocals with the guitar player. I think this is one of the important parts of Blink 182, because Mark Hoppus’ voice is such a welcome contrast to Tom’s. Musically Stink were great, but there stage show… Stank! This was the main weakness of the band, as at times they didn’t look as if they even wanted to be onstage. This was understandable, as the audience was very tough on them, with one heckler actually being chucked out at the bands request. So, it was definitely a good night, but I don’t think it lived up to what anyone expected. Blink are hard act to pay tribute to because they aren’t only musicians, but they also provide a stage show. Tonight, the music was good but the stage show lacked. Good try guys.

Joe Henley