Travis Barker presents MUSINK – Day 2 with Blink 182, Good Charlotte at The OC Fair & Event Center

Travis Barker presents MUSINK – Day 2 with Blink 182, Good Charlotte and more, The OC Fair & Event Center, March 16, 2018

It was Day 2 of Travis Barker presents MUSINK – 11th Annual Music Festival, Tattoo Convention & Car Show. And what an absolutely wonderful place to be celebrating St. Patrick’s Day on a Saturday Night behind the Orange Curtain, watching two legendary pop punk bands in action! Day 2 of Musink was officially sold out, featuring the almighty Blink 182 headlining with absolutely devastating support from the one and only Good Charlotte. Great times and glorious memories would ensue at what was surely a show to be remembered for the ages. All this, and the impressive opening acts would leave an indelible impression on the Musink 2018 attendees as well.

The affable Lil Aaron would open up the day two festivities with his hip hop pop rocking songs seething with a sense of tongue in cheek irony. With ditties such as I’m Only In Love When I’m Taking Drugs and other references to Hot Topic and Warped Tour, the wit and wisdom of Lil Aaron was surely a treat for the early arrivals.

The Interrupters would take over the stage next, delivering their own brand of deliciously infectious punk and ska anthems. Featuring the vibrant lead vocals of Aimee Allen and a battallion of tremendous solid and imaginative musicians, The Interrupters unveiled a dazzling collection of songs from their various albums on Hellcat Records.

Good Charlotte at MUSINK

Good Charlotte

While based out of Waldolf, Maryland, Good Charlotte has always considered the OC their home away from home, citing many memorable shows they have experienced while visiting this section of Southern California. The band may now count their appearance at MUSINK as a career highlight as well, as the audience adoration was absolutely off the hook! Kicking off their set with a raging performance of The Anthem from their 2002 The Young And The Hopeless manifesto, Good Charlotte launched into a persuasive 13 song set that had fans rapturously singing along. The Story Of My Old Man, My Bloody Valentine, Riot Girl – the hits just kept on arriving and absolutely thrilling the crowd.

One highlight of the show was when Good Charlotte presented a newer song Life Changes from their recently issued Youth Authority album – presenting the band at their most reflective and impassioned. The River is another fan favorite that was unleashed live – and while the album version contains an appearance by M. Shadows from Avenged Sevenfold on co-vocals, this special performance of the song presented at MUSINK featured a dynamic turn by very special guest Brandon Saller from Atreyu!

With the closing refrains of I Just Wanna Live and Lifestyles Of The Rich and Famous, Good Charlotte definitely left their audience with brand new memories to last for a lifetime. Announcing they would be on a full scale cross country tour in the Fall, expect to hear a whole lot more from the much revered Good Charlotte before the end of the year!

Blink 182 at MUSINK

Blink 182

Headlining Musink 2018 on Day 2 was the iconic pop punk sensations Blink 182, and what a dazzling 22 song salute this explosive trio had in store for their many fans! Blink 182 drummer Travis Barker is the creator of the Musink Festival, and what a treat is was to see the dynamic trio performing to the sea of tattooed music aficionados at the OC Fair! The auditorium overflowed into the courtyard, and fortunately there were video screens outside so no one would miss out on witnessing what would be one of the most amazing live performances of the year experienced in the Golden State thus far.

Kick starting the set into sonic overdrive with Cynical from their recent California magnum opus, Blink 182 proceeded to perform selections culled from a vast and varied catalog of material. The OC Fair crowd was familiar with all the songs, filling the auditorium with passionate sing-alongs that could probably be heard from miles away. Hit singles such as Rock Show and What’s My Age Again were played early on, receiving an absolutely euphoric response.

The power trio known as Blink 182 – Mark Hoppus (bass, vocals), Matt Skiba (guitar, vocals) and the aforementioned Travis Barker (drums) – were at the very height of their showmanship, unleashing their trademark pop punk entreaties as well as wickedly humorous onstage banter in between the songs.  Concluding their invigorating set with a massive rendition of All The Small Things followed by a sonic burst of energy entitled Dammit, Blink 182 clearly demonstrated why they are one of the most beloved trios on Planet Earth and well beyond.  Night 2 of Musink 2018 ended with an absolutely blast to the senses. And on to Day 3 featuring Machine Gun Kelly and Lil Yachty on tap!

(Review by Ken Morton – Photos by Jack Lue)

Musink on Facebook
Blink 182 on Facebook
Good Charlotte on Facebook