Green Day: Los Angeles
"This is a fucking rock 'n' roll show, not a tea party. You listen to Coldplay on your own fucking time!"
I’m a little slow in recapping Tuesday night’s show at the Forum because the intense contact high from massive amounts of weed is just wearing off. The scent is to be expected at a concert for a band who derived their name from smoking bud all day but the kids really outdid themselves in their pot consumption for Green Day’s final U.S. tour stop.
The evening got off to a bad start for me. When I purchased the tickets a few months ago, I did so as soon as they went on sale and selected “best available.” The two tickets that popped up appeared to be killer seats just to the side of the stage so I snatched them up but on closer inspection I realized they were actually in the upper section. So I made another attempt and picked up a floor ticket.
A lucky kid sings "Longview."
Because of my Green Week tour, I was a bit slow about unloading the extra tickets so the night before the show I offered them to my brother and his wife and he turned them down. So in the recent past both my brother and sister have declined Green Day tickets, my mom and aunt said they didn’t even know who they were and my two nephews (age 6 and 8) refuse to even listen to any music that isn’t by AC/DC or Alice Cooper. I’m down to my dad, older brother and 96-year-old grandpa as the only hopes left in my family.
I tried hustling the tickets in the parking lot but I’m a horrible salesperson under the best of circumstances and when doors opened I wanted to get a decent spot on the floor so I let them go for a painfully low price but thanks to the Phoenix tickets I sold, I still came out ahead for the week.
Billie Joe (sporting a new orange tuft of hair above the left ear) convinces someone to throw their child over the railing.
Venues always say no cameras allowed but at the San Diego show the security guys said they didn’t really care about little digital cameras just not the fancy professional ones. To be on the safe side, I tucked my camera into my cleavage and had no problem getting past their pat down, which consisted of a finger slide down the sides of the arms and legs. Since I had a seat at the Phoenix show I didn’t bring the camera but I put it in my familiar spot for the L.A. show. I couldn’t believe it when the security lady pressed her hand between my breasts. I was quite literally busted! With no other reasonable hiding places on my body, I had to make the long haul back to my car and settle for taking pictures with my camera phone instead.
I squeezed into a spot about 15 feet from the stage right next to a couple with their 8-year-old son. I warned them that the surge when Green Day took the stage would be really intense so they needed a little barrier around the boy. When the kid heard I’d been to other shows this week, he asked if they played “She.” “She” is an old song they always play but I was surprised he’d even heard of it. It turned out this wasn’t a situation where the parents dragged the kid to the show but the other way around. Needless to say, I rather liked the kid at that point and signed up for security detail on his behalf.
The drunk, horny bunny breaks into "YMCA".
Just as the drunk bunny finished up his set signaling that the show was about to start, two bitches shoved their way through the crowd, knocking into a bunch of us, including the kid. I yelled, “Hey! Watch it!” and one shot a few insults my way. At that point, a sizable amount of my drink may have accidentally spilled on her. Probably noticing that I was a good four inches taller than her, she moved a few paces away from me and then punched me a couple times on the arm. Then she tried to make a dash through the crowd and somehow some of her long hair got caught in my tight hand grip. I know, I know. It was all stupid and immature and I’m not usually the scrapper type but their shoving really pissed me off, especially where Green Day’s mini fan base was concerned.
Obviously I didn't take this picture but I thought Billie Joe's stage dive was too cool not to include it. I love that everybody seems more concerned with getting a picture of him than of actually catching him.
My joy over the little tyke waned as I and a couple others really did seem like we were on duty to protect the kid and I was disappointed that he didn’t want to go onstage for a very cool stunt during “East Jesus Nowhere.” Luckily the family hightailed it after about half an hour and I was able to bounce to my heart’s content.
I was actually satisfied being farther back than I was at the San Diego show because I wasn’t crushed against people. But when a group of guys finished moshing leaving a large gap on the floor that wasn’t filled by the people in front of me, I couldn’t resist a little “Excuse me, please” as I passed them to move forward to within a couple feet of the stage. As I mentioned in the San Diego blog, I watched the end of that show from the back of the pit so it was cool to be up close this time around.
One of the coolest moments was when Billie Joe took a stage dive with his guitar into the crowd, a risky move among a pack of rabid fans. Watching the panicked scurrying of the security team as they got him back up within seconds was rather amusing.
Finale time-- Lights, explosions and a ton of Green Day rolling papers for the crowd.
The show was again mostly the same. I was disappointed that I never got to hear three of my favorite songs off their new album (“Horseshoes and Handgrenades,” “Viva la Gloria!” and “Peacemaker”) but I was thrilled during the L.A. encore that Billie Joe played an acoustic version of “Macy’s Day Parade,” which I never thought I’d hear live.
I figured I should get a picture of it before it disappears along with the pick I got at a Metallica concert and the lei I got at a Depeche Mode concert.
But the absolute coolest moment of my whole tour came after the show ended. Billie Joe had just finished “Good Riddance (Time of Your Life)” which is always the last song so I turned to leave when I noticed a commotion from the crowd. Drummer Tré Cool had run back onstage and threw his drumsticks into the crowd. The insane scramble to grab them left about a dozen of us on our butts. As I stood back up, I saw a drumstick underneath me and snatched it up! It’s even got the groove marks on it (which I stupidly thought were teeth marks at first). As exciting as it was at the moment, I later realized it’s just one more piece of crap that I have no use for but can’t throw away. Maybe someday my nephews will wise up and appreciate Green Day and I’ll pass it on to them after I become that asshole who brings the kiddies to one of their concerts. And I totally would because a Green Day concert is an incredible experience and I would be thrilled to be able to share it with them.
