Live: Angels & Airwaves METROPOLIS – FEBRUARY 21 - by Jason Giammaria - Expectations were running high. Having been a fan of Blink-182 and Boxcar Racer, my excitement level had reached its peak walking in to Metropolis to catch the latest post Blink/side-project, Angels & Airwaves. I had a certain vision for this particular show, knowing the character that is Tom Delonge and the new musical direction he has taken with A&A, anything short of a perfect show would have been a disappointment. Right from the get go I could tell that I might have set my standards too high, even for Delonge, the veteran performer. I will admit, most of A&A’s songs do sound somewhat the same and this is ever more evident in a live setting. Delonge doesn’t waste anytime between songs, stopping only to switch guitars or take a drink of water. A long way from his Blink days of burping and farting between songs. The constant flow of music makes it hard to distinguish one song from another, if not for the relatively long song intro’s to give us a hint. Sound check must have been a quick run through of “Let’s get this over with”, because for the first couple of songs you could barely hear Delonges’ recognizable voice. There were high points to the show. The crowd was very much there to show their love and support for a band that in my mind has put out two very good albums. At one point during the song Distraction, Delonge took a step back from the microphone and let the crowd do the singing. Something that still seems to make Delonge very proud. Once the sound was fixed, Angels & Airwaves did sound very good live, if only they played with a little more energy. Delonge seems to try too hard and the other three members seem to try too little. Where’s Mark Hoppus when you need him?