KFMA Day, Blink-182 rocks Tucson for first time

KFMA Day was a sea of black clothing, colorful hair and people ready to jam out to their favorite punk rock bands. The crowd went for all the performers, but most had their sights set on headliner Blink-182, who had never performed in Tucson before.

Thousands of people made their way into the heat at Kino Sports Complex for a full day of music starting at 1p.m. The lineup included Dirty Magic, Islander, Goodbye June, Highly Suspect, A Day To Remember and Blink-182.

Dirty Magic is a local Tucson band who won a Battle of the Bands competition for their performance slot. Although most people had not arrived at this point, they kept the crowd entertained with their rock music. Their win allowed them a 30-minute set where they performed their single, “Sick of It.” Their performance warmed up the crowd for the day and will surely gain some fans and recognition.

Islander was second to perform. The crowd had not grown too much in size, but that did not keep the band from giving it their all. The members enjoyed flipping their dreads around and rocking out. They are a ‘nu metal band’ and many people full out head banged during their set. You had to be careful if you were located in the front row, or what should be called the splash zone, because lead singer, Mikey Carvajal, had a lot of spit leave his mouth during the set.

In between performers, the crowd could walk around the stadium where there were various venders selling everything from piercings to cars. There was a little bit of something for everyone there, and it made the intermissions go by quickly. Many people visited the merchandise tent where things could be purchased representing each band. The band Highly Suspect even had a “Stranger Things” inspired shirt.

The crowds began to pick up and you could overhear who people were most excited to see.

“A Day To Remember and Blink are old, I think Highly Suspect is going to be where it is at,” a passerby said.

Yet, a majority of the shirts worn by people had the A Day to Remember or Blink-182 logos.

The next performer was Goodbye June. If you were ever envious of hair, these are the boys to be envious of. Throughout their whole set, they had smiles on their faces and looked genuinely happy to be there, even when they had problems earlier in the day.

“Give it up to TSA for messing with Tyler’s sound peddle,” said , Goodbye June lead singer Landon Milbourn.

That didn’t stop them. They got the crowd rocking out on their feet and brought a different flavor of music to the show. Not as hardcore as the previous bands, they were like James Bay mixed with a band like Guns N’ Roses.

Highly Suspect was up next and the crowd was excited for them. From the moment they stepped out on stage, the crowd went wild. After their first song, lead singer, Johnny Stevens, had to take off his jacket because he was moving around the stage so much. Highly Suspect did not disappoint the crowd.

A Day To Remember was next to perform. The crowd was much fuller and people were excited for this performance. The crowd surfing peaked and people sang every word to the songs. They encouraged mosh pits and even dedicated their song, “Have Faith In Me” to all the girls in the crowd that night. Confetti and beach balls filled the air during their set and the whole crowd was finally in on the performances, just in time for the headliner to perform.

Finally, at 8:05 p.m., Blink-182 took the stage. Opening with their song “Feeling This,” the crowd had more energy than one could imagine. The crowd sang along to every word in their set, danced like there was no tomorrow and embraced the fact that Blink-182 was finally in Tucson.

“Blink-182 playing a show in Tucson, this is happening,” said Mark Hoppus, Blink-182 bassist.

Although there were many skeptics that Matt Skiba could replace Tom DeLonge, their fears were quieted because of Skiba’s performance. He gives it his all and makes sure that the crowd has the best show they can, and he is excited to do it.

“I’ve seen Blink six times and I had to remember this one,” said concertgoer Emily Sawyer. “Matt Skiba was good, no Tom, but not so terrible.”

Blink-182 performed their hits “The Rock Show,” “First Date,” “What’s My Age Again?” “I Miss You,” “Always,” and songs from their new album California. They were sure not to miss “All The Small Things” which was the crowd’s favorite. Not one person in the entire stadium was standing still.

At 9:15p.m. the show ended with Hoppus saying “Thank you everyone. We are Blink-182. Bye, bye.”

The crowd made their way to their cars, sad that the night had ended, but ecstatic that they had just seen Blink-182 perform in Tucson.