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Pop Disaster Tour

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Pop Disaster Tour
Continental tour by Blink-182 and Green Day
Promotional poster for the tour
LocationNorth America
Associated albums
Start dateApril 17, 2002
End dateJune 17, 2002
No. of shows47
Green Day tour chronology
Life Without Warning Tour
(1999–2000) 		Pop Disaster Tour
(2002) 		American Idiot World Tour
(2004–05)
Blink-182 tour chronology
Take Off Your Pants and Jacket Tour
(2001) 		Pop Disaster Tour
(2002) 		DollaBill Tour
(2003)

The Pop Disaster Tour was a concert tour co-headlined by American rock bands Blink-182 and Green Day. It began in Bakersfield, California on April 17, 2002, and concluded in Minneapolis, Minnesota, on June 17. Set largely at arenas and outdoor amphitheatres, it encompassed 47 shows across the United States and Canada.

The tour came at a moment of peak popularity for pop-punk in the early aughts, and paired together its biggest names for a single tour. Despite sharing roots in California's punk scene, Blink-182 and Green Day differed significantly in their influences and approach. Their rumored rivalry made headlines, and the tour was conceived partly as a way to push back against that perception. The tour is notable for the onstage competition that developed between the two groups. Though billed a co-headlining affair — with both bands receiving equal billing — Blink-182 closed each evening.

While the bands generally got along, Blink's attempt at humor fell flat with critics, who often preferred Green Day's superior set. The Pop Disaster Tour as a whole grossed nearly $20 million. Support acts included Jimmy Eat World, Simple Plan, Saves the Day, and Kut U Up. The behind-the-scenes antics of the bands and their crews were captured in the documentary Riding in Vans with Boys (2003).

Background

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The Pop Disaster Tour teamed up two of pop-punk’s biggest acts: Blink-182 and Green Day. Although both bands hailed from California and were part of its punk scene, their backgrounds were distinctly different. Green Day, nearly a decade older, were rooted in the Bay Area's politically influenced culture. Blink-182, by contrast, embraced SoCal irreverence and earned a reputation as a more radio-friendly act.[1] By the early 2000s, their respective fortunes had reversed—Green Day was in a commercial slump,[2] and were preparing to release their greatest hits compilation. Blink, on the other hand, were enjoying their most profitable period, with their most recent LP, Take Off Your Pants and Jacket, becoming the first punk album to hit number one.[3] Given their age, Green Day had obtained a reputation as "elder statesmen" of the pop-punk scene.[4][5] These comparisons fueled a perceived rivalry in the press.[6]

To challenge that perception, Blink-182 proposed a joint tour. Modeled after the famous Monsters of Rock festivals, the concept was essentially a “Monsters of Punk” tour.[7] Early reports of the showdown were confirmed by spokespeople in January 2002,[8] and the bands formally announced the tour in a joint appearance on MTV's TRL the next month.[9] MTV sponsored the outing, alongside the newly released Xbox. Blink-182 were quick to offer praise for their forebears, acknowledging their impact: "They were a huge inspiration for us," Blink bassist Mark Hoppus said. Green Day, instead, frequently distanced themselves from their offspring. Frontman Billie Joe Armstrong declined an idea to cover each other’s songs, telling Rolling Stone he didn’t see much common ground between the two bands.[10]

Support bands included Jimmy Eat World, riding the mainstream success of Bleed American (2001), alongside rising acts Simple Plan, Saves the Day and Kut U Up. Kut U Up became known for their wild backstage antics, which were captured in the 2003 film Riding in Vans with Boys. The film was conceived by the Blink duo of Hoppus and guitarist Tom DeLonge, who brought in Matt Beauchesne—also behind their The Urethra Chronicles II documentary—to direct. It was intended as “a social experiment” to document what happens when an ordinary band spends two months touring with two of rock's biggest bands.[11]

Controversy

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Green Day's Tré Cool, seen here on the tour in 2002, did not hide his disdain for sharing the stage.

While the mood behind the scenes was mostly jovial, the tour is infamous for the tensions it created between the two bands.[12][13][14] Although marketed as a co-headlining tour, Green Day effectively played the role of opener (“we closed every show for a reason,” Hoppus said).[15] In his memoir, Fahrenheit-182, Hoppus suggests Green Day employed subtle tactics to assert dominance—such as a clause in their contract requiring them to perform only after sunset. Hoppus contends that Green Day would refuse to go on unless it was completely dark, and despite the delay, perform their full set. It put Blink in the position of having to shorten their setlist instead, due to curfew laws in some municipalities. Similarly, although pyrotechnics were initially planned just for Blink’s set,[15] Green Day ended up using them as well.[16] "I got the sense that Green Day fucking hated that they’d been reduced to opening for us," Hoppus said.[15][12]

The musicianship between the two bands was more marked side-by-side. In a press release, Hoppus had jokingly predicted these comparisons, saying Blink planned to use "a bunch of fire and cool lights to distract people from our poor musical performance."[10] However, the joke didn’t land with critics, who left unimpressed with Blink's headlining set. In a later interview, Green Day's Tré Cool acknowledged they had only committed to the tour as an opportunity to regain their status as a technically superior live act.[6][17] Green Day's producer, Rob Cavallo, played a key role in developing the plan, emphasizing that their strength lay in their live performances: "Basically the idea was to blow Blink-182 off the stage every night," he confirmed.[16] Cool claimed that "we heard they were going to quit the tour because they were getting smoked so badly [...] We didn't want them to quit the tour. They're good for filling up the seats up front."[17]

For the most part, however, the bands got along well. Hoppus fondly remembered Armstrong bringing his family along for the ride,[15] while Travis Barker held onto a bass gifted by Mike Dirnt—still displayed in his studio years later.[18] Hoppus would later concede in his memoir that Green Day delivered the stronger performances and that the challenge ultimately pushed Blink to improve.[19][20] Green Day went on to write their 2004 rock opera American Idiot, which revitalized their career and solidified their place in rock history.[2] The rivalry, however, has persisted: Blink-182 has repeatedly invited Green Day to tour together again, but each time, Green Day has turned them down.[21]

Set list

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Tour dates

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List of 2002 concerts
Date City Country Venue
April 17, 2002 Bakersfield United States Centennial Garden
April 19, 2002 Phoenix America West Arena
April 20, 2002 Irvine Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre
April 21, 2002
April 23, 2002 Las Vegas MGM Grand Garden Arena
April 24, 2002 Inglewood The Forum
April 25, 2002 Chula Vista Coors Amphitheater
April 27, 2002 Mountain View Shoreline Amphitheatre
April 28, 2002 Sacramento AutoWest Amphitheater
April 29, 2002 Oakland Oakland Arena
May 1, 2002 Tacoma Tacoma Dome
May 3, 2002 West Valley City E Center
May 4, 2002 Greenwood Village Fiddler's Green Amphitheatre
May 6, 2002 Maryland Heights Riverport Amphitheater
May 7, 2002 Bonner Springs Sandstone Amphitheater
May 9, 2002 Dallas Smirnoff Music Center
May 10, 2002 Selma Verizon Wireless Amphiteheatre
May 11, 2002 The Woodlands Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion
May 13, 2002 Pelham Oak Mountain Amphitheatre
May 14, 2002 Tampa Ice Palace
May 15, 2002 West Palm Beach Mars Music Amphitheatre
May 16, 2002 Orlando TD Waterhouse Centre
May 18, 2002 Atlanta HiFi Buys Amphitheatre
May 19, 2002 Raleigh Alltell Pavilion
May 20, 2002 Charlotte Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre Charlotte
May 22, 2002 Virginia Beach Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre Virginia Beach
May 23, 2002 Hershey Hershey Park Pavilion
May 24, 2002 Holmdel PNC Bank Arts Center
May 25, 2002 Burgettstown Post-Gazette Pavilion
May 27, 2002 Hartford New England Dodge Music Center
May 28, 2002 Camden Tweeter Center at the Waterfront
May 30, 2002 Wantagh Jones Beach Theater
May 31, 2002 New York City Madison Square Garden
June 1, 2002 Darien Darien Lake Performing Arts Center
June 2, 2002 Mansfield Tweeter Center for the Performing Arts
June 4, 2002 Saratoga Springs Saratoga Performing Arts Center
June 5, 2002 Washington, D.C. MCI Center
June 7, 2002 Toronto Canada Molson Amphitheatre
June 8, 2002 Grand Rapids United States Van Andel Arena
June 9, 2002 Columbus Jerome Schottenstein Center
June 11, 2002 Auburn Hills The Palace of Auburn Hills
June 12, 2002 Cuyahoga Falls Blossom Music Center
June 14, 2002 Noblesville Verizon Wireless Music Center
June 15, 2002 Tinley Park Tweeter Center
June 16, 2002 Milwaukee Marcus Amphitheater
June 17, 2002 Minneapolis Target Center

Reception

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Many reviewers were unimpressed with Blink-182's headlining set following Green Day. "Sometimes playing last at a rock show is more a curse than a privilege […] Pity the headliner, for instance, that gets blown off the stage by the band before it. Blink-182 endured that indignity Saturday at the Shoreline Amphitheatre", a reporter for the San Francisco Chronicle wrote in 2002.[22] "Blink came off as simply chaotic, tiring and convoluted noise [...] their trademark gross-out comedy on stage was surprisingly toned down throughout the performance – perhaps ashamed to seem juvenile following Green Day," wrote Tony Ding of The Michigan Daily.[23] In his book Nobody Likes You: Inside the Turbulent Life, Times and Music of Green Day, author Marc Spitz compared Blink-182 headlining a tour with Green Day to "Frank Sinatra, Jr. headlining over Frank Sinatra."[16]

The Pop Disaster Tour as a whole grossed nearly $20 million from 45 shows.[24] Pop Disaster was the first concert for many future pop-punk stars, including Spencer Smith from Panic! at the Disco,[25] and Jack Barakat of All Time Low, who remarked that it “changed [his] life forever.”[26]

Personnel

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See also

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References

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  • Shooman, Joe (June 24, 2010). Blink-182: The Bands, The Breakdown & The Return. Independent Music Press. ISBN 978-1-906191-10-8.

