Show Notes: Cassie: "Finