here comes the rain again, falling from the stars above.
review of the green day show i just saw. wootage.
wow... green day was INCREDIBLE. billie joe said it was the biggest show that they've ever played (giants stadium). that puts them in beatles and rolling stones territory. you know, as much as people razz on them for 'selling out' from their punk roots, they are flawless musicians and very good at what they do. and i'm much happier that they are selling out giants stadium with their anti-war sentiments (not overtly... but MUCH more than ANY musician has been projecting lately) than one of the run of the mill pop stars from the farm of svengali.
i got very, very lost after being very, very late after being evacuated from times square right when i was in the middle of exchanging USD to british pounds. i have no idea why times square was evacuated, if there was an acutal threat or if it was a drill. it was a little scary, though. but very calm and orderly. that's how we like it.
mike and i, along with his cousin and her boyfriend, got to giants stadium in time to catch the end of jimmy eat world's act -- the middle and sweetness. i'd have liked to hear more of them, but those are 2 of my favorite songs of theirs, so that was cool. haven't heard 'the middle' since... high school.
green day came on at 9, and played for a solid 2 hours. opened with 'american idiot,' and played the following that i can remember...
- holiday
- boulevard of broken dreams
- wake me up when september ends
- basket case
- brain stew
- longview
- minority
and closed with 'time of your life,' which made mike cry. it was really great, just billie joe. they also did a couple of covers, queen's 'we are the champions,' which had green day's trademark vague ironic-ness with its line '...we are the champions of the world...' also did a cover of 'stand by me.' lots of people cover that, for some reason.
as well as going to green day's largest concert to date, it was also the first show where they had a woman on stage for when they teach people to play a song. part of me was all WOOOOOOOOOOOOO! and then another part was all 'wtf billie joe, you've been around for like 10 years and it took you this long to put a woman on stage?' progress, progress.
we were general admission, on the floor of the stadium. the first 4000 people were closest to the stage and they had it sectioned off. mike and i were at the barricade for the next session, center with a pretty good view, much better than the last time i saw GD. surrounded by the most parents i've ever seen at a concert, all 'yeah i'm going to protect my little kid when the show starts, gee isn't this great everyone's being nice now!' and then going ballistic when the music starts and people start pushing to get closer. you know, if you don't think your kid can go to a concert alone, then he or she probably shouldn't go to the concert, definitely not for general admissions at least. get a seat. i'd be really worried about their safety, and as much as it'd be nice if i could rely on myself to elbow off the offenders, it really makes for a shitty concert experience. all the moms and their kids were hoisted over the barricades over the course of the concert. sigh.
i've also been a witness several times to mosh violence and the like, but i always get a new dose of how ridiculous people can be when they're all crowded together. two girls in front of us were with their guy friend, next to another girl who appeared to be alone. during a song people were getting pushy, and the single girl went ballistic on them, yelling 'stop pushing me' over and over and wouldn't let them explain that they were getting pushed too. she was so belligerent and wouldn't listen to them at all. she called security over and tried to get the 3 others kicked out for "pushing." security was like, 'honey, everyone's pushing.' and she wouldn't let it rest. she kept saying 'stop pushing' and finally flipped her lid and ELBOWED the guy in the FACE, and then elbowed the other GIRL IN THE FACE. seriously, what the fuck is the matter with you? you go to a huge concert, for a band that has a reputation for inciting riots (woodstock), and expect to be untouched? nay, perhaps not even break a sweat? ugh.
great pyro and special effects, by the way. more fireworks than i've seen in a long time, way more than any 4th of july. lots of fireballs, and a great stage that branched out so that people on all sides of the arena could get to see billie or mike at various intervals.
/end review.
wow... green day was INCREDIBLE. billie joe said it was the biggest show that they've ever played (giants stadium). that puts them in beatles and rolling stones territory. you know, as much as people razz on them for 'selling out' from their punk roots, they are flawless musicians and very good at what they do. and i'm much happier that they are selling out giants stadium with their anti-war sentiments (not overtly... but MUCH more than ANY musician has been projecting lately) than one of the run of the mill pop stars from the farm of svengali.
i got very, very lost after being very, very late after being evacuated from times square right when i was in the middle of exchanging USD to british pounds. i have no idea why times square was evacuated, if there was an acutal threat or if it was a drill. it was a little scary, though. but very calm and orderly. that's how we like it.
mike and i, along with his cousin and her boyfriend, got to giants stadium in time to catch the end of jimmy eat world's act -- the middle and sweetness. i'd have liked to hear more of them, but those are 2 of my favorite songs of theirs, so that was cool. haven't heard 'the middle' since... high school.
green day came on at 9, and played for a solid 2 hours. opened with 'american idiot,' and played the following that i can remember...
- holiday
- boulevard of broken dreams
- wake me up when september ends
- basket case
- brain stew
- longview
- minority
and closed with 'time of your life,' which made mike cry. it was really great, just billie joe. they also did a couple of covers, queen's 'we are the champions,' which had green day's trademark vague ironic-ness with its line '...we are the champions of the world...' also did a cover of 'stand by me.' lots of people cover that, for some reason.
as well as going to green day's largest concert to date, it was also the first show where they had a woman on stage for when they teach people to play a song. part of me was all WOOOOOOOOOOOOO! and then another part was all 'wtf billie joe, you've been around for like 10 years and it took you this long to put a woman on stage?' progress, progress.
we were general admission, on the floor of the stadium. the first 4000 people were closest to the stage and they had it sectioned off. mike and i were at the barricade for the next session, center with a pretty good view, much better than the last time i saw GD. surrounded by the most parents i've ever seen at a concert, all 'yeah i'm going to protect my little kid when the show starts, gee isn't this great everyone's being nice now!' and then going ballistic when the music starts and people start pushing to get closer. you know, if you don't think your kid can go to a concert alone, then he or she probably shouldn't go to the concert, definitely not for general admissions at least. get a seat. i'd be really worried about their safety, and as much as it'd be nice if i could rely on myself to elbow off the offenders, it really makes for a shitty concert experience. all the moms and their kids were hoisted over the barricades over the course of the concert. sigh.
i've also been a witness several times to mosh violence and the like, but i always get a new dose of how ridiculous people can be when they're all crowded together. two girls in front of us were with their guy friend, next to another girl who appeared to be alone. during a song people were getting pushy, and the single girl went ballistic on them, yelling 'stop pushing me' over and over and wouldn't let them explain that they were getting pushed too. she was so belligerent and wouldn't listen to them at all. she called security over and tried to get the 3 others kicked out for "pushing." security was like, 'honey, everyone's pushing.' and she wouldn't let it rest. she kept saying 'stop pushing' and finally flipped her lid and ELBOWED the guy in the FACE, and then elbowed the other GIRL IN THE FACE. seriously, what the fuck is the matter with you? you go to a huge concert, for a band that has a reputation for inciting riots (woodstock), and expect to be untouched? nay, perhaps not even break a sweat? ugh.
great pyro and special effects, by the way. more fireworks than i've seen in a long time, way more than any 4th of july. lots of fireballs, and a great stage that branched out so that people on all sides of the arena could get to see billie or mike at various intervals.
/end review.