Paris, France, November 7th, 2005
Most of the concerts in Indiana are country, so this chance to see Green Day wouldn't come again for a long time, and there definatly wouldn't be another American Idiot tour.
I was very excited walking into the venue. There was the biggest gathering of punks and goths I had ever seen (before that, large crowds were a group of five punks in Hot Topic and six goths at a high school football game. It is, after all, Indiana we're talking about). There were also several parents with 7-year-olds, there were normal-looking people like me that weren't punks or goths, and there were people there that probably couldn't tell you the names of the band members, and I bet they were there just because they heard Blvd. of Broken Dreams and Holiday on the radio. I had the misfortune of being near a group of these people in line for a T-shirt. They only spent about a hour deciding which one to buy, so I missed most of Jimmy Eat World.
My dad and I got to our seats in time to hear them play their last two songs. Our seats were ok; not on the floor, but a great view of the stage. It would have been even better if I wasn't so near sighted. Most of the people sitting near us were parents with kids that looked about 7- 10 years old. Jimmy Eat World left the stage and that pink bunny came on and started drinking beer. Then the lights were out, and Green Day came on stage! They started playing American Idiot very loudly. Not that I minded the noise; I was screaming very loudly, too. The parents looked at me like this was very strange, and none of them screamed at all.
After American Idiot, they got ready to play Jesus of Suburbia, and Billie Joe said, "This is for anyone who lives in a small town." Holiday was next, and he said, "This is a big fuck-you to all the politicians. This song is not anti-American. It's ANTI-WAR!!!" And he changed "representative of California" to "representative of Indianapolis". It was one of the best in the concert.
Then they played Are We The Waiting and St. Jimmy. Next, they played Longview, and then Hitchin' A Ride, which was very entertaining, because during it, Billie Joe yelled, "Somebody fuck me!" Most of the girls enjoyed that. They played Brain Stew and Jaded, and then the trumpet people and that whole group came on stage and Billie introduced everyone. Tre' Cool was "the greatest drummer on the face of the earth" and Mike Dirnt was "the best fuckin' bass player in the history of punk rock". He was introducing one of the other guys, and he said, "This man is on the trumpet, the saxophone, the telephone, and many, many, dirty websites on the internet." Then he says, "...and my name is George W. Bush!" This resulted in unhappy yells from the crowd. "No," he says, "I'm just kidding. My real name is asshole." The crowd liked this better and they cheered.
Green Day always picks three people from the crowd to play the guitar, bass, and drums. They picked a drummer, and then the bassist. He must have looked funny, because Billie laughed and said, "That is a man with style!" I couldn't see the guy that was playing the guitar, but I've heard he was only 12. Those three people played, and Billie said, "You get to keep the guitar. Now take it and get the fuck off my stage!" When that was done, Green Day played King for a Day and Shout. They played She, and then Maria, which surprised me. Wake Me Up When September Ends was played, and it was really pretty with the sparks coming down. They also did We Are The Champions.
Minority is my favorite song, and when they played it, Billie Joe let the crowd sing the "fuck 'em all" part. Then he did his individuality speech and told us not to let the government dictate our lives. When they played Blvd. of Broken Dreams, the crowd thought they were supposed to sing on one part, but they were wrong and started singing at the wrong time. Billie Joe was laughing as he took over, and his singing sounded funny. Last, they played Good Riddance (Time Of Your Life) and people just started walking out during the song (how rude!). When we finally left, lots of people had headaches. I didn't, but I couldn't talk for the next two days, I was screaming so loud. But now my dad likes Green Day! So if you haven't seen them, I suggest that you get tickets for the next show!
I was very excited walking into the venue. There was the biggest gathering of punks and goths I had ever seen (before that, large crowds were a group of five punks in Hot Topic and six goths at a high school football game. It is, after all, Indiana we're talking about). There were also several parents with 7-year-olds, there were normal-looking people like me that weren't punks or goths, and there were people there that probably couldn't tell you the names of the band members, and I bet they were there just because they heard Blvd. of Broken Dreams and Holiday on the radio. I had the misfortune of being near a group of these people in line for a T-shirt. They only spent about a hour deciding which one to buy, so I missed most of Jimmy Eat World.
My dad and I got to our seats in time to hear them play their last two songs. Our seats were ok; not on the floor, but a great view of the stage. It would have been even better if I wasn't so near sighted. Most of the people sitting near us were parents with kids that looked about 7- 10 years old. Jimmy Eat World left the stage and that pink bunny came on and started drinking beer. Then the lights were out, and Green Day came on stage! They started playing American Idiot very loudly. Not that I minded the noise; I was screaming very loudly, too. The parents looked at me like this was very strange, and none of them screamed at all.
After American Idiot, they got ready to play Jesus of Suburbia, and Billie Joe said, "This is for anyone who lives in a small town." Holiday was next, and he said, "This is a big fuck-you to all the politicians. This song is not anti-American. It's ANTI-WAR!!!" And he changed "representative of California" to "representative of Indianapolis". It was one of the best in the concert.
Then they played Are We The Waiting and St. Jimmy. Next, they played Longview, and then Hitchin' A Ride, which was very entertaining, because during it, Billie Joe yelled, "Somebody fuck me!" Most of the girls enjoyed that. They played Brain Stew and Jaded, and then the trumpet people and that whole group came on stage and Billie introduced everyone. Tre' Cool was "the greatest drummer on the face of the earth" and Mike Dirnt was "the best fuckin' bass player in the history of punk rock". He was introducing one of the other guys, and he said, "This man is on the trumpet, the saxophone, the telephone, and many, many, dirty websites on the internet." Then he says, "...and my name is George W. Bush!" This resulted in unhappy yells from the crowd. "No," he says, "I'm just kidding. My real name is asshole." The crowd liked this better and they cheered.
Green Day always picks three people from the crowd to play the guitar, bass, and drums. They picked a drummer, and then the bassist. He must have looked funny, because Billie laughed and said, "That is a man with style!" I couldn't see the guy that was playing the guitar, but I've heard he was only 12. Those three people played, and Billie said, "You get to keep the guitar. Now take it and get the fuck off my stage!" When that was done, Green Day played King for a Day and Shout. They played She, and then Maria, which surprised me. Wake Me Up When September Ends was played, and it was really pretty with the sparks coming down. They also did We Are The Champions.
Minority is my favorite song, and when they played it, Billie Joe let the crowd sing the "fuck 'em all" part. Then he did his individuality speech and told us not to let the government dictate our lives. When they played Blvd. of Broken Dreams, the crowd thought they were supposed to sing on one part, but they were wrong and started singing at the wrong time. Billie Joe was laughing as he took over, and his singing sounded funny. Last, they played Good Riddance (Time Of Your Life) and people just started walking out during the song (how rude!). When we finally left, lots of people had headaches. I didn't, but I couldn't talk for the next two days, I was screaming so loud. But now my dad likes Green Day! So if you haven't seen them, I suggest that you get tickets for the next show!
