Green Day Philadelphia Concert Review and setlist 7.21.2009
Green Day has had a long and storied career, but their real success has seemed to come only of recent. They released two of their best selling albums, American Idiot and 21st Century Breakdown in the last five years. American Idiot was an album that saw the band rise from headlining clubs to headlining arenas for the first time in their career. I was eager to find out how the band who ruled the club scene, did in a large arena. I found my answer last night.
Green Day brought their 21st Century Breakdown tour to the Wachovia Spectrum in Philadelphia. The Spectrum is a 40 some odd old venue which has seen it's share of legendary concerts. Bruce Springsteen started playing arenas in The Spectrum. The Grateful Dead has played over 50 times. Elvis Presley played his last live show here before he died. The Panama video for Van Halen was filmed there. Pink Floyd, The Rolling Stones and Led Zeppelin are just some of the many performers who played in the venue. With all this rock history some people are sad to see it go. Not me, the place is a dump. The sound quality is terrible. Jimmy Page once called the venue the "black hole of Calcutta for sound." The seats are uncomfortable, the views are bad. It's small, stinks, and I can't wait for it be bulldozed for something new. But Green Day wanted to play there and I have to deal with it. Our contact could only get us tickets at the very last minute and they were side view in the 400 level.
The Bravery opened up this show. Think The Killers meets The Strokes. They rely heavily on keyboards and repetitive guitar licks to drive the songs. This isn't that bad, in fact I love their first two albums. But I found myself bored with their live show. They seemed overwhelmed with the large stage opting to play closer to the drummer than out with the crowd. The only one that seemed comfortable with the stage was lead guitarist Michael Zakarin. The band has really only been a band since 2003 and I expect big things from them since their albums are great. Stage presence comes with time. But they were the perfect opening act for Green Day.
After a half hour set change, Green Day was ready to hit the stage. The first song on 21st Century Breakdown, Song of the Century, was piped over the loud speakers as the band walked to the stage. The stage bathed in blue as they walked on stage. First the backing musicians, keyboardist/saxophone player, lead guitarist, and backing vocalist/acoustic guitar dude. Then Mike Dirnt and Tre Cool ran on stage to take their positions. The band waited for Song of the Century to conclude before busting into 21st Century Breakdown. The familiar harmonies of the song wailed as Billie Joe walked to the center of the stage and began to sing the first verse.
Big concussive blasts and fireworks noted the arrival of the band and scared the living shit out of me. If you go to a KISS show or a Motley Crue show, you can pretty much expect loud explosions. I never thought Green Day would use them so I was really taken back. I apologize to the Spectrum employee who had to clean up my seat after the show after that first firework blast. However, I think that was the least nastiest thing they probably cleaned up that evening. The girls SCREAMED for Billie Joe as if he was a Jonas Brother. Girls, the man looks like a twisted version of the troll that attacked the Billy Goats Gruff. I would surmise there wouldn't have been a dry seat in the house. But we won't find out because everyone was standing....the entire time.
The band was loud and the crowd responded in kind. Someone didn't tell Green Day they were playing an arena show. They were able to make it feel like I was watching them in a club. That isn't an easy feat especially with 18,000 people and a much larger stage show with pyro and pictures of gas masks. The crowd responded to everything Billie Joe asked them to do. Sing alongs, jump in the air, whatever. The more and more the crowd gave, the harder Green Day played. How have I missed seeing them over the years shocks me after last nights performance.
The first couple of songs were off 21st Century Breakdown, Song of the Century, 21st Century Breakdown, Know Your Enemy, and East Jesus Nowhere. The loudest reaction came when the band played Holiday off American Idiot. I just couldn't believe how great the sound was even from the 400 level on the side of the stage. I couldn't really see Tre Cool or the images being flashed behind the band.
