SFist Reviews: Green Day
Now, we're not (too) ashamed to admit that we've loved Green Day ever since their first (no longer on Lookout) album from 1990. But.... come on, they're playing SBC Park? Who's the American Idiot now? We took so long to decide if we wanted to go to the show that by the time we bought our tickets, the only seats left were in the row that's second from the very top of the entire stadium.
So it turns out that the only people who procrastinate over their arena rock tickets more than ambivalent sellouts like yours truly are.... truly devoted teenage fans from the East Bay who required months and months of pleading before a parent reluctantly agreed to brave the drive into San Francisco on a Saturday night to give the kids some fun. This was totally the best crowd we've ever seen a show with. They knew the lyrics to every single song! "ST. JIMMY'S COMING DOWN, ACROSS THE ALLEYWAY!!!!" They shrieked their hearts out! When Billie Joe asked for volunteers to come on stage to play with the band, they raised their hands! (Did we mention that we were in the second to the very top row in the top tier of the stadium?) They bought big foam fingers that said GREEN DAY on them!! How can you not believe in the redemptive power of rock and roll?
Apparently Green Day has won some survey saying they're the best darn band in the world right now -- and we are pleased to be able to confirm this as a fact. Those boys sure can put on a show. We love how Billie Joe always sings a little bit of Journey's "Lights" at every Bay Area concert we've seen. We still love it when the drums come in on "Basket Case." Maybe it's cheesy to name-check "SAN FRANCISCO!!!!!" in the middle of every song (we were trying to count how many times it happened but lost count after 8), but we love it every single time. And when we looked down at the entire stadium, filled with some 47,000 people, and saw a sea of orange lighter flames and blue cellphone backlights, swaying in time to "Wake Me Up When September Ends," it's hard not to believe that punk rock won't save us all.
The show closed with the other monster slow-dance Green Day hit, "Time of your Life." When Billie Joe said, "I hope you had the time of your life," the kids sitting next to us solemnly looked at each other and said, "We did."