The Take Off Your Pants and Jacket Tour was a concert tour by the American rock band Blink-182, in support of the band's fourth studio album of the same name (2001). It began in Moline, Illinois on July 4, 2001, and concluded in Chula Vista, California on September 21, 2001. The tour encompassed 45 shows between the U.S. and Canada. The tour was supported by New Found Glory, Jimmy Eat World, Alkaline Trio and Midtown.
Announced in May 2001 shortly before the album's release, the tour was the band's second major arena and amphitheater headlining run, and featured an expanded production emphasizing large-scale set design and extensive pyrotechnics. Each concert opened pairing Richard Strauss's Also sprach Zarathustra with the reveal of a giant expletive on a flaming sign. This pairing of high-art orchestral grandeur with juvenile profanity became one of the tour's signature visual motifs.
Critical reception to the Take Off Your Pants and Jacket Tour was generally positive, with reviewers praising the band's musicianship, energy, and balance of humor and melodic performance. Several dates were rescheduled following the September 11 attacks. A planned European leg, initially delayed in the aftermath of the attacks, was later canceled after guitarist Tom DeLonge suffered a back injury.
Background The tour was announced in May 2001 in support of Take Off Your Pants and Jacket, which was released on June 12. In partnership with Ticketmaster, the band launched an exclusive online presale beginning May 17, 2001, allowing registered fans to purchase up to four tickets before the general public onsale. The promotion included a giveaway for an autographed Stratocaster guitar created by Fender specifically for guitarist Tom DeLonge. The band conducted backstage meet and greets for fans at some shows.
Ticket prices ranged from $12 to $32. Because of the tour's elaborate production, the band was required to perform in larger and more expensive venues, resulting in higher ticket prices than on previous tours. Despite this, Hoppus maintained that the group's tickets remained among the least expensive of the major arena acts touring the United States at the time. Speaking to Kerrang!, Hoppus joked, "Tickets are $25, and we still feel that's about 25 times what we’re worth," adding that "some people even bring ear-plugs to cancel out the music and just enjoy the lights."
The band's performances often featured extended onstage banter and improvisational comedy between songs, a hallmark of their live shows. In an interview at the time, Hoppus said the group did not follow a scripted routine, explaining that "sometimes we go onstage and hardly say any jokes at all, and some nights we'll end up having to cut songs out of our set because we end up talking so much." He also noted that the band had grown fatigued performing older material by that point in the tour cycle, stating that they were "excited to play the new songs" from Take Off Your Pants and Jacket after performing some earlier songs live for nearly a decade.
Production The production for the 2001 Take Off Your Pants and Jacket Tour represented a major increase in scale and theatricality for the band. The shows incorporated extensive pyrotechnics, large-scale stage props, and elaborate visual effects. Each concert began in darkness as Richard Strauss' symphonic poem Also sprach Zarathustra—widely recognized as the theme from 2001: A Space Odyssey—played over the venue speakers. When the music reached its climax, the curtain dropped to reveal the band performing in front of a giant flaming sign displaying the word "FUCK". Bassist Mark Hoppus later recalled conceiving the deliberately juvenile-yet-grandiose concept while driving home from the studio late one night. "I had this idea where a huge obscenity would be spelled out in fire," he said to Rolling Stone. "And you have to go for the king daddy. You have to go with fuck." The prop later became a recurring feature of the band's arena productions, reappearing during their 2014 and 2016 tours.
According to Hoppus, the tour featured a "record-breaking" amount of pyrotechnics, including propane flame effects, cascading fireworks, and cold-spark effects positioned throughout the stage. The complexity of the production required precise coordination between the band and crew because of the numerous timed flame and pyrotechnic cues integrated into the performance. The tour marked a substantial logistical expansion for the group, traveling with approximately 15 semi-trucks, 15 buses, and a crew of around 70 personnel, in addition to local venue staff. The tour was managed by Jens Geiger, with production managed by Eric Fermin. Videos from across the tour were filmed by the band's videographer, Marc "Cheetah" Steinberger, and posted on their official website throughout the year.
Support acts The shows were supported by was supported by New Found Glory, Jimmy Eat World, Alkaline Trio and Midtown. For New Found Glory, opening for one of their influences was exhilarating. "We always dreamed about touring with Blink ever since we started," frontman Jordan Pundik shared to Kerrang!. "The whole tour has been a blast for us," guitarist Chad Gilbert agreed.
