Opening with their 2003 hit “Feeling This,” California pop punk trio Blink-182 certainly had the audience feeling it Friday at Verizon Arena in North Little Rock.
The band covered most of the highlights from its 25-year career in an energetic set that lasted about 75 minutes, as crowdsurfers popped up atop the fans gathered on the arena floor and small mosh pits swirled intermittently.
With a minimal stage show and not a whole lot of banter, the band — bassist-singer Mark Hoppus, drummer Travis Barker and guitarist-singer Matt Skiba — still looked to be having a blast, bouncing through early 2000s alt-rock radio faves like “What’s My Age Again,” “Rock Show” and “I Miss You.”
The powerhouse Barker, whose shirtless torso is covered in tattoos, wailed on his drum kit like it had stolen something from him and the snare sounded like a rifle every time his left hand brought his stick down.
Skiba, the Alkaline Trio singer-guitarist who replaced original member Tom DeLonge in 2015, did fine work on guitar and vocals, thankfully avoiding mimicking DeLonge’s singing style on classics like “Anthem Part 2” and “Reckless Abandon.”
Original member Hoppus mugged and skipped around the stage, talking occasionally with the audience and, after the show, passing out set lists and guitar picks to fans at the edge of the stage.
In a band known for its mischievousness, though, there wasn’t much goofing around. Hoppus did get most of the 4,237 gathered to provide a light show with their cellphones during “Dysentery Gary,” and he made a joke about missing a high A note in one song, plucking it out afterwards to make sure everyone got their money’s worth.
The banter wasn’t missed, though. It was nice to not have a lot of between-song yakking or redundant “How ya doin’, Little Rock,” exhortations.
The set ended with “Los Angeles,” from the band’s most recent album, California, and the group returned for a brief encore that included “All the Small Things” and a furious version of “Dammit.”
Special guests The Naked and the Famous, a New Zealand synth-pop five piece, had a little trouble with its keyboards starting out, but powered through like pros. Singer-keyboardist Alisa Xayalith and the band delivered a spirited bunch of dancey pop tunes, closing with the anthem “Young Blood.”
Pop punk quartet Makeout probably won over a few fans with their hyperactive, catchy, opening set.