 Billie Joe Armstrong |
 Mike Dirnt and Tre Cool |
 Billie Joe Armstrong |
Review and Photos by Matt Schwenke
After the screams and house-shaking lows of My Chemical Romance had echoed through the Alliant Energy Center, the crowd swelled at ground level forcing fans to the highest reaches of the building. As an anxious buzz grew in the crowd along with the humidity, the crowd roared when someone dressed in a pink bunny suit appeared from backstage. Dancing around on stage and downing two beers, the fist-pumping beer-drinking bunny disappeared backstage and moments later Green Day rushed on stage.
Taking time to eye to the packed house, frontman Billie Joe and bassist Mike Dirnt quickly paced back and forth before slamming the speakers with "American Idiot." Showing no signs of fatigue from the tour, Billie Joe darted around the stage jumping off monitor speakers and whipping guitars about. An equally energetic version of "Holiday" followed and had the crowd locked in and feeding off of their energy.If you happened to be on the floor and you were not one of the people passed over the front rail, then you swayed at the whims of the giant mass of people crowding the stage. And, this was only the second song. Never letting up on the gas all night (the band and the crowd), Billie exclaimed, "This is the best fucking tour we've had."
After playing "St. Jimmy," Green Day reached into their deep musical pockets and pulled out a bunch of tunes from Dookie taking the crowd back to the '90's with inspired versions of "Longview," "Basket Case," and "She." There were countless bits of entertainment for the eyes during the show in the form of lighting, pyrotechnics, Billie Joe mooning the crowd and launching his guitar into the air, but the music never suffered from the antics that were ultimately endearing. Taking the dramatics to the top, the cape and crown came out for a crowd pleasing "Shout" that ended with Billie blowing kisses to the crowd. Getting a bit more serious, drummer Tre Cool pounded the drum kit with free hand waving on "Wake Me Up When September Ends," and then took it up another notch in "Wanna be the minority"-- a pyro burst being the only thing fitting to end the song and set. Deciding very quickly to play an encore, the crowd was slowly calmed down with the solemn yet lovely "Boulevard Of Broken Dreams" and the Queen classic "We Are The Champions." Green Day is simply one of the best acts touring today.
Mike Dirnt and Tre Cool
Billy Joe Armstrong and Tre Cool
Billy Joe Armstrong
Tre CoolHere's Your Chance to.... Respond!
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