MUSIC
REVIEWS
5
Fans connect with Green Day By AMANDA PENNINGTON Daily Titan Entertainment Editor
“This isn’t war, this is fucking rock ‘n’ roll!” So said Green Day front man, Billie Joe Armstrong, at the band’s Saturday night concert at The Home Depot Center in Carson. The sold-out show pulled people in from all different walks of life – from parents with kids in tow, to die hard 20-something fans like the ones I shared the good time with, to middle-aged rockers looking to listen to some good tunes. This wide spectrum of people in attendance serves as a testament to the band’s ever-growing popularity and its ability to retain old-school fans as the band and its music evolve. Green Day’s studio releases only give a slight glimpse into the trio’s heart and soul. No one can truly understand the band’s relationship with its fans until the make they trip to see a live concert. It was easy to question whether Armstrong, bassist Mike Dirnt and drummer Tré Cool, could rock a venue as big as The Home Depot (or SBC Park in San Francisco with 42,000 fans in attendance). But they proved that no matter how big or small the venue, they possessed the power to explode onstage and to rile up, and calm down, a crowd of any size with a single word or the flailing gesture of Armstrong’s arm. Back onstage, Armstrong did just that. “Now shake hands,” he said, continuing his point, stopping a song just in time to break up a fight erupting in the pit early on. With the roar of agreement coming from the monstrous crowd, Armstrong continued to mesmerize audience members, near and far. It would also be easy to say that this tour of sold-out stadiums is a slap in the face to what Green Day is supposed to stand for – the punk rock ideology of staying away from the mainstream and spitting on (metaphorically and literally) authority. But Green Day’s critics should realize that the band’s new music is more in the same vein as punk rock and contrary to those in seats of power. And although there were many pre-teens and pubescent girls and boys in attendance, the fury and heart of the band were able to shine through to the more mature members of the audience. The band’s earlier music and image walked a fine line between pop and punk, but was countered
by the venues where the band played – the places where punk rock thrived – in seedy clubs throughout Los Angeles and the Bay Area. But now, more than ever the music, not just the image, is more true to the punk rock cause. For any non-believers, or those straddling the fence, seeing a live show will rock their world and give the extra nudge needed to transform them into a fullblown fan. How can I say this? Because prior to two weeks ago, I was that person. Five or 10 years ago, I never would’ve thought I’d be watching two shows during a single tour, but there I was Saturday night, on the floor, screaming fans all around, seeing the band for the second time in as many weeks. Armstrong and his cohorts have the innate ability to stir up a crowd. I don’t know how they do it, but they do – with the same authority as huge rock stars like Bono and U2 or Mick Jagger and the Rolling Stones. It’s absolutely amazing to think that these three guys from the Bay Area, who started playing the Los Angeles scene in small clubs with NOFX 15-plus years ago, can channel their music effectively to so many thousands of people. These guys played with ease – with utter perfection – as they combined songs old and new from as far back as the 1991 release, Kerplunk to the latest mega-hit, American Idiot. The band began its set with selections from the politically charged American Idiot, soliciting from the crowd a barrage of middle fingers and shouts of support for the fervently anti-George Bush group. “This song is a big ‘fuck you’ to George W. Bush. This song’s called ‘Holiday,’” Armstrong screamed. In between the immensely overused throaty screams of “Los Angeles,” – which towards the middle and end of the show became tired as the fans answered back less and less – Armstrong continuously ran back and forth on the massive stage like a track star – infecting the audience with his never-ending enthusiasm and energy. At one point in the show, Tré Cool sang his silly song – a hidden track on 2004’s Dookie – in which he describes a moment where he was all by himself – complete with his signature funny faces (that he’s known for
making every time the camera passes him and his drum set). Shrieks and screams poured from the audience as Cool strutted
REPRISE RECORDS
around the stage while singing the song
that, no matter how silly, is a rare treasure among Green Day’s live shows. A highlight of the band’s recent tours comes when the band invites three lucky fans who can play the drums, bass and guitar up to the stage to play an Operation Ivy cover, “Knowledge.” It’s a rush for those watching and must be almost an orgasmic experience for those who venture onstage to take over the band’s instruments. During this particular show in Carson, Armstrong had a hard time coming up with someone worthy enough to play the guitar onstage in front of thousands of screaming fans, and finally found and brought up who he called “the smallest punk rocker in the world” – a kid who could not have been more than 5 years old. Unforunately, the shoulder strap on the guitar was too long, but as a consolation prize, Armstrong gave the guitar to the kid to take home. As with most concerts, Green Day’s encore was the most memorable and emotional performance of the evening. The trio gave another rare per-
formance when they played “Maria,” an amazing lesser-known track from the b-side of 2001’s EP International Superhits. What did it for me, though, at both the San Francisco and Los Angeles event was the final performance of the night. The band sealed the evening with the beautiful, heart-wrenching and popular “Good Riddance (Time of Your Life),” from the band’s 2001 release, Nimrod. As if the band wasn’t already written down in my band hall of fame at this point, the performance of this song at the two shows I attended just inked it in permanently. Every person in the audience undoubtedly had a different and personal attachment to the song – it’s absolutely inevitable for anyone not to – and it was no different for me and my pals, who had emotionally anticipated hearing this song for weeks after the unforeseen death of someone near to our hearts. So, like many others did, I’m sure, our eyes welled with tears and we embraced, as the entire crowd swayed almost in unison, as if we all shared the same story, while the glimmer of lighters and cell phones twinkled in the night. With that, the stage went dark, the band walked off a final time and the crowd dispersed. Thanks for the good time Green Day and rest in peace Brian.
