Green Day, July 15, 2009, Albany, NY
This show last night was a really big deal for me because, well, Green Day is a big deal. They were the first band that I really got into, and I honestly give them all the credit for making me love music as much as I do. The last time I saw them was in August 2005, so almost exactly four years ago. This show was totally amazing, and not just because the band played well and got the audience involved and all their usual stuff, it was amazing because it had been such a long time since I had seen them. It was great to be able to see them again after all these years and still know all the words by heart. The show reminded me of why I got into music in the first place. And it reminded me of why I’ll always call Green Day one of my favorite bands.
My mom and I left home on Saturday around two in the afternoon, and arrived at the venue in Albany a little bit before six. We wandered around for a bit, took some pictures of Green Day’s buses, and then got in line since the doors were supposed to open at 6:30. This was one of the very few shows I’ve been to where the doors actually did open on time. Thank god, because I was so excited, I would have hated waiting. So we went in, looked at the merch, I got depressed because the shirts were too expensive, and then we found our seats. We got our tickets pretty late (not by any fault of our own… but that’s another story), so our seats were way in the back, but the venue was smaller than I expected, so they still weren’t too bad. We chatted with the people we were sitting next to for a bit, and then The Bravery came on.
They were really good! I didn’t really know much of their music, except for the song Believe, but I really liked everything they played. This was their last night on the tour, so of course Green Day had to do something memorable to say goodbye. The Bravery got through two songs, and then all of a sudden from the side of the stage, this dude in a mask came out with a toilet paper gun, and blew toilet paper all over the stage. The stage was completely covered; I don’t know how the drummer was drumming because it was draped all over the drum set. And then from backstage all of these people in animal costumes came running out, and that’s when I figured out it was Green Day. The pink bunny was among the other animals, and after being to three other shows, I KNOW that pink bunny. With the bunny was a panda, a dinosaur, a parrot, a cardinal, a tiger, and… I’m sure there were a few more. So they were dancing around the stage and humping various objects, etc. Then some people in masks came out and started stripping, and eventually there were two dudes down to speedos running around on the stage. And THEN there were these popcorn blowing things and popcorn went flying everywhere, and then there were water guns…. long story short, Green Day totally wrecked The Bravery’s stage. Hahaha. It was SO funny though, and the band just went along with it, which was cool. The lead singer at one point got an umbrella, I’m not sure where it came from, but he was really cute hiding behind it to avoid the popcorn ambush. :D
So The Bravery left, and we waited… I was really glad that The Bravery was the only opener. I’ve been to a lot of concerts lately where there are three or four opening bands, and I always get worn out by the time the headliner starts. So having one opener for a change was really nice. While Green Day’s stage was being set up, they were playing a lot of cool older music, I remember they played two Beatles songs, Joan Jett, Kiss, The Go Go’s, Twisted Sister… it was fun. Everyone was singing along and getting really excited. And after a pretty short wait, Green Day came on! That was another nice thing about this show, everything was on time. It was awesome not having to wait too long.
The light went dark and there was the beginning of a radio broadcast that kept going in and out of static… the static eventually turned into a recording of Song of the Century. It was really cool because everyone was singing along and it sounded like the national anthem or something. Haha. So Green Day came on right as it switched into 21st Century Breakdown. It was perfect timing and everyone was SO excited. I was flipping out and screaming and clapping and probably being really obnoxious… but everyone else was flipping out too. I wasn’t alone. Oh, and the very first thing I noticed when Green Day came on stage… Tre’s hair was PLATINUM. It was so blonde it was glowing. Haha. After 21st Century Breakdown they went right into Know Your Enemy, just like on the album, and then after that the songs were all mixed up. This was the set list:
Song of the Century
21st Century Breakdown
Know Your Enemy
East Jesus Nowhere
Holiday
The Static Age
Before the Lobotomy
Are We the Waiting
St. Jimmy
Boulevard of Broken Dreams
Hitchin’ a Ride
Welcome to Paradise
Disappearing Boy
Brain Stew
Jaded
Longview
Basket Case
She
King for a Day
Shout
21 Guns
American Eulogy
American Idiot
Jesus of Suburbia
Minority
Last Night on Earth
Good Riddance
I could probably write forever if I talked about each song, so I’ll only talk about the ones that really stood out to me. East Jesus Nowhere was INSANE. The backdrop was kind of terrifying, there was this screaming face with a big red cross over it, and flames were surrounding it… it’s hard to describe. Green Day’s backdrop was all digital, and there were like… two parts to it…. I can’t describe it. But it was incredible. So they got through most of the song, until the last chorus, and then they stopped, and Billie asked everyone “Who wants to be saved tonight?” And everyone cheered, and Billie was like “We need to make a sacrifice… I need a child! A little girl or a little boy…” and he was being all creepy and it was really funny. So eventually he found this TINY kid, he couldn’t have been more than six years old, and he got the kid on stage. He asked the kid’s name, his name was Caleb, and they chatted for a minute, and Billie asked him if he wanted to be saved… then he bent down and whispered in Caleb’s ear for a minute, Caleb nodded, and they started to play the last chorus of the song. So… “A fire burns today… blah blah… the sirens of decay will infiltrate… Caaaaalebbbb….” Billie changed the last word of the song to Caleb, and the guitars did their last little thing, and right on the last note of the song, it was AMAZING, the guitars went BOOM and the pyrotechnics went BOOM and Caleb went BOOM and just FELL flat down on the floor. It was SO cool, and I was just like… wow, what an awesome little kid. Seriously. He got it PERFECT. It was awesome, and such a cool, visual way to end the song.