Rescheduled shows and cancellations The band postponed shows for the last few dates of the tour due to the September 11 attacks. When they returned, the band draped an American flag over a set of amplifiers and drummer Travis Barker played on a red, white, and blue drum kit. At one concert, DeLonge invited the crowd to join him in his cheers of "Fuck Osama bin Laden!" A European leg of the tour, initially scheduled for November 2001, was put on hold after the attacks. "After the attacks the world kind of went into freeze mode and we didn't know whether to carry on with things or not ... so we decided we'd rather everyone was safe and play the shows a little later instead," said Hoppus shortly thereafter. It was later rescheduled to January 2002, and later canceled altogether after guitarist Tom DeLonge suffered a back injury.
Reception Reception towards the Take Off Your Pants and Jacket Tour was generally positive. Jim DeRogatis of the Chicago Sun-Times was positive in his review of the band's concert at the Tweeter Center, writing, "There is a long and noble tradition in rock 'n' roll of hyperenergetic, ultramelodic, sha-la-la-la stupidity, and Blink has proven itself to be a worthy inheritor of this tradition—not as great as the mighty Ramones just yet, but at least as good as the Troggs or the Archies or Grand Funk Railroad." Tom Kielty of The Boston Globe wrote that blink-182 had matured into a more dynamic live act by successfully balancing its trademark juvenile humor with increasingly emotional material. He praised Barker's "powerful and precise" drumming and argued that the band's sincere performances of songs such as "Adam's Song" and "Stay Together for the Kids" demonstrated a newfound emotional depth without sacrificing its irreverent personality. Al Choman of The Tribune praised blink-182's "frenetic, unapologetic punk spirit," and noted that its catchy melodies and youthful themes resonated with its broad audience.
The band's appearance at Radio 104 Fest in Hartford, Connecticut was reviewed by Roger Catlin of the Hartford Courant: "Blink-182 [...] has earned its place at the top. Both bassist Mark Hoppus and guitarist Tom DeLonge are tighter now from working with ace drummer Travis Barker for a few years. The show's focus is more their bracing, melodic songs rather than the childishly vulgar banter between them." Ed Masley of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette called the trio "the Steely Dan of cartoon punk", feeling that "the [dirty] jokes were nearly overshadowed by musical highlights [...] Some, I'm sure, would argue that the show was worse than reprehensible. But unlike, say, Limp Bizkit, Korn or Eminem, these clowns did it all for the giggles. At a time when so much of teen culture is focused on hate and aggression, last night's show was practically refreshing." Randy Lewis of the Los Angeles Times felt the concert tasteful in light of the then-recent September 11 attacks; "In some strange way Blink-182's concert Sunday at the Arrowhead Pond in Anaheim provided a kind of catharsis, or at least temporary escape, for the thousands of fans who turned out." He praised the group's inclusion of humor, while also comparing drummer Travis Barker to Keith Moon of The Who.
Tour dates + List of 2001 concerts Date City Country VenueMolineUnited StatesMark of the Quad CitiesMilwaukeeMarcus AmphitheaterNoblesvilleVerizon Wireless Music CenterTinley ParkTweeter CenterCincinnatiRiverbend Music CenterColumbusPolaris AmphitheaterCuyahoga FallsBlossom Music CenterBonner SpringsSandstone AmphitheaterSomersetRivers Edge AmphitheatreMaryland HeightsRiverport AmphitheatreBurgettstownPost-Gazette PavilionClarkstonDTE Energy Music TheatreWantaghJones Beach TheaterDarien CenterDarien Lake Performing Arts CenterJuly 24, 2001ColumbiaMerriweather Post PavilionHolmdelPNC Bank Arts CenterCamdenTweeter Center at the WaterfrontBostonSuffolk DownsScrantonCoors Light Amphitheatre at Montage MountainRaleighAlltel Pavilion at Walnut CreekWest Palm BeachMars Music AmphitheatreTampaIce Palace ArenaAntiochAmSouth AmphitheaterDallasSmirnoff Music CentreThe WoodlandsCynthia Woods Mitchell PavilionSelmaVerizon Wireless AmphitheaterGreenwood VillageCoors AmphitheatreWest ValleyE CenterNampaIdaho Center AmphitheaterPortlandMemorial ColiseumGeorgeThe Gorge AmphitheatreVancouverCanadaThunderbird StadiumCalgaryPengrowth SaddledomeEdmontonTelus FieldTorontoMolson AmphitheatreOttawaOttawa Civic CentreQuebec CityColisée PepsiMontrealParc Jean-DrapeauEssexUnited StatesChamplain Valley FairgroundsAllentownAllentown FairgroundsSyracuseNew York State FairgroundsHartfordctnow.com Meadows Music CenterWheatlandSacramento Valley AmphitheatreMountain ViewShoreline AmphitheatreSeptember 16, 2001AnaheimArrowhead Pond at AnaheimSeptember 17, 2001Oklahoma CityJim Norick ArenaLong BeachLong Beach ArenaPhoenixArizona Veterans Memorial ColiseumChula VistaCoors Amphitheatre
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