"It's one of the most anticipated rock tours of the season."
The Mark, Tom and Travis Show tour was one of Blink-182's most successful tours to date. Celebrating the launch and success of Enema of the State, the band toured 34 venues in the United States and played one date in Canada.
With support from Bad Religion and Fenix TX, the band topped an already impressive bill. Playing to larger audiences in much bigger venues, Blink-182 were more popular than ever before. The stage setting was like a drive-in film, with a giant billboard suspended from the ceiling, Cadillac cars and projected films. The classic 50's vibe was cut with typical Blink humour, as they projected vintage gay porno onto the screens!
The Live Album
The tour sold 80% of its tickets and grossed a staggering $7 million. To mark their achievements, the band released a live album, The Mark, Tom and Travis Show (The Enema Strikes Back!). The album included all of the jokes and comments in between songs that the band are known for. It also included one song that was not recorded live, Man Overboard.
There were a lot of hidden tracks that were mainly jokes between the band, which were known as Words of Wisdom. They later became collectively named Shut up and Play a Song. Initially, only a million copies were released of the album but, due to popular demand, the album was re-released in 2006.
USA
The tour began in California, the birthplace of Blink-182. Playing the first show of what was expected to be an outstanding tour did not phase the trio. Mark Hoppus confidently said to the crowd, when introducing Voyeur,
"Do you guys touch your weiner a lot?"
Tom replied with,
"You may touch my balls man, but you're not my dad."
The friendship between Tom and Mark on-stage that the band were famous for in their smaller tours was still prevalent, and the crowd didn't feel they lost the bond between the fans and band. One fan said,
"This is the biggest Blink 182 show I have ever been to, but it still feels like Mark, Tom and Travis are our friends. We all laugh at the same jokes and sing along to the same songs. There's just more of us this time round!"
One Date In Canada
The band played one date in Toronto, Canada, which broke up their monster tour of the United States. They played their set and added to their improvised banter which would all be recorded later for the live album. One reviewer said,
"Blink 182's copious between-song banter is bluer than Sam Kinison, less politically correct than Bill Maher, and […] funnier than South Park; it's the missing link between the group's upbeat, turbo-charged pop-punk and their insistence on streaking in their videos and placing porn star Janine on the cover of Enema of the State. If you're able to overlook their jokes' controversial themes – homosexuality, incest, animalism, herpes, and ca-ca – there's plenty to enjoy!"
Another reviewer said,
"The Mark, Tom and Travis Show is indeed a real rock show and catches Blink 182's shameless personalities and childlike giggling about oral sex, dog semen, and masturbation. But that's what makes Blink 182 popular:"
Even reviewers couldn't get enough of Blink-182's deliberate rudeness and dirty jokes, proving this was a tour that really established Blink as the kings of pop-punk.
Back To The US
The tour returned to the United States, where the band played once again in New York. The hype around the tour had already been well established, and fans grew even more excited to see Blink play. One fan said,
"Tom like always is a god on guitar, Mark's comments leave you laughing on the floor and Travis' drumming is some of the best ever..."
The band may have been promoted as bigger and better than ever before, but the joy and surprise on Tom's face when a girl threw her bra at him showed the boys still love the unexpectedness of touring. The stages may have been larger, but the band were still as happy, down-to-earth and immature as when they first started out!