Last Night: Green Day at Key Arena

Green Day leader Billie Joe Armstrong is all about audience participation, whether it's pulling a teenage girl in a Ramones shirt on stage to help out with the chorus of "Longview" or plucking an even younger fan out for special attention.

"Who is this little shit here?", said Armstrong a few songs into the band's set, gesturing at a young boy in the multi-generational sea of faces who couldn't have been more than 10 years old. "Come up here!" He proceeded to introduce the kid ("Everybody say 'hi' Akeava!") and instruct him to 'freak out and dance when we start playing', a directive with which Akeava happily complied while deafening, red flash pots detonated behind him.

Because American Idiot was such a time-sensitive document, the songs in a post-Bush context were more defiant celebration than angry protest, which was a good thing in most cases. "Holiday" in particular sounded more like a joyful vacation than an enraged diatribe, even with the video footage of military planes and a grim newsfeed projected behind the band.

Perhaps the awareness of the fact that 21st Century Breakdown is still a relatively new release, the band did not play the record in it's uninterrupted entirety. Instead, they wisely broke up the set with a mix of material from American Idiot and the new record, with a liberal sprinkling of classic older numbers, including "Geek Stink Breath" and a caustic, euphoric rendition of "Brain Stew."

As with the American Idiot tour, the stage design was an elaborate, dizzying array of video projections, ornate scaffolding and blazing pyrotechnics. Green Day is clearly a band intent on giving people their money's worth and thoroughly enjoying themselves in the process, which are ultimately the most important ingredients for a satisfying arena rock show. I could have done without the extended version of "Shout" that segued into "Stand By Me", but hell, when it's followed by a smashing version of "21 Guns" and a waterfall of of shower sparks so brilliant they're nearly blinding, one can't really complain.

Set list:

Song of the Century
21st Century Breakdown
Know Your Enemy
East Jesus Nowhere
Holiday
Static Age
Before the Lobotomy
Are We the Waiting
St. Jimmy
Geek Stink Breath
Hitchin' A Ride
Brain Stew
Jaded
Longview
Basket Case
She
King For A Day
Shout (Lulu cover)
21 Guns
American Eulogy

Encore:

American Idiot
Jesus Of Suburbia
Boulevard Of Broken Dreams
Minority
Good Riddance (Time of Your Life)

6 comment(s) / Comment

Julian says:

Awesome review. I was there and as a veteran green day fan this was my fav show. Check out my full review and pictures at http://greendaybreakdown.com

Posted On: Saturday, Jul. 4 2009 @ 5:15PM

Road Cat says:

Pick up the NEW UPDATED EDITION of "On The Road With The Ramones."
With new pages, photos and info on what's been happening to the legacy of the Ramones since 2003.
This is a MUST-HAVE book for all Ramones fans. Based around the story of Monte A. Melnick who was the Ramones tour manager (and much more) throughout their entire career (1974-1996, and 2,263 live shows). It's an inside look from the people who were actually there witnessing and experiencing all the extreme highs and lows of one of rock's greatest bands. The book is packed with interviews from the Ramones and many many more people who where very close to the band. There is over 250 photographs and pictures of memorabilia Monte collected along the way. Buy it, read it and then revisit their albums. You'll never look at the Ramones in the same light.

Posted On: Sunday, Jul. 5 2009 @ 5:32AM

Alyssa says:

That was the most amazing concert I have ever been to. Even better than Metallica. Green Day is by far the most amazing band ever.

Posted On: Sunday, Jul. 5 2009 @ 1:23PM

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Posted On: Thursday, Jul. 23 2009 @ 5:27AM

Jak says:

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Posted On: Monday, Aug. 17 2009 @ 7:16PM

Zoe says:

I'm definitely not a teenage girl but thanks for the mention! Good recap of a one of the best shows i've ever seen.

Posted On: Wednesday, Sep. 16 2009 @ 10:57PM

 

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