AllRespect.com // Blink-182 Fans Run Wild In Las Vegas Before Reunion-Tour Kickoff

Posted on 2009-07-24 03:00:13
Artist/band(s): Blink-182 [FB]

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Source: http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1616856/20090723/blink_182.jhtml

'I begged and cried and bribed my mom to let me go,' one superfan says of her dedication to Blink.By James Montgomery

Fans attend the Blink-182 show at the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Las VegasPhoto: MTV News

LAS VEGAS — For hours, they wandered the halls of the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino, most not old enough to even be near the blackjack tables, killing time, waiting for Mark, Tom and/or Travis to appear, for the reunion to get under way.

Around 3 p.m. local time, they began lining up outside the Joint, the hall where on Thursday night (July 23), Blink-182 will really, honestly, officially kick off their first tour in nearly five years. Doors didn't open for more than three hours, so they waited some more, sang Blink songs and compared smiley-face tattoos.

These are Blink-182 fans. They are dedicated, slightly crazy, and they weren't going to let anything stand in the way of being there for their favorite band to take the stage ... and, really, we mean anything.

"[My boyfriend's] car got impounded yesterday. ... He got pulled over for speeding, and he had a suspended license, so the cops impounded our car," said Lauren Davison, 18, who came from Utah to be here. "We had to pay $170 to get it out the impound, but it was worth it to be here."

"It's been five years since they toured, so, of course, I had to be here," her boyfriend, Sam Simpson, added. "That's probably why I was speeding. But getting impounded, the ticket, it was worth it."

That sentiment was echoed further up the line, by a rather energetic 20-year-old named William Emerson Catin, who bellowed Blink's name and thoroughly terrified the throngs of confused gamblers and tourists who passed him by. Seems he's risked financial ruin to be here.

"I've been waiting 17 years to see Blink-182. I think I'm gonna poop. ... I might cry a couple times. This is my first show. I finally get to see them," he enthused. "My sister had to drive me here from California, because I have a beat-down Volkswagen, and it would've blown up halfway here. I have no money. I blew all of it to get here. I almost went bankrupt."

But that's nothing compared to what 19-year-old Blink nut (Limited-edition Blink tour T-shirt? Check. Blink tattoo on neck? Check.) Thomas Strong endured to make it to Vegas.

"I drove all the way here from South Carolina. It took me three days. I slept in my car every day. I got pulled over, because a cop thought I had drugs in my car, and they searched me," Strong said. "And Blink are playing October 1 at Charlotte [North Carolina]. That's, like, 30 minutes away from my house. I could drive there, but this is the first show. I had to be here."

Impressive, indeed. But Strong didn't bribe anyone to get here; 12-year-old superfan Yasi did.

"I begged and cried and bribed my mom to let me go," Yasi said, while her mom looked on bemusedly. "I first heard Blink when I was 7, but really, I've been waiting my entire life for this. I was in my mom's stomach, and I was waiting for this to happen. I mean it."

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