Punk rock players Blink-182 offer their antics at Verizon

No one's going to accuse California pop punk trio Blink-182 of taking itself too seriously. This is a band that rose to prominence by running through the streets of Los Angeles naked in the 1999 "What's My Age Again" video and hilariously spoofing boy bands in the 2000 "All the Small Things" video.

The group's third album, from which those two songs sprang, was called Enema of the State and had a porn actress dressed as a nurse on the cover. They named their fourth album Take Off Your Pants and Jacket.

So, yeah, Blink-182's puerile, pull-my-finger, suburban-dudes rep certainly was a big part of the band's image. In the early 2000s, its teasing, insanely catchy bubblegum-punk was a cherry bomb tossed into a Top 40 chart filled with slick pop acts like 98 Degrees and Britney Spears and was a brighter, three-chords-and-a-joke alternative to the macho angst of rap-rock.

But there was always a little more substance to the group, which will headline a Friday night show at Verizon Arena in North Little Rock with Makeout and The Naked and Famous opening.

Songs like the bittersweet "Dammit," "Stay Together for the Kids," and the particularly poignant "Adam's Song," explored heartache, broken families, depression and suicide. On its 2003 self-titled album, the trio added more texture to its pop-punk sound and mostly left its double-entendre, bathroom humor behind for darker themes and sonic experimentation before taking an extended hiatus.

Blink-182 has been around since 1992, when singer-guitarist Tom DeLonge befriended singer-bassist Mark Hoppus and drummer Scott Raynor. Cheshire Cat, the band's debut, was released in 1995 and, after relentless touring, major label MCA signed the group and released 1997's Dude Ranch. Raynor left in 1998 and was replaced by powerhouse drummer Travis Barker. Enema of the State, released in 1999, was the triumvirate's genuine breakthrough, selling 15,000,000 copies worldwide.

The group drifted into indefinite hiatus mode by 2005 as rifts between DeLonge and the others grew. DeLonge formed the dancey-emoish Angels & Airwaves and released two albums. Barker, who had played in a side band with DeLonge called Boxcar Racer, drummed with The Transplants and in +44 with Hoppus.

In 2008, Barker was involved in a plane crash that killed four people. He would eventually undergo 16 surgeries and it was during his convalescence that the band reunited. Neighborhoods, Blink-182's sixth studio album, was released in 2011 and an EP, Dogs Eating Dogs, showed up the next year, but the differences with DeLonge continued and he was eventually replaced by Matt Skiba of Alkaline Trio.

DeLonge has been in the news lately more for his obsession with UFOs and conspiracy theories than for his music. Meanwhile, the new Blink-182 lineup released California last year.

Along with all that catchy pop-punk, fans at Friday's show can also partake in Verizon Arena's Vibe Room experience. For $15, ticket holders can buy a Vibe Room pass that allows them access to the arena at the Washington Street entrance, a private bar, lounge seating, complimentary appetizers and select merchandise shopping.

Vibe Room ticket information can be found at verizonarena.com.

Weekend on 03/30/2017