I rambled on far too long last week about this venue, so let’s just say it’s even worse this week. The access is absolute shite and Green Day are on early. So I’m pretty fucked off as they abort ‘Chump’ due to someone falling at the front. Billie fills for a minute before they resume and the bass rumble of ‘Longview’ rolls out. This cheers me up, despite the rain starting. There’s blaring sunshine streaming in from stage right, but the rain won’t be outdone. There’s more people taking photos of the rainbow behind us than of the stage for ‘Welcome to Paradise’, but crikey, 30 years on this still sounds great. That’s why we’re here, anniversaries for Dookie and American Idiot. These gigs are becoming a bit too prevalent if you ask me, but honestly it’s probably the only reason I’m here. I’m not that familiar with Green Day aside these records. A cup of piss narrowly misses me as the crowd erupt for ‘Basket Case’. Again it sounds amazing, they look like cartoons up there and this sound fits them like a glove. If that piss had hit me though, I think I’d be looking for a fight. Dookie I’ve always thought was an odd album. The singles are monsters, but the rest of the album feels different. Still good, but the album tracks don’t grab me in the same way. The band put no less energy in. Billie, more hair than man attacks the mic, ever the showman. All three are going for it though. Mike comically gurning and Tre playing like a wind up toy. The cheers are back for ‘When I Come Around’. These songs remind me of being a kid, watching MTV on portable TVs defiantly balancing on wall brackets in 90s bedrooms. It’s a nostalgia trip. It’s stopped raining though and I must say it’s a broad crowd. The broadest age range I’ve seen at a gig in a long time. ‘F.O.D.’ sounds good, but as Dookie wraps up with piped in strings and Tre in a leopard print grandma coat for ‘All By Myself’, it just feels too early to get fired up. The truth is it’s falling flat for me and needs some energy injecting. As they deviate from the albums to give us an interlude of other stuff, they find their feet. ‘Know Your Enemy’ packs a punch and gets even us miserable bastards at the back bouncing. Especially with one lucky fan invited up to sing and dance around on stage. Alright it’s a cheesy trick, but honestly it makes me smile. Now they do have a new album out, so it’s to be expected that they slip a few from Savoirs in. ‘Look Ma, No Brains!’ and ‘One Eyed Bastard’ sound good. They don’t break the formula of course, but they’ve got some bite and keep the tempo set to insane. There’s some terrible/amusing dad dancing for ‘Minority’ but at least the atmosphere is picking up. Before ‘Brain Stew’ makes a claim for best song of the set so far. It’s fucking brilliant. I say so far though, as without breaking, the Dookie inflatable explosion set makes way for the gripped heart grenade and ‘American Idiot’ explodes. It’s still light out, but songs like ‘Jesus of Suburbia’ have some real clout. It’s easy to see how this album pulled them out of the lower leagues and catapulted to venues like this. Although I’m not sure that’s a good thing. How amazing would this gig have been in a smaller venue! There’s more to this album though, ‘Jesus…’ is almost a record in itself, but even the sharper punkier ‘Holiday’ has more to it than anything on Dookie. I’ll admit I dismissed this album on release. I’d moved on, but hearing it live really does highlight just how it good it is. ‘Boulevard of Broken Dreams’ is the first time they match the noise of Foo Fighters last week though. I’m not sure whether the sound desk has lent on a switch, the band have decided to go that bit harder or if the crowd have finally woken up. It’s probably a bit of all three, but the crowd are definitely helping. A mirrorball decends for ‘Are We the Waiting’ and everyone sings along, before a ribbon canon goes off for ‘St. Jimmy’ and the die hard masses down the front wrap themselves in it, as if they’ll be bound together forever. I’m not a die hard though and some of the album does lose me. Perfectly fine on record, the middle does drift in the set a little. I’m not bored and I’m very aware that I’m spoilt with the amount of gigs I see, but it takes a bit to get me excited. There’s a lot of movement in the crowd as pissed people go looking for toilets or more booze and during ‘Letterbomb’ I start hatching my plan to escape this place as quickly and conveniently as possible. What this gig needs is something like ‘Wake Me Up When September Ends’. It’s ushered in with a snippet of Buzzcocks ‘Ever Fallen in Love’. Getting everyone singing and ready for what’s to come. You know the drill. Phones out, arms up, people on shoulders. Stadium stuff. In a set that’s had its ups and downs, it’s a clear high point. The problem with doing albums in order live though, means you can’t craft the set and even though ‘Homecoming’ and ‘Whatsername’ aren’t exactly lacking in confidence, they just don’t hit as hard as songs at this time of a set need to. We’ve been going 2 hours and some patrons are clearly flagging. Although it’s still not bloody dark! I’m sure they know this, so as twilight does finally arrive, they hit us with… ‘Good Riddance (Time of Your Life)’, which isn’t exactly what I’d choose for a big finish. “I think we should go” says the girl next to me. I’m inclined to agree. It’s not a bad gig, but I think I expected a little more. The venue didn’t help and it’ll take something special to get me back here again, I’m done with it. Chatting to a few people on the way out, they clearly enjoyed tonight and that’s great, but I think this might be both my first and last Green Day gig. Still glad I went though.
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