My Green Day photo album (more pics and videos to come soon).
Green Day: Phoenix
I pimped out my ride for the occasion.
Phoenix was the second stop on my whirlwind Green Week tour. About 30 seconds after I arrived at the venue I ran into one of the guys I’d talked with in line and on the floor at the San Diego show (so I’m not the only Green Day stalker–one woman told me she’d been to 12 Green Day concerts just this summer)! I was immediately embarrassed that I was wearing mostly the same outfit I’d worn to the previous show until I noticed he still had his wristband on, a clear indication that he is way too young for his body to have been pressed so intimately close to mine in the mobbed pit.
As I mentioned before, I sold my floor tickets in lieu of my very first seat at a Green Day concert but it was in the upper section. Before the show started, I walked into the arena and started chatting with Jerry the usher. After a few minutes he asked where my seat was and I pointed up. He suggested I come back just before Green Day took the stage so I headed off to the lounge and tossed back a Dookie, which is probably the worst name ever for a cocktail (though much tastier than the name suggests). I returned to my buddy Jerry who pointed me toward the VIP row with cushy seats, monitors and a table right off the side of the stage– score! With a place to put my purse and drink and plenty of room to dance, I had no complaints about not being crushed on the floor.
The set list was mostly the same as was the timing of the explosions so I didn’t crap myself every time I heard one. The most noticeable difference in the lineup was in the encore. At the San Diego show they played a great song that I didn’t recognize. I looked it up afterward and found out it’s an unreleased song called “Drama Queen” that they’ve only performed a couple of times so it was a treat to get to hear it and I’m glad I shot some video of it (albeit a bit shaky):
At the Phoenix show, one of the encore songs was “Jesus of Suburbia,” a nine minute tune that I love and never thought I’d get to hear live again. Singer Billie Joe picked a guy from the audience to play lead guitar for it and he actually did a good job. Like the three or four other people brought on stage at each show, he ended his rock star fantasy moment with a stage dive into the crowd. I’m sure the people directly in front of center stage weren’t so thrilled were their roles in the fantasies.
With two shows down and one to go, I’m already lamenting the fact that they weren’t spaced farther apart. I feel such inspiration (not to mention, perspiration) after seeing Green Day. They’re brilliant artists who put on a top notch show. Tuesday’s concert at the Forum may be the last time I see them for awhile so I’ll just have to take in every second and ride that post-show high as long as I can.
My Green Day photo album (more pics and videos to come soon).
Green Day: San Diego
Billie Joe Armstrong tells the crowd, "This isn't tv. Get on your fucking feet."
Then he proceeds to sit down.
My Green Week tour kicked off in San Diego last night. I arrived early to find the General Admission Floor line was already about 500 deep. As I took my place at the end, a girl walked up to her friends in front of me and said she’d accidentally bought an extra ticket (idiot count: 1) and “that’s a waste of 50 bucks” (after fees, tickets were 60 bucks. Idiot count: 2). Two seconds later, a guy walked past the line yelling, “Anybody have a ticket? I need a ticket.” She was completely oblivious (idiot count: 3). Since it’s apparently my job to keep track of all the conversations within 20 feet, I butted in and said, “Didn’t I hear you say you have an extra ticket? That guy wants to buy one.” She turned and responded to him and he offered her 30 bucks for her ticket. I couldn’t believe the balls on the guy offering such a ridiculously low amount for a floor ticket. But then she excitedly said, “Sure!” (idiot count: 1 million). I was about to inform her that she could probably get a couple hundred bucks for the ticket but she seemed so pleased with the deal that got her half of what she paid for the ticket that it didn’t seem right to side with the idiot over the lucky bastard.
Bille Joe gives me the evil eye...
...then attempts to drop a Dookie on my head.
Despite the long line, I had no problem finding a place on the floor within several feet of the stage but I had to commit to it through the one hour before opening band Franz Ferdinand took the stage and the other hour until Green Day finally came out. Soon after they started I was able to move even closer as parents in front of me tried to escape the mob scene with their small children because I guess there was no way for them to predict that would be a really really bad situation for kids.
Tré Cool and Jason Freese
Billie Joe Armstrong and Mike Dirnt
I was even closer to the stage than I’d been for the Wiltern show four years agobut being a stadium performance, this had the hot blasts from pyrotechnics combined with greater crowding to leave me drenched in sweat. I got a little respite when singer Billie Joe Armstrong sprayed the crowd with a monstrous water gun but then some big guys started slam dancing and after two hours I couldn’t take it anymore and had to escape for a little air. I missed a couple songs and when I returned had to take a spot at the back of the pit, which was still only about 30 feet from the stage but it seemed like a mile considering I’d been close enough to read Billie Joe’s tattoos a little while earlier.
The calisthenics portion of the show with toe touches...
...And Tai Chi.
All in all, it was another fabulous Green Day concert– lots of special effects, crowd work and great music. They played about six songs from their new album (though not my favorite, “Viva la Gloria!”), about five from “American Idiot” and a few songs from each of their other albums for a performance that lasted almost three hours. Tomorrow night is the Phoenix show where I have a reserved seat and even though I’ll be a lot farther from the stage, my legs and sweat glands will probably appreciate it.
