A great Day for punk | It may not be easy being Green, but it sure is fun
The San Diego Union - Tribune; San Diego, Calif.; Jul 24, 2001; Jessica Yadegaran;

Abstract:
In no way did Berkeley-based [Billie Joe Armstrong], bassist Mike Dirnt and drummer Tre Cool need tricks to win over the crowd. After a tight, powerful opening set -- which included "Nice Guys Finish Last," "Castaway," "Church on Sunday," "Longview," "Welcome to Paradise" and "Hitchin' a Ride" -- the fans were smitten.

The show was proof that Green Day is not to be pigeonholed with other SoCal punk bands, like The Offspring and blink-182. The members of Green Day, who have been together since high school and went gold just in time to buy alcohol legally, aren't afraid to stretch their musical muscles. They take punk songs, short and speedy in nature, and elongate them with tight bass and sax solos.

The stand-in guitarist, elated, hugged Armstrong immediately. Armstrong hugged back, then slipped him the tongue.

Water guns the size of AK-47s. A burning drum set. Teen-agers who can play your tunes better than you can.

Green Day front man Billie Joe Armstrong had a manic energy that infected the Coors Amphitheatre crowd, which included everyone from chaperoned 8-year-olds to teen-agers with hair and eyebrows dyed fluorescent green.

When Armstrong wasn't leading the 8,000-plus audience Sunday on a punk-rock roller coaster, he was hamming it up with the help of some pretty cool toys.

One of which included a trumpeter donning a bumblebee costume.

But in no way did Berkeley-based Armstrong, bassist Mike Dirnt and drummer Tre Cool need tricks to win over the crowd. After a tight, powerful opening set -- which included "Nice Guys Finish Last," "Castaway," "Church on Sunday," "Longview," "Welcome to Paradise" and "Hitchin' a Ride" -- the fans were smitten.

Especially with Armstrong, 28, whose paternal concerns (he is a father of two, after all) and sensitive-guy lyrics (he is a published member of Poetry.com) came shining through.

"There's a big hole in the front here," he said early on. "I think some of you should come and fill it. Let's all take care of each other tonight, OK? If someone wants out (of the pit), help them up and give them a hand out of there. This isn't a football game. It's a punk-rock show."

Taking care of his audience included super-soaking them with the jet spray from enormous squirt guns. When the aquatic ammunition was out of reach, his goofball antics involved flicking liters of Evian at the crowd.

The show was proof that Green Day is not to be pigeonholed with other SoCal punk bands, like The Offspring and blink-182. The members of Green Day, who have been together since high school and went gold just in time to buy alcohol legally, aren't afraid to stretch their musical muscles. They take punk songs, short and speedy in nature, and elongate them with tight bass and sax solos.

Even Armstrong's voice is stronger and more mature than in recent years. How can anyone yell and sound that good?

Plus, you can tell they've been hitting old Dylan albums, especially when Armstrong broke out the harmonica on an extended version of "Minority." And their aesthetic stretching helped the boys prove there's more to punk rock than smashing guitars and bashing authority.

When taking requests, he talked to the crowd as if it were riding shotgun in his car: "So," he said, pointing to someone in the crowd, "what song do you want to hear now?" For their $19.91, the audience got such old-school jams as "Disappearing Boy" and "2000 Light Years Away" (the first performance of the latter song six months into the "Warning" tour) before launching into Ozzy Osborne's "Crazy Train" and Lynyrd Skynyrd's "Sweet Home Alabama."

The best part of the show, hands down, came when Green Day created a band using random fans from the mosh pit. It took a few drummer auditions and a quick bass lesson, but they founded Green Day Junior.

The stand-in guitarist, elated, hugged Armstrong immediately. Armstrong hugged back, then slipped him the tongue.

"You know a song?" he asked the teen-ager.

"I know them all," the boy panted in reply, his eyes glazed over. Billie Joe's saliva is all over my mouth, he's thinking. It doesn't get more punk rock than this.

"Well, why don't you play me something and maybe I'll sing along!"

The three boys complied, playing their idols' songs before diving back into the pit via drumrolls.

Lighters and swaying bodies signaled encore time, which included "Good Riddance" (Time of Your Life).

"I'm not going anywhere," Armstrong said before launching into "Warning" and "When I Come Around." "You guys are the best show!"

With that, Cool lighted his drum set on fire and Dirnt banged his bass into everything -- the stage floor, the amps, anything that wouldn't cave in. The band closed with "Macy's Day Parade," a ballad of change and hope, and proof that, like a fine wine, Green Day gets better with age.

Plus, they've got cool toys and horn players who linger, playing the "Star Spangled Banner" amid smoke and ash.

Talk about punk freakin' rock.

Credit: STAFF WRITER