Green Day
August 24, 2009
Arco Arena, Sacramento, CA
By Dan Wall
Setlist: Song of the Century, 21st Century Breakdown,
Know Your Enemy, East Jesus Nowhere, Holiday, The Static Age,
Before the Lobotomy, We Are the Waiting, St. Jimmy, Boulevard of
Broken Dreams, Murder City, 2000 Light Years Away, Who Wrote
Holden Caufield?, Only of You, JAR, Hitchin’ a Ride, Welcome to
Paradise, When I Come Around, Brain Stew, Jaded, Longview,
Basket Case, She, King For a Day/Shout, 21 Guns, American
Eulogy.
Encore 1: American Idiot, Jesus of Suburbia, Minority. Encore 2:
Drama Queen, Last Night on Earth, Good Riddance. Encore 3: Going
to Pasalacqua. 3 hours.
Have you
ever been to a concert where every song felt like an encore? How
about one where each and every moment felt like 11:59 p.m. on
New Year’s Eve? Or one where everything felt just like a great
big orgasm?
That’s
the way it felt at Green Day’s Sacramento show on Monday night.
A homecoming of sorts (the band hails from Rodeo, about an hour
up the road for those who drove in), the group let it all hang
out on the second-to-last night of its North American tour.
It was a
show like no other. I have never seen such a diverse crowd of
people at a rock concert. Fifth graders and fifth grade
teachers, moms with their kids and boyfriends, cougars prowling
the corridors, kids so small I could hold them in one hand,
young adults who grew up with the band and teenagers celebrating
the end of summer all gathered to see what has become the
country’s very best live band put on an unbelievable show that
lasted nearly three hours.
You knew
it was going to be special before the first song was over.
Guitarist Billie Joe Armstrong, who must have lost 10 pounds
with all of his activity on the night, had already led the crowd
in its first sing-along, wave and massive bounce before “21st
Century Breakdown” had ended. Before “Know Your Enemy” had
climaxed, Armstrong was in the crowd and had brought up the
first of many crowd participants onstage. “East Jesus Nowhere’
saw another kid, some impressive pyro and another massive
sing-along, and this was all before the fourth song had been
played. The crowd was going ballistic, and honestly, if it
wasn’t for the support system in place in most California
structures, the walls would have surely fallen down.
Just when
did Green Day become this good? Always an exciting live
attraction, the band really came into its own on its last two
albums and tours, to support American Idiot and 21st
Century Breakdown. Both concept albums with longer songs
than the three-minute punk ditties the band was used to writing,
it not only forced the band to write more mature songs but to
play them as well. The crowds got bigger, the show more massive
and along the way the trio of Armstrong, bassist Mike Dirnt and
drummer Tre Cool got better as musicians.
Green Day
knows its crowd, knows its market and knows its history. All
were addressed during the marathon show that featured songs from
every album the band has produced, as well as snippets of many
more. The band probably touched on more than 45 tunes during its
workout here, tracing its roots as a punk band, a hard rock
group and a hit-single producing machine.
The group
did very little to disappoint the huge crowd who sang, danced
and cheered the group’s every move on a very pleasant Monday
night. Aside from the world class light show and the fire, bombs
and fireworks, the band used a huge video system to beam each
members smiling and very happy face to the farthest reaches of
the arena. A number of backdrops were displayed as well, one a
huge scrim that outlined a big city skyline lit up at night.
Master of
ceremonies Armstrong was more amped than normal. He sang, played
guitar and spent more time in the crowd than security did. He
led the crowd on numerous sing-alongs, waves and jumps, each
higher and more ferocious than those of the NBA’s Kings, who
play at this arena. As many as 20 members of the audience were
brought up onstage, including a tall lanky guitarist who played
“Jesus of Suburbia” note for note.
Bassist
Dirnt and drummer Cool have improved measurably as musicians
over the years, and kept the back beat tight during Armstrong’s
shenanigans, while three fine back-up musicians added color and
shade on guitar, keyboards and horns. Virtually every song the
band played was lengthened for the stage show, with each tune
made more muscular by the very polished back-up band.
The show
included many highlights, including the “metal influence” tease
that proceeds the “Brain Stew/Jaded” medley, which saw the band
play snippets of “Iron Man,” “Rock You Like A Hurricane,” “Ain’t
Talkin’ ‘Bout Love,” “You Really Got Me,” “Eruption” and “Brown
Sugar;” a string of ten straight hits that started with
“Hitchin' a Ride” and ended with “21 Guns;” three encores,
including the first with the kid on guitar for “Jesus of
Suburbia,” and a confetti-strewn “Minority;” an all-acoustic
second encore that ended with the band’s biggest hit “Good
Riddance (Time of Your Life),” a rarely played third encore of
“Going to Pasalacqua;” and the interaction between a very good
band on top of its game and a crowd ready to explode at just
about any and every minute of the show.
What more
can I say? I know many of you that scour this site for classic
rock news are probably wondering why Green Day is here, but why
not? Examine the parallels between this band and The Who-started
out as a singles band, wrote two rock opera/concept records,
continued to tour, adding musicians to flesh out the sound, and
got bigger as they entered middle age. The only difference-Green
Day is at the top of its game as they enter middle age, while
the Who had already peaked (right after Keith Moon died). The
band is know for its love of metal, hair-band rock and punk, as
well as showing influences as far reaching as the Beatles and
60’s doo-wop bands. If classic rock has to be left in the hands
of anyone, I have no problems leaving it in the hands of Green
Day.
