Blink-182 – The Mark, Tom and Travis Show (The Enema Strikes Back!) (2000)
The Mark, Tom and Travis Show (The Enema Strikes Back!) is Blink-182’s first and so far only official live album. It was released on November 7, 2000 through MCA and includes songs from Enema of the State (1999), Dude Ranch (1997), and Cheshire Cat (1995), and it includes one new studio track: Man Overboard, which one released as the lead single for the album.
The album sounds really good in regard to its production and performance of the songs. If you’ve seen Blink-182 live back in those days, you know that they were not the best live band around. Nonetheless, they managed to make this album a very good piece of pop-punk. I’m aware that Blink-182’s sense of humour is not everyone’s cup of tea, but listening to their jokes between the songs puts me back in junior high mode and actually makes me giggle. From that perspective, it’s completely okay.
Producer Jerry Finn did a very good job at capturing the live atmosphere of the gig recorded on November 4, 1999 at Bill Graham Civic Auditorium, San Francisco, California and on November 5, 1999 at Universal Amphitheatre, Universal City, California. Also, the traditional line-up with Mark Hoppus (vocals, bass), Tom DeLonge (vocals, guitar), and Travis Barker (drums) just fits the band like a glove. No idea if Mark and Travis will ever reunite with Tom, but for that reason alone, I’m happy that there’s this live album.