The band jumped back and forth between American Idiot and 21st Century Breakdown until Nimrod's Hitchin a Ride and Kerplunk's 2000 Light Years Away. These two songs signaled the beginning of the "retro" part of the setlist. The crowd didn't respond well to 2000 Light Years Away maybe because none of them own Kerplunk or remember when Green Day was a three piece not a six piece. It was the only song that would appear prior to the Dookie album. The band then rolled through classics like Welcome to Paradise, Longview, Brain Stew/Jaded, Basket Case, and She. These songs resulted in the largest pits and the largest crowd sing a longs. Fans were dancing in the aisles and the Dirnt and Armstrong were running back from one side of the stage to the other.
Dirnt and Cool combine to form the rhythm of the band and main driving force. Their power and cohesiveness is unmistakable. I am really glad that portion of Green Day remains in tact. The extemporaneous players were there to fill out the sound and allow Billie Joe to interact with the crowd and sing rather than focus on playing lead.
The band then went into a long drawn out cover of the Isley Brothers classic Shout. The cover included song bites from Michael Jackson and a few other artists. It was self indulgent and unnecessary. The band could have used the ten minute snoozefest for other Green Day classics like Walking Contradiction and When I Come Around. Fans seemed to really space out at this point. But this was the only downside to the entire show and the only problem I had with the setlist in general.
The band had so many great moments it is tough to name them all. They brought fans on stage to sing, play guitar, had many sing along portions, tee shirt and water guns, and really made the 2 and a half hours they played, fly by. It has been by far the best concert I have seen this year and well worth the paltry 50.00 it costs to see them. Considering the show you get from the band and the price of admission, this is the best value this summer. Go see Green Day, you won't be disappointed.
Setlist:
Song of the Century
21st Century Breakdown
Know Your Enemy
East Jesus Nowhere
Holiday
The Static Age
Before the Lobotomy
We Are the Waiting
St. Jimmy
Boulevard of Broken Dreams
Hitchin A Ride
2000 Light Years Away
Welcome to Paradise
Brain Stew
Jaded
Longview
Basket Case
She
King for a Day
Shout cover
21 Guns
American Eulogy
Encore:
American Idiot
Jesus of Suburbia
Minority
Restless Heart Syndrome
Words I MIght Have Ate
Give Me Novacaine
Good Riddance (Time of Your Life)
Green Day brought their 21st Century Breakdown tour to the Wachovia Spectrum in Philadelphia. The Spectrum is a 40 some odd old venue which has seen it's share of legendary concerts. Bruce Springsteen started playing arenas in The Spectrum. The Grateful Dead has played over 50 times. Elvis Presley played his last live show here before he died. The Panama video for Van Halen was filmed there. Pink Floyd, The Rolling Stones and Led Zeppelin are just some of the many performers who played in the venue. With all this rock history some people are sad to see it go. Not me, the place is a dump. The sound quality is terrible. Jimmy Page once called the venue the "black hole of Calcutta for sound." The seats are uncomfortable, the views are bad. It's small, stinks, and I can't wait for it be bulldozed for something new. But Green Day wanted to play there and I have to deal with it. Our contact could only get us tickets at the very last minute and they were side view in the 400 level.
The Bravery opened up this show. Think The Killers meets The Strokes. They rely heavily on keyboards and repetitive guitar licks to drive the songs. This isn't that bad, in fact I love their first two albums. But I found myself bored with their live show. They seemed overwhelmed with the large stage opting to play closer to the drummer than out with the crowd. The only one that seemed comfortable with the stage was lead guitarist Michael Zakarin. The band has really only been a band since 2003 and I expect big things from them since their albums are great. Stage presence comes with time. But they were the perfect opening act for Green Day.
After a half hour set change, Green Day was ready to hit the stage. The first song on 21st Century Breakdown, Song of the Century, was piped over the loud speakers as the band walked to the stage. The stage bathed in blue as they walked on stage. First the backing musicians, keyboardist/saxophone player, lead guitarist, and backing vocalist/acoustic guitar dude. Then Mike Dirnt and Tre Cool ran on stage to take their positions. The band waited for Song of the Century to conclude before busting into 21st Century Breakdown. The familiar harmonies of the song wailed as Billie Joe walked to the center of the stage and began to sing the first verse.
