16th June 2010
There is an ever increasing list of bands that have had video games made in their honour. Aerosmith, Metallica, Van Halen, The Beatles and now Green Day. It seems to be a mark of legendary status these days if the younger generation wish to mimic you on screen but to the 50,000 fans packed into Old Trafford on this warm summer evening, a little plastic guitar was the last thing on their minds.
The sheer talent and energy posessed by the infamous trio; Billie Joe Armstrong, Mike Dirnt and Tre Cool meant that from the minute they walked triumphantly onto the stage to the strains of "Song Of The Century" to the moment that Armstrong strummed his guitar for the last time, the crowd were held totally spellbound.
It would be easy to accuse Green Day of being sell outs. After all were they not the snotty pop punk trio who only sang songs about girls, drugs and masturbation for much of the 1990s? With the release of American Idiot in 2004 the group showed they had a certain maturity behind them, a theme further explored by most recent offering "21st Century Breakdown" but the night was more of a celebration of their 23 year career. There was, naturally, plenty of songs from the new album which despite getting mixed reviews on its release has become their best performing album in music charts worldwide and for older fans there was a refreshing medley of songs which were dragged from the murky depths of the 90s.
Billie Joe Armstrong is arguably the worlds greatest showman and infront of an adoring crowd he did not fail to live up to expectations. A T-Shirt cannon, water pistols and toilet roll guns all played a part and he made sure he tried on every hat or pair of novelty glasses that was flung onto the stage. Kids were dragged out of the audience to sing with the band before diving off the stage and during the "King For A Day/Shout Medley" Armstrong and Tre Cool traded instruments during a medley which had the audience crying with laughter. For almost 3 hours Green Day ensured that their fans fell in love with them just a little bit more.
Aside from the slapstick comedy and general goofy behaviour Green Day are a complete rock band no matter which era you discovered them. Backed by a strong rhythm section the band weaved through the fast paced songs of their youth to the powerful anthems and heartbreaking ballads of their maturity; while the music itself may have changed over the years all of the songs still seem to fit together telling stories of teen angst, frustration with life in a small town and disgust with the world. The powerful music is further enhanced by an incredible LED light show which projects images of a crumbling America to the crowd who have their minds stretched to capacity by the audio/visual assault on their senses.
The final encore to this emotional roller coaster is made up of latest single "When It's Time", "Wake Me Up When September Ends" and a phenomenal rendition of "Good Riddance (Time Of Your Life". Looking around it is hard to find someone in the crowd whose eyes have not welled up at the sheer beauty of Armstrong's voice.
Green Day lead Old Trafford through what was possibly the greatest Stadium show they have ever played. Balancing their hyperactivity and clowning with moments of shocking sincerity they hold all 50,000 people captive for the time they are on stage. The small town punks from Oakland, California have taken on the world and become one of the most powerful and thrilling rock bands on this planet. Their live show is second to none and really needs to be seen to be believed. (10/10)
Jakk Knox
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