Angels & Airwaves

Angel And Airwaves is definitely a huge leap both musically and intellectually for blink-182’s singer and guitarist, Tom DeLonge. This supergroup has a lineup of very talented musicians and the band has gained comparisons to the likes of Radiohead, Pink Floyd, and U2. Angel And Airwaves is epic to see live. They produce a large, grandiose sound with the heavy use of delay and reverb on their guitars. Their music is inspirational and uses great creativity to try to grasp the unknown. The artwork associated with their music often focuses on themes of science fiction and contains space rock images. These images are usually projected at their concerts, as well as having futuristic type lighting, which contains flashing tubular lights and laser beams. The band is also very energetic when on stage. The drummer can be seen rapidly pounding away on his drums in the back, and sometimes Tom DeLonge will set down his guitar, pick up his microphone, and enthusiastically walk around stage singing his songs with great emotion.
The band is very relatable to the most recent generation, singing songs about anxiety and isolation in a digital age. Tom DeLonge has stated that he thinks of Angels And Airwaves as more of an art project than an actual band. Not only does the band produce music, but they are also involved in making movies and graphic novels that correspond with the concept of the band. Angel And Airwaves artistic ambitions are strongly represented in their live shows, and the band encourages the audience to participate and interact in the performance as much as possible.
Angels And Airwaves are so unique to see live because they have the desire to tackle ideas that are bigger than themselves, and this genuine ambition exhibits a sense of inspiration and invigoration.

Angels And Airwaves are one of the those odd bands who make so much more sense live than on record. The US supergroup, of sorts, which was formed by blink-182’s Tom DeLonge after his pop punk day job went on hiatus, make a strangely polished, arena-ready rock that jarred with punk fans. However, this was always meant to be DeLonge’s outlet for more serious songwriting, and when I eventually saw them live I was genuinely taken back by the grandiose music they produced. This first viewing was at Reading Festival in 2007, before the first of many lineup changes. In took them a couple of songs to win of the audience, but their determination was finally felt as the U2-esque guitars and soaring vocals finally penetrated. Songs from their We Don't Need to Whisper album went down particularly well, especially the massive riffing of extended closer ‘The War’. Now that blink-182 are back, and back with a slightly more mature sound, Angels And Airwaves are no longer approached with caution but embraced with arms wide open. There is something of an oldschool prog vibe about how they conduct themselves (think Pink Floyd), but DeLonge’s unmistakeable vocals are so ingrained into pop punk history that they remain a band that bridges genres and generations. And who ever knew that he was such a talent guitarist!

Up until the point that Tom DeLonge, Mark Hoppus and Travis Barker all came to the realisation that, no, it wasn’t a bit sad for grown men, getting close to their forties, to be performing songs that are largely based around toilet humour night in, night out - I can’t imagine the paychecks that come along with the kind of arena shows and festival headline sets that Blink-182 play had anything to do with that - the trio needed something else to keep them busy. Hoppus and Barker formed the ill-fated +44, whilst DeLonge fared a little better with Angels and Airwaves. Their first record, We Don’t Need to Whisper, was superb - all weird, exploratory, proggy space rock - but with i-Empire and their two subsequent albums, DeLonge began to slowly revert to type. Still, he resisted the temptation to play Blink songs at gigs crammed full of their fans, and the fact that he continued to tour with Angels and Airwaves in between Blink runs since their reunion speaks both to his work ethic and to the fact that he sees his ‘other’ band as being of similar creative importance, and not just a stop-gap while he and Hoppus worked out their differences. With fifth record POET set for an October release, expect some UK dates either late this year or early next.

Such a fantastic show! I have been waiting to see AVA for quite a while now, and they did not disappoint. They killed every song and played material from all of their albums. I really enjoyed the break-up in styles mid-way through, where Tom got out the acoustic and played a-lot of his older, slower material, from AVA, Boxcar Racer and Blink.

Overall, the band blew me away. The lighting effects were phenomenal, and Ilan blasted away on the drums all night long. His solo project The New Regime opened for AVA and was equal bits refreshing, edgy and pleasantly surprising.

By far the best concert I've been to. I grew up on this music, and AVA continues to provide the soundtrack for my life and my journey. The entire night will be something etched in my memory for all the years I've got left.

Next time you're in LA Tom, hit me up.

I waited years for blink to come to Toronto, and settled for angels and airwaves. The album was good so I was expecting no less than a stellar show. This was their first performance in Toronto and it was shiite. Tom literally strutted around like a dickhead the entire time and sang out of tune. Buddy from the distillers aka their bass player looked out of place and bored as fuck. I was hoping to catch their return performance in hopes of hearing some shit off of the dream walker album but they all too predictably cancelled. Save your money and spare his rhetorical speeches in between songs. If your lucky he might throw in some box car racer.

Last time they were in San Francisco I missed it. My new born baby was just 3 weeks old. Last night Concert at the Warfield was Amazing. Awesome. We had a great time. Its great to see AVA live. Waiting for your new album.

Literally one of the best shows I have ever been to. For those of us that have followed Tom since the formation of Blink-182, this AVA experience was the culmination of our youth.