Kelsey Walter

Copy Editor

I’m not sure if it was the clear sky above our heads, the one too many beers my cousin had, or the overpriced nachos that we shared, but the Lil Wayne and Blink-182 concert on Sept. 18 at the BB&T center was probably the best show I’ve ever been to in my life.

The atmosphere wasn’t overwhelming like most concerts are for me. Everyone seemed to all vibe together, and everyone was just having a really good time.

The line-up was a weird combination. One of the most popular rappers in the music industry, one of the most popular punk bands, and then a less well-known, but still pretty popular, pop-punk band.

You would think there would be some clashing between all the different sets due to such different music genres, but it actually flowed nicely. Some people were concerned about whether Lil Wayne would actually play the show or not, due to a few cancellations that happened earlier during the tour, but luckily that didn’t happen.

Between each set, there was a window of about 15 to 20 minutes for people to get merchandise, food, and alcohol. Usually, when I go to concerts, the merchandise is the most expensive thing, but for this venue, it was the alcohol, which wasn’t too much of a surprise but did catch me off guard a bit. 

The opening act of “Neck Deep” came on, and unfortunately due to traffic we missed it, but after talking to some people around us, we heard they had a pretty good set. People were still arriving as they were playing due to issues with parking and traffic around the stadium.

After “Neck Deep,” Lil Wayne came on, and he and his crew put on one of the best shows I’ve ever watched. His DJ, T. Lewis came out and played a few popular songs before Lil Wayne came out.

His set included a mixture of his songs, but it also consisted of a lot of verses from songs that he had been featured in. It created a good mix of moods throughout his performance.

Lil Wayne and his team kept cheering for Philly and the Eagles, even though we were in Camden. This was funny for a lot of people and annoying to some.

The lighting during Lil Wayne’s set worked really well with the music, and almost acted as a light show with music in the background. All around his performance was fun and full of energy, while also being chill and nice to just sit back and listen to.  

After another break of about 20 minutes, the entire stadium went black. Then a flash of light shone on the stage and Blink-182 went on.

They started off with some of their popular songs, then moved on to some of the songs off of their new album that will be coming out within the next month or so.

One thing that they did that was very interesting was to bring someone up on stage to play guitar with them. The kid that went up actually did really well for the first time playing in front of all those people.

Another really cool thing that happened was they put their drummer, Travis Barker, in a big cage ball during his drum solo and turned him completely upside down. He was drumming while spinning, in a large cage ball, being turned upside down. If that doesn’t show true talent, I’m not sure what would.

The show ended with a bang. It was a big ending performance by Blink-182, with all the laser lights and beach balls they could muster up.

As weird as the lineup was, this was easily one of the best concerts I ever went to. If there was another weird mashup of music genres like this again, it would be something I would totally buy a ticket to.

Email Kelsey at:

kwalter7@live.esu.edu