Notes

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  1. ^ Fiasco, Lance (April 18, 2002). "Blink-182 Promises 'Same Old Shit' And Drum Stunts". idobi. Retrieved May 20, 2025.
  2. ^ a b Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "Green Day: Biography". AllMusic. Archived from the original on April 23, 2015. Retrieved June 1, 2015.
  3. ^ Kyle Ryan (October 8, 2013). "Blink-182 took punk to No. 1 for the first time with a masturbation pun". The A.V. Club. Retrieved October 8, 2013.
  4. ^ Baltin, Steve (January 1, 2005). "Green Day". AMP. pp. 62–66. OCLC 64709668.
  5. ^ Sinclair, Tom (February 11, 2005). "Sitting on Top of the World". Entertainment Weekly. pp. 25–31. ISSN 1049-0434.
  6. ^ a b Shooman, 2010. p. 101
  7. ^ Shooman, 2010. p. 99
  8. ^ "For The Record: Quick News On Green Day, Blink-182, Lenny Kravitz & More". mtv.com. July 14, 2002. Archived from the original on January 17, 2002. Retrieved May 20, 2025.
  9. ^ "Blink-182, Green Day To Launch Co-Headlining Catastrophe In April". mtv.com. August 7, 2002. Archived from the original on April 3, 2002. Retrieved May 20, 2025.
  10. ^ a b Appleford, Steve (April 25, 2002). "Tour Report: Green Day and Blink-182". Rolling Stone. Retrieved April 1, 2025.
  11. ^ Corey Moss (September 12, 2003). "Butt Branding, Drunken Weddings Captured On Hoppus And DeLonge's 'Boys'". MTV News. Archived from the original on August 9, 2016. Retrieved July 26, 2016.
  12. ^ a b Greene, Andy (April 7, 2025). "10 Things We Learned From Mark Hoppus' New Memoir 'Fahrenheit-182'". Rolling Stone. Retrieved May 20, 2025.
  13. ^ Pilley, Max (May 19, 2025). "Blink-182's Mark Hoppus speaks out on past rivalry with Green Day". NME. Retrieved May 20, 2025.
  14. ^ Irshad, Zara (April 7, 2025). "Blink-182's Mark Hoppus reveals Green Day rivalry full of 'screaming matches' in new memoir". San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved May 20, 2025.
  15. ^ a b c d Hoppus, Mark; Ozzi, Dan (April 8, 2025). Fahrenheit-182. Dey Street Books. ISBN 978-0-06-331891-5.
  16. ^ a b c Spitz, Marc (November 13, 2007). Nobody Likes You. Hyperion. p. 145. ISBN 978-1-4013-0912-1.
  17. ^ a b Ian Winwood (February 1, 2006). "Blink-182 vs. Green Day". Kerrang! (1090). London: 44–45. ISSN 0262-6624.
  18. ^ Weller, Phil (March 25, 2025). ""We've only changed the strings one time": Travis Barker reveals the bass he uses on everything he records". Yahoo Entertainment. Retrieved May 20, 2025.
  19. ^ Watts, Marina (May 20, 2025). "Mark Hoppus Says Blink-182 and Green Day Rivalry from 2002 'Definitely Made Us a Better Band'". People.com. Retrieved May 20, 2025.
  20. ^ Lynch, Jessica (May 20, 2025). "Mark Hoppus Reflects on Blink-182 vs. Green Day Rivalry During 2002 Tour". Billboard. Retrieved May 20, 2025.
  21. ^ Dowd, Rachael (November 17, 2020). "It looks like Green Day and blink-182 almost did a Pop Disaster 2 Tour". Alternative Press Magazine. Retrieved May 20, 2025.
  22. ^ Shooman, 2010. p. 100
  23. ^ Ding, Tony (June 16, 2002). "It was a pop disaster". The Michigan Daily. Retrieved April 1, 2025.
  24. ^ "No Doubt, Blink-182 Link For Tour". Billboard. February 4, 2004. Archived from the original on July 11, 2014. Retrieved November 30, 2013.
  25. ^ "Blink-182 Tour Openers Share Their Favorite Blink Memories". mtv.com. May 28, 2009. Archived from the original on February 9, 2012. Retrieved May 20, 2025.
  26. ^ Kaplan, Ilana (February 20, 2024). "10 Pop-Punk Artists On The Genre's Essential Tracks". Nylon. Retrieved May 20, 2025.
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