Big concussive blasts and fireworks noted the arrival of the band and scared the living shit out of me. If you go to a KISS show or a Motley Crue show, you can pretty much expect loud explosions. I never thought Green Day would use them so I was really taken back. I apologize to the Spectrum employee who had to clean up my seat after the show after that first firework blast. However, I think that was the least nastiest thing they probably cleaned up that evening. The girls SCREAMED for Billie Joe as if he was a Jonas Brother. Girls, the man looks like a twisted version of the troll that attacked the Billy Goats Gruff. I would surmise there wouldn't have been a dry seat in the house. But we won't find out because everyone was standing....the entire time.
The band was loud and the crowd responded in kind. Someone didn't tell Green Day they were playing an arena show. They were able to make it feel like I was watching them in a club. That isn't an easy feat especially with 18,000 people and a much larger stage show with pyro and pictures of gas masks. The crowd responded to everything Billie Joe asked them to do. Sing alongs, jump in the air, whatever. The more and more the crowd gave, the harder Green Day played. How have I missed seeing them over the years shocks me after last nights performance.
The first couple of songs were off 21st Century Breakdown, Song of the Century, 21st Century Breakdown, Know Your Enemy, and East Jesus Nowhere. The loudest reaction came when the band played Holiday off American Idiot. I just couldn't believe how great the sound was even from the 400 level on the side of the stage. I couldn't really see Tre Cool or the images being flashed behind the band.
The band jumped back and forth between American Idiot and 21st Century Breakdown until Nimrod's Hitchin a Ride and Kerplunk's 2000 Light Years Away. These two songs signaled the beginning of the "retro" part of the setlist. The crowd didn't respond well to 2000 Light Years Away maybe because none of them own Kerplunk or remember when Green Day was a three piece not a six piece. It was the only song that would appear prior to the Dookie album. The band then rolled through classics like Welcome to Paradise, Longview, Brain Stew/Jaded, Basket Case, and She. These songs resulted in the largest pits and the largest crowd sing a longs. Fans were dancing in the aisles and the Dirnt and Armstrong were running back from one side of the stage to the other.
Dirnt and Cool combine to form the rhythm of the band and main driving force. Their power and cohesiveness is unmistakable. I am really glad that portion of Green Day remains in tact. The extemporaneous players were there to fill out the sound and allow Billie Joe to interact with the crowd and sing rather than focus on playing lead.
The band then went into a long drawn out cover of the Isley Brothers classic Shout. The cover included song bites from Michael Jackson and a few other artists. It was self indulgent and unnecessary. The band could have used the ten minute snoozefest for other Green Day classics like Walking Contradiction and When I Come Around. Fans seemed to really space out at this point. But this was the only downside to the entire show and the only problem I had with the setlist in general.
The band had so many great moments it is tough to name them all. They brought fans on stage to sing, play guitar, had many sing along portions, tee shirt and water guns, and really made the 2 and a half hours they played, fly by. It has been by far the best concert I have seen this year and well worth the paltry 50.00 it costs to see them. Considering the show you get from the band and the price of admission, this is the best value this summer. Go see Green Day, you won't be disappointed.
Setlist:
Song of the Century
21st Century Breakdown
Know Your Enemy
East Jesus Nowhere
Holiday
The Static Age
Before the Lobotomy
We Are the Waiting
St. Jimmy
Boulevard of Broken Dreams
Hitchin A Ride
2000 Light Years Away
Welcome to Paradise
Brain Stew
Jaded
Longview
Basket Case
She
King for a Day
Shout cover
21 Guns
American Eulogy
Encore:
American Idiot
Jesus of Suburbia
Minority
Restless Heart Syndrome
Words I MIght Have Ate
Give Me Novacaine
Good Riddance (Time of Your Life)
I saw the same show in Hamilton, ON last week and was absolutely blown away. I'm an old fogey concert veteran, and Green Day's performance is easily up among the top 2 or 3 arena shows that I've ever seen.
They slammed the Philly crowd at their Pittsburgh show last night. Screw them.
What did they say?
Welcome to Paradise is also on Kerplunk. It was a great show and an impressive performance.
Yes but it was different on Kerplunk than Dookie. They played the dookie version not the kerplunk version.