Holiday was AWESOME, they had really cool visuals of airplanes and bombs and stuff on the screens, and the whole place was filled with the kind of angry atmosphere of the song… so cool. The Static Age was fun, Billie ranted a bit about how he hates tv before they played the song, and then got the whole audience to shout “Bullshit! Bullshit!” The backdrop had a giant gas mask on it, but the eyes of the mask were full of static… it was cool. Before the next song, Billie announced it was story time, so everyone got all quiet. He was like “Yeah, so me and Adrienne were laying in bed a few nights ago, and I was really drunk and I had passed out, and Adie says that in the middle of the night I got up and started walking towards the bathroom, but then I stopped and went to the closet instead, opened the door, and peed all over her clothes.” I have NO IDEA what the point of that story was, but it was still really funny. And I LOVE when he mentions Adie. So adorable.
Before the Lobotomy was really pretty, Billie’s voice was gorgeous, and it was good to have a semi slow song thrown in. And then came Are We the Waiting. I was REALLY surprised they played this, but really pleased because I think it’s beautiful live. During this song on the screen they had shots of the crowd, and the people’s faces while they were singing the song were so pretty. I dunno, I’m a sap, but I really enjoyed it. That song, of course, went into St. Jimmy, and Billie was a spaz like usual. He tried to break dance, and it was amazing, and he kept wiggling his hips and stuff being, in general, very attractive. So that was that. I love St. Jimmy.
Then they played Boulevard of Broken Dreams, which for some reason, I’ve never been too fond of… but it was really good last night. It was just Billie on his acoustic at the beginning, he sang the first verse, and then completely shut up and let the audience sing the whole chorus. It was amazing. My favorite parts at concerts are always when the band lets the crowd sing, and it was perfect with Boulevard.
Then we got to the chunk of old songs that I adore. Hitchin’ a Ride was fun, Billie was pretending to touch himself as always, and I pretty much melted on the floor as always, Welcome to Paradise was super fun like always, and then they got to the next song. It took me until the chorus to figure out what it was, and I was still really proud of myself for being able to sing along because Disappearing Boy is such an old song. It’s off 1,039/Smoothed Out Slappy Hours, which a lot of people haven’t even heard of, and I think I was the only person who knew the words. Go me. haha. :P
Brain Stew was amazing like always, Jaded was HYPER, and Longview was really cool. Billie called fans up on stage to sing, like one person got the first verse and chorus, the next got the next verse and chorus… three people went up to sing, and they were all pretty good! I was jealous though, I know that song by heart, if I was at the front I totally would have gone up. And it was really fun watching them all stage dive back into the crowd. Of course Basket Case was epic, the crowd got to sing a lot of it solo, and She was amazing. I danced SO HARD all throughout She. I love it love it love it.
Then came King for a Day. Billie wasn’t dressed in his usual crown and cape, at this show he had a police hat on and he was strutting around with one of those sticks, whatever they’re called. It was adorable. Everyone was wearing crazy stuff, but for some reason the only person I can remember besides Billie is Jason Freese, he had a sparkly wizard hat on. haha. The Green Day sign hanging over the stage and all the lights were rainbow during this song, it was cute. And of course the whole place was crazy during King for a Day. I had this kid next to me, he was probably like sixteen, and he was going insane. He was crazy through the whole show, he was dancing and flailing his arms and shaking his head all weird and flinging sweat on me… but I really didn’t mind. I was just as insane as him most of the time. Hahaha. And we kept coordinating our fist punch… whatever you’re supposed to call it. When you put your fist in the air. I dunno, whatever. It’s that THING you do at shows. We were coordinated. It was fun. :P
King for a Day went into Shout, and of course before that Billie had to lay on the floor and hump the floor… I swear he has the cutest butt. And he usually sings that “always look on the bright side of life” song, but this time he was weird and sang something about Dixieland and Swanee River… it was still cute. And Shout was insane, everyone was jumping all over the place… I wish I could describe it better. If you haven’t been to a Green Day show you can’t understand what King for a Day and Shout are like… but they are the ESSENCE of Green Day shows. Hyper, so much fun, super amazing, ridiculous, totally classic.
