Green Day Concert Review

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Green Day Concert Review

Where: Allstate Arena, Chicago, Illinois

Who: Green Day & Jimmy Eat World

The California-based pioneers of pop punk, now rock gods Green Day, kicked off their World Tour 2005 at a sold-out Allstate Arena in Chicago on August 10, 2005. The Allstate Arena probably hasn’t been that packed since the Chicago Wolves won their last hockey championship a couple years ago.

Jimmy Eat World got the night off to a great start, however, after Green Day frontman Billie Joe strummed the last note to “Good Riddance (Time of Your Life), the crowd would be asking their friends, “Hey who was that first band?" Make no mistake, Jimmy Eat World got the crowd going. Playing songs like “The Middle” and “Get it Faster,” these veterans of the “emo” craze played like professionals. Other songs like “Bleed American” and “Work” got the crowd dancing in their seats, while confirming that Jimmy Eat World is truly a solid rock band. By the time the lights came back on and Jimmy Eat World finished their last song, “Sweetness,” every seat in the place was full of Green Day worshipers ranging from preteens to their parents who drove them there.

One of the amazing things about a Green Day show is seeing the kids (and I mean kids) who discovered Green Day after the release of American Idiot, party with the now adults that remember the release of Dookie. The parents are even jamming along and trying to move their lips to songs like the lazy, masturbation song “Longview.” When you see the parents getting into what their 12-year-old likes, you know it’s a damn good show.

In an effort to get the crowd even more revved up the intoxicated pink bunny took the stage guzzling Miller Lites like water and trying to dance to “YMCA” and The Ramones' “Blitzkrieg Bop.” Finally, vocalist / guitarist, Billie Joe, bassist Mike Dirnt and drummer Tre Cool took the stage and exploded into “American Idiot.” Without missing a beat, the band played “Jesus of Suburbia” and “Holiday.” Green Day have become excellent entertainers. When Billie Joe wants the crowd to wave their arms or scream “heyyy yo’s” back to him, they do it. For those two hours Billie Joe is the leader and he’s got a crowd of tens of thousands in the palm of his had. When he hushes the crowd, they hush and when he asks for a scream they scream. Nobody pretends they’re too cool to have fun and everyone treats him like a god.

The band’s set and their stage antics really haven’t changed much since the last time they rolled through town in November of 2004. Billie Joe still pretends to masturbate and at the end screams, “Somebody fuck me!” He still wears the king costume and Tre Cool still hurdles his drumsticks high into the air during every song. A Green Day show is more than a concert; it’s a production complete with full pyrotechnics that the crowd can feel in their seats. Fireworks, fireballs, confetti and strobe lights are all apart of the Green Day experience. A massive illuminated backdrop spells out “Green Day” and other designs as the band tear through old favorites like “Hitchin’ a Ride” and “Basket Case.”

The energy level never goes down, even when the band plays “Wake Me Up When September Ends” or “Are We the Waiting.” Green Day have so many hits and the crowd expects to hear them all. Seeing this band live is like seeing them perform 60 percent of American Idiot and 60 percent International Super Hits. Other old favorites like “Minority” and “She” had the crowd singing along to every word.

Of course a Green Day show wouldn’t be complete without starting a new band during the Operation Ivy song “Knowledge.” Billie Joe picks a drummer, bass player and guitarist from the crowd to play the last half of the song. Each of these kids he brings up don’t look a day over 18 and they all do a damn good job of keeping the beat and jamming. How awesome would it be to have Tre Cool, Mike Dirnt and Billie Joe whispering in your ear how to keep the beat and play the chords? At the conclusion of the song, Billie Joe gives his guitar to the girl who played bass and has the drummer do a stage dive into the crowd. They won’t be forgetting that for a while.

Green Day, historically a three-piece band, is now touring with an extra guitarist and other instrumentalists who play the piano, trumpet, saxophone, xylophone and trombone to add the harmonies and fills that songs off American Idiot require. This also allows the extra guitarist to fill in while Billie Joe runs around the stage drawing in the crowd.

After almost an hour and a half of sweat soaked controlled chaos, the band exit the stage, but only for about three minutes, returning for a 20 minute encore. They played “Boulevard of Broken Dreams” and covered Queen’s “We Are the Champions” a fitting song for everything Green Day has become over the past 16 years. Billie Joe concludes the night alone, drown in a sea of white light singing “Good Riddance (Time of Your Life)” the band returns to the stage for a bow and after two hours of rocking the crowd’s socks off.

It’s obvious that Green Day are no longer the little snotty-nosed punks they started as. They are in fact legends of our time. They have made it to the big leagues and will keep growing until an act of God stops them. These guys paved the way for what we now call “pop punk” and their fans know it. Seeing Green Day live is more than a rock show, it’s an experience of a lifetime.

By: Adam K. Zakroczymski III – Senior Editor / Founder