On July 27 and July 28th, Green Day came to NYC to perform at the most famous arena in the world, Madison Square Garden, and I got to experience both nights.
The Kaiser Chiefs opened the show both nights, but I only caught the band’s performance on the first night. While the band exhibited the potential to put on a great show, the lead singer was the only one who entertained the crowd. While the rest of the band went through the motions of just playing music, the lead singer ran around the stage and jumped onto the seating area interacting directly with fans. Overall, their music was okay.
Hardcore Green Day fans may remember from previous tours the hilarious Pink Bunny who provided entertainment between sets!! He was back and this time drunk and falling all over the stage; amusing the crowd. It was a great way to pass the time before Green Day came on. Like most band entrances, Green Day came running out on stage one-by-one to the packed stadium roaring with excitement and much anticipation!
They put on an amazing sub-real show with Billie Joe Armstrong running into the crowd, high-fiving and hugging nearby fans, pulling fans on stage and even playing requests. The band kept their political views from each day to a minimum. Only once did Billie Joe mention that he was finally so happy to be rid of the worst President he has ever seen.
The major differences between the two nights were the set length, the setlist, the energy of the band, and the crowd (which was hyped up more on the second night which I thought wouldn’t be humanly possible after the first night but I was mistaken), and the number of people that were pulled on stage to play a song.
Monday night’s setlist was a combination of newer and older songs that Green Day has been performing throughout their tour, while Tuesday night’s performance consisted of mostly older, normally not performed, songs and some covers they never played before.
I was exceptionally happy when they played my two favorite songs “When I Come Around” and “Basket Case.” On Monday, a girl was pulled from the crowd to play guitar for “Jesus of Suburbia” and on Tuesday, Billie Joe pulled kids out to play the drums, bass, and guitar for the Operation Ivy cover “Knowledge.” On Tuesday, the girl that was pulled on stage to play guitar jumped on Billie Joe and kissed him on the lips before letting him go to play.
Surprisingly, on each night the kids that said they could play an instrument really could play an instrument. At the end of each night, it was unbelievable how long of a performance they played. The first night was two and half hours long and the second night was three hours of pure musical bliss. If you have yet to see Green Day in concert I highly recommend it.
They have such stage presence, energy, charisma and were so thankful to their fans it was nothing like I have ever seen before. Both nights were the best concerts that I have ever been to in my life.