Thursday night, stepping into the not-so-bustling Otto’s Underground took you back in time circa 1999, before MTV reality shows, split bands and when teenagers alike sang down school hallways; Say it ain’t so, I will not go turn the lights off, carry me home Na na na na na na na na na na... Mark, Tom and Travis were still together and Blink-182 was at its prime.
It was a cliché blast from the past except the original threesome was replaced with three other carefree, silly guys: Matt Nolan, Mike Greene and Marty Kane.
Blank-281, self proclaimed as the only Blink 182 tribute band in the nation, energetically jammed on stage and excited a small group of locals who knew every word to each of their songs.
They may not have looked exactly like the members of Blink-182, but Blank-281 definitely succeeded at playing tribute to their idols by enthusiastically acting and sounding like Blink-182, and that should be the goal of all tribute bands.
Even as important as music is, when it comes to tribute bands, having the “look” is what separates cover bands from a group of mediocre super fans singing karaoke. Some tribute bands even go to obsessive compulsive extremes to ensure members have that signature look of their idol’s originality.
While Nolan, Greene and Kane were not Mark, Tom and Travis clones, they did have the general look and feel of Blink-182.
The two lead singers sported T-shirts, baseball caps and jeans, while the drummer in back sported a Mohawk — so very Blink-esque (standard issue for any pop-punk band). The band’s attitude even screamed Blink. The two males’ crude humor and the drummer’s shy, maybe arrogant silence, matched that of the Blink from other live encounters with music.
Once the familiar, melodic guitar strumming of “Adam’s Song” began, about 30 audience members were brought back to eight years ago when “Adam’s Song” was the anthem for 14-year-old sadness and that universal junior-high-sense of teen angst.
That’s what is so great about tribute bands. When you’re at a tribute show you can remember what it was like to be there in the arena with the band playing live on stage, wooing you into a euphoric state of being. You can close your eyes and relive the moments you had with that band (real or imaginary) minus the break-ups, deaths and high-priced concert tickets.
Along with other tribute bands around the world, Blank-281 is important, not only to music fans, but also to the original artists since they are the only active members of society keeping the band’s legacy alive. Reminding people of distant recollections and happier times when listening to that certain album lifts (if only on a superficial level) one’s mood.
Blank-281 may be unique in the sense that they very well may be the only Blink-182 tribute band around, they are not unique in the realm of tribute bands. Every good band has one out there, continuing the legacy of those great songs well after the originals have faded away.

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