Pop Punk Heroes

Revitalized Blink-182 revs up RodeoHouston crowd with pop-punk energy

San Diego’s Blink-182 rolled into NRG Stadium on Thursday night and brought a workmanlike attitude to their hour-long set of classic pop-punk tunes at RodeoHouston, a change of pace from the country-heavy lineup over the last few weeks. The band attracted one of the younger Rodeo audiences, comprised of a large number of attendees who grew up on the trio’s hits from the late '90s and early 2000s. Walking through the concourse before the show it was clear that fans had come out specifically to see their punk heroes as many of them were wearing official band T-shirts and hair colors every shade of hot neon.

Like Green Day, who played the Toyota Center a few weeks ago, Blink-182 is in the middle of a resurgence thanks to their best album in 15 years, California, which hit No. 1 last year. It’s one of seven Top 10 albums in the band’s career, contributing to over 50 million album sales worldwide.

The trio comprised of bassist-singer Mark Hoppus, newly acquired guitarist-singer Matt Skiba (formerly of Alkaline Trio), and drummer Travis Barker, stuck to their most popular albums — a strong showing for the aforementioned California, as well as familiar tunes from 1999’s Enema of the State, 2001's Take Off Your Pants and Jacket, and songs from the 2003 self-titled set, neglecting anything from the darker Neighborhoods from 2011.

The band kicked things off with a sweet fireworks display, in front of a crowd of 65,567, with “Feeling This.” Unfortunately, it took a few songs to find a good mix in sound quality, the drums drowning out melodic guitar hooks in the cavernous acoustics of NRG. Enema of the State single “What’s My Age Again?” brought the biggest cheers early on, with Hoppus asking afterwards, “So, how are the Texans going to do this season?” to even louder applause. “Alright, we’ll see,” he shrugged, perhaps knowing full well this team is without a starting quarterback.

Barker got the girls screaming a few songs in when he took his shirt off to reveal a full set of tattoos, something one likely won’t see on any of the country-themed nights. A word about Barker: he’s a dynamo and simply one of the most exciting drummers to watch in any genre of music. Not that Hoppus and Skiba are slouches, it’s that Blink-182 wouldn’t be as successful or exciting without the innovative and expert timekeeping Barker brings to the table, elevating the band’s brand of adolescent flavored punk to level of mainstream respect. Throughout the night, his drum fills and solos were a joy to behold.

Crowd interaction was minimal throughout the evening, with only Hoppus leaving the confines of his spot on the stage during songs when he wasn’t responsible for vocals. The best performances came on tracks from California, which makes perfect sense, as it is the only album with this current lineup. Skiba recently replaced former guitarist-vocalist Tom DeLonge, who quit to write books about UFOs (no, really). Songs that DeLonge would normally take vocal lead on were the ones that suffered, Skiba not having the range.

Where the band did succeed was in playing the big hits, which got the crowd on its feet, singing along. Staples like “Rock Show,” “I Miss You,” and “All The Small Things” were met with thunderous applause. For a band that is known for its sophomoric humor, it refrained from any swearing, likely a contractual obligation of appearing at a family-oriented event like RodeoHouston. Hoppus even left out a key F-word during set closer “Dammit,” the audience more than happy to fill in the blank.

Despite middling sound quality, Blink-182 proved they belong at RodeoHouston alongside hit makers of other genres. Once again, the talent bookers deserve credit for taking chances with their programming, proving that catering to fans of all musical tastes throughout the three-week event is a recipe for success.

Setlist:
Feeling This
Rock Show
Cynical
Anthem Part 2
What’s My Age Again?
First Date
Bored To Death
Down
I Miss You
Dumpweed
She’s Out Of Her Mind
Violence
Sober
Carousel
Los Angeles
All The Small Things
Brohemian Rhapsody
Dammit

A word about Barker: he’s is a dynamo and simply one of the most exciting drummers to watch in any genre of music.

Blink 182 drummer Travis Barker at RodeoHouston

Photo courtesy of Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo

A word about Barker: he’s is a dynamo and simply one of the most exciting drummers to watch in any genre of music.

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Movie Review

Star TV producer James L. Brooks stumbles with meandering movie Ella McCay

Photo courtesy of 20th Century Studios

Emma Mackey in Ella McCay.

The impact that writer/director/producer James L. Brooks has made on Hollywood cannot be understated. The 85-year-old created The Mary Tyler Moore Show, personally won three Oscars for Terms of Endearment, and was one of the driving forces behind The Simpsons, among many other credits. Now, 15 years after his last movie, he’s back in the directing chair with Ella McCay.

The similarly-named Emma Mackey plays Ella, a 34-year-old lieutenant governor of an unnamed state in 2008 who’s on the verge of becoming governor when Governor Bill (Albert Brooks) gets picked to be a member of the president’s Cabinet. What should be a happy time is sullied by her needy husband, Ryan (Jack Lowden), her agoraphobic brother, Casey (Spike Fearn), and her perpetually-cheating father, Eddie (Woody Harrelson).

Despite the trio of men competing to bring her down, Ella remains an unapologetic optimist, an attitude bolstered by her aunt Helen (Jamie Lee Curtis), her assistant Estelle (Julie Kavner), and her police escort, Trooper Nash (Kumail Nanjiani). The film follows her over a few days as she navigates the perils of governing, the distractions her family brings, and the expectations being thrust upon her by many different people.

Brooks, who wrote and directed the film, is all over the place with his storytelling. What at first seems to be a straightforward story about Ella and her various issues soon starts meandering into areas that, while related to Ella, don’t make the film better. Prime among them are her brother and father, who are given a relatively small amount of screentime in comparison to the importance they have in her life. This is compounded by a confounding subplot in which Casey tries to win back his girlfriend, Susan (Ayo Edebiri).

Then there’s the whole political side of the story, which never finds its focus and is stuck in the past. Though it’s never stated explicitly, Ella and Governor Bill appear to be Democrats, especially given a signature program Ella pushes to help mothers in need. But if Brooks was trying to provide an antidote to the current real world politics, he doesn’t succeed, as Ella’s full goals are never clear. He also inexplicably shows her boring her fellow lawmakers to tears, a strange trait to give the person for whom the audience is supposed to be rooting.

What saves the movie from being an all-out train wreck is the performances of Mackey and Curtis. Mackey, best known for the Netflix show Sex Education, has an assured confidence to her that keeps the character interesting and likable even when the story goes downhill. Curtis, who has tended to go over-the-top with her roles in recent years, tones it down, offering a warm place of comfort for Ella to turn to when she needs it. The two complement each other very well and are the best parts of the movie by far.

Brooks puts much more effort into his female actors, including Kavner, who, even though she serves as an unnecessary narrator, gets most of the best laugh lines in the film. Harrelson is capable of playing a great cad, but his character here isn’t fleshed out enough. Fearn is super annoying in his role, and Lowden isn’t much better, although that could be mostly due to what his character is called to do. Were it not for the always-great Brooks and Nanjiani, the movie might be devoid of good male performances.

Brooks has made many great TV shows and movies in his 60+ year career, but Ella McCay is a far cry from his best. The only positive that comes out of it is the boosting of Mackey, who proves herself capable of not only leading a film, but also elevating one that would otherwise be a slog to get through.

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Ella McCay opens in theaters on December 12.

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