The Mark, Tom and Travis Show,
Blink 182Anyone who has seen a Blink182 live show will know this CD has ver little in common with a real 'live' Blink gig. Sure, it is funny ha-ha as per usual, but there is something that just seems a little odd about hearing Tom 'singing' note perfect, and such a crisp and clear guitar sound.
Infact this 'live' show is so fake that it becomes a mockery of itself. The added layers of guitar, the canned laughter and the fake applause and cheering are wrong. Wrong I tell ya! I'm all for post-production if it makes a CD sound better, but on a live record! C'mon...
But, ignoring all these glaring mistakes, 'The Mark, Tom and Travis Show' is everything that we have come to expect from a Blink gig. All the hits are here, especially those from the more popular 'Enema Of The State' and 'Dude Ranch' CDs. There's a sprinkling of older stuff too, and this keeps it in touch with the setlist of that tour.
In between songs the band are as funny as hell (as they always are), but some of the jokes are a bit predictable. Has the pee-pee phenomenon reaching an end? Maybe I'm just getting old. They're funny, make no doubt about it, but it's all abit too lame at times.
The songs though are top notch. 'Dumpweed' is a classic opener, 'Going Away To College' is touching, 'Pathetic' almost visceral and 'Carousel' simply great. Then there is the added bonus track of 'Man Overboard,' the reason why many Blink fans will probably purchase this record.
So, in terms of a greatest hits package, this CD, bar 'Josie,' probably has them all. But it just sounds a bit too contrived for my liking. Blink are a very rough and ready live act, often relying on their humour to cover their cracks in what can often be a ramshackle performance. I'm as big a fan of the band as anybody, but let's face it, only Travis is a 'real' musician. The band always make mistakes, yet there are none here. Add to that the obvious canned audience and it just loses any essence of what the purpose of a live record really is. Which really defeats the object.
If you are a Blink fan then you'll probably buy this anyway. But we warned - all is not as it seems.
Paul Savage
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