The one thing that can be said about 2009 is that I have devoured a ton of live music in all sorts of venues from both emerging and established acts. When my friend announced he had a spare ticket to see Green Day I figured there were far worse things I could be doing with my Saturday night.
I have already caught the band live on a few occasions in the past; notably at one of my first ever gigs on the ‘Dookie‘ tour (where the band even aired the Tre Cool sang bonus track ‘I Was Alone‘). At the time the band’s attitude and energy left a big mark on my impressionable young mind.
After witnessing the ‘Nimrod‘ tour of 1997 I had to wait a few more years before seeing them once more, this time at their massive Milton Keynes shows in 2005 (which became available soon after via the Bullet in a Bible CD and DVD release). The metamorphosis the band had gone through from bratty (albeit enjoyable) upstarts to established rock royalty was remarkable.
The sensational success of ‘American Idiot‘ (its global sales are very close to those of ‘Dookie’ which, considering the advent of downloads and internet streaming, is a pretty amazing achievement) has allowed Green Day to play to a whole new generation of fans and in ‘Jesus Of Suburbia‘ and ‘Holiday‘ produced tracks as good as anything that has come before.
But back to 2009…. Having not seen a gig at the O2 Arena since its hasty corporate re-branding I felt it was time to give it the Cougar work over. Additionally, I had recently ripped into The Offspring‘s disappointing performance at Rock En Seine so it was time to see how 1994s other break through act were doing.
“The O2” is a huge cavernous venue that manages to be simultaneously imposing yet somehow soulless. Despite the show tonight being sold out I am surprised at how spacious the standing area appears and how much room is available in the stands. If you listen hard enough you can hear the sound of prawn sandwiches being crunched enthusiastically.
The band hit the stage at the relatively early time of 8 pm to accommodate for their mammoth 3 hours scheduled set. Launching into the opening double whammy of ‘Song Of The Century‘ and ‘21st Century Breakdown‘ it is immediately clear this audience is rabid for its heroes.
Billie Joe Armstrong is punk rocks’ answer to Groucho Marx with the band naturally playing the roles of his famous siblings. Just 3 songs into the set and the affable frontman has already run through the audience and played his guitar round a young kids back for 5 minutes.
Tre Cool and Mike Dirnt are as talented and charismatic as any other rhythm section around today and allow their frontman to focus on his act. It is obvious Billie Joe‘s voice has gone from strength to strength over the years so that not only can he snarl and scream but he can also croon with the best of them.
The fact that the band have a load of material to pick from their back catalogue is not debatable and when Green Day are actually playing they are close to unbeatable. It becomes clear however hat the band have not only been rehearsing their music but also an extensive and goofy stage show. So after the aforementioned walk through the crowd (the first of many) the band tick a few other boxes for safe measures.
In no particular order they lead the audience through long winded ooooohhhh-ahhhh chants, bring two fans on stage to be “exorcised”, shoot toilet paper and t-shirts into the crowd through purpose built cannons, recruit 3 other kids from the crowd to play their instruments (something they have been doing for a while) as well as perform a never ending medley of covers.
Individually each of these actions would be acceptable but coming in quick succession they take on a quasi-pantomine quality. It is perhaps fitting that this venue sometimes hosts NBA and NFL games because this entire performance begins to take on an American extravaganza feel rather than a rock show.
Still, tracks like ‘Welcome To Paradise‘ and ‘Hitchin A Ride‘ are greeted as old friends and I find myself surprised at how current the “old‘ material still sounds. ‘Basketcase‘ has me not so much walking down memory lane as sprinting down like an over excited kid on a sugar rush. The inclusion of ‘She‘ proves the band have a wealth of material to pick from.
Special mention must go to the chosen backdrop which, in contrast with the theatrics, enhances instead of distracting from the show. I appreciate that advances in technology have given new scope for improving the audio-visual experience but it all comes down to how you apply it and today’s setting is nothing short of spectacular. Visiting a reoccurring city scape motif that morphs into huge speakers and other shapes in accordance to the song being played and it is a true spectacle.
Following a first encore that features ‘American Idiot‘, an epic ‘Jesus Of Suburbia‘ and fan favourite ‘Minority‘ the band return to the stage once more for an acoustic offering. The much awaited ‘Good Riddance (Time Of Your Life)‘ is held until the very end for a predictable yet magical finale with Billy Joe Armstrong standing centre stage guitar in hand. It is a somewhat subdued send off to a high-octane night but is pleasing because it demonstrates that Green Day have the tracks to back up the clowning around.
There is a tendency to up the ante when playing stadium shows so as to give the punters perceived value for their money. I strongly believe Green Day don’t have to rely on these gimmicks, tonight’s show could have been trimmed by 45 minutes and still had a similar impact. Fortunately the songs were present in abundance.
TRACKS:
Green Day – Minority
Green Day – When I Come Around
Green Day – Holiday