Then we all needed to calm down, so they played 21 Guns, which was AWESOME. I love that song live because the guitars are so LOUD. Epic. Then came American Eulogy. I love that song too, and they were getting so into the “I don’t wanna live in the modern world” part. It was really fun. And I LOVED that Mike did a lot of the singing on that song. Mike really needs more credit, he’s such an awesome guy. That’s one of the reasons I like Longview so much, Mike gets to strut around stage and he KNOWS he’s cool because of the classic baseline. Yay Mike. :D
Green Day left the stage for a few minutes after American Eulogy, and everything was dark for a bit… then the Green Day sign that was on stage started flashing… Green, Day, Green, Day, and it got everyone cheering for them to come back. So they did, and the stage EXPLODED and they started playing American Idiot. SO freaking exciting. The backdrop during this song was stacks of tvs, and all the screens were showing different parts of the American Idiot video. I LOVE that video, and everyone was so excited to scream “FUCK AMERICA!” Gotta love it. :D
Then Jesus of Suburbia was really cool, Billie asked if anyone knew how to play the song on guitar, and a few people raised their hands… he pulled this girl out of the audience, took his guitar off, and put it on her and they started the song… she was AWESOME. She was young too, maybe like 13? But she did a great job and Billie said that she was the best guitarist they had had so far on the tour. That must have been awesome for her. And they ended their song in the usual way… “Running away from pain when you’ve been victimized, tales from another broken…” and they STOP. And Billie gets the whole audience going INSANE waiting for “HOOOOOMEEEE!” and omg. SO much fun.
Then came Minority. I LOVE Minority live. It’s possibly my favorite live song because it’s such a great sing along, and everyone just JUMPS the whole time. Billie played harmonica halfway through, and everyone was dancing, and it was so cute. Especially Jason White and Jason Freese, they were doing this coordinated toe-tapping dance the whole time. hahaha. During this song Billie introduced the band, but never introduced himself… I guess he just assumes that everyone knows who he is already. :P
Then Mike and Tre and Jason and Jason and everyone else left, and it was just Billie on the stage with his acoustic. I knew he was going to play one more song before Good Riddance, and I was really happy when it was Last Night on Earth. I didn’t like that song at first, but it’s really grown on me, and it was so sweet getting to see him perform it. It’s a beautiful song. And after the show I found out something that made my heart explode… Adrienne and Joey were at this show, and the next day Green Day had a day off and apparently Billie and Mike were both super excited to see their families. Billie was definitely really giggly throughout the whole show and it was SO cute to find out it was because his wife and kid was there. So THAT’S why Billie played that song… he’s amazing. I love him so much.
Of course the last song was Good Riddance. Some people might be tired of it, but I really love that they end every show with it. It gives such good closure to the evening. I’ve always thought Good Riddance was a beautiful song, and it always makes me cry live. The words are perfect, the song is perfect, and I’m always just overwhelmed with the whole experience. I mean, I just spent three hours dancing and singing like a maniac to Green Day. They were there, they played for me, and it was amazing. It always is. I hadn’t seen them for a few years, and I kind of forgot about them during that time, but rediscovering them this summer has been incredible. I was just so glad that I got to go to this show, and I was reminded of why I love this band so much. So yeah, Good Riddance always makes me think of all of that. The dancing and singing and cheering and clapping and all the craziness is summed up with that song, and the fact that it’s the last song… I’m just overwhelmed every time and I always cry. And this is as cheesy as it can get, but I really did have the time of my life. I’m so thankful for this band.
When the lights came up I was glad to see that I wasn’t the only one crying during Good Riddance. haha. In the row in front of me there were two girls who were both teary eyed as well and we just kind of smiled at each other. It was really sweet. I made my mom wait so we could go down to the floor to get some confetti (I have confetti from every show I’ve been to, so I couldn’t skip this one), and then we left. My mom was energized, and said that we could start driving home if I wanted to, but I felt super sick like I always do after shows. I don’t understand why I’m cursed with this awful malady, what sin did I commit to deserve getting terrible headaches after every show? So I just needed to lay down. We got some food and went back to the car and relaxed for a little while.
Once I was past the I’m-going-to-die stage of my headache, we drove for a bit to get away from the noise of downtown Albany and parked in a rest stop along the thruway. We laid down in the back of the car with our pillows and blankets and I feel asleep almost instantly, but my mom kept waking me up because she was uncomfortable and kept rolling over. But the few minutes of sleep I got cured my headache, and for some reason when I woke up at 1:30, I was just… awake. I felt like I had had a full night’s sleep. I was HYPER. So my mom was uncomfortable and couldn’t sleep, and I was just hyper for no reason, so we just laid in the back of the car and giggled about Green Day until about 3:30. It was really fun, but we eventually decided we should try to get more than a half hour of sleep before driving home. So we both nodded off eventually, and were up again by 6 for the three and a half hour drive home. The entire way we listened to Green Day and sang and talked about all the crazy stuff that the band did. This show was one of the best I’ve ever been to, and all I can think about now is when I’m going to get to see Green Day again. They’ve been around forever, and they BETTER keep sticking around for a really long time because I love them so, so, SO much.