Categories: uncategorized
Date: 20 June 2005 08:09:32
Picture the scene: A wonderful summers day, with the sun shining down. Tens of thousands of people, of a variety of ages (most between 15- 45) coming together to enjoy themselves. The headlining band playing the biggest career of their lives, following an album that catches the mood of a generation.
So it was that when Green Day took the stage, after the sound desk had played YMCA that the party started. From the moment American Idiot started it was clear this was a party/ sing-a-long where we all knew the words and were going to join in and rock rather than a gig where we you were expected to stand and simply adore or admire special effects.
This showed where simplicity can be best. The fire shooting up was as hi-tech as it got, apart from the fireworks and confetti shooting out. Rather they went for interacting with the crowd. A child was plucked from the crowd to use the mega water pistol Billy Joe had, the guitarist plucked from the crowd for a song (a custom with the band) got a guitar, the one song drummer got drum stickeds and the bassist chosen for this got to stage dive back into the crowd. This sums up the ethos of Green Day.
It was quite honestly the best gig I have ever seen. When they played a cover of We Are the Champions as part of the encore it wasn't wishful thinking, it was a gig of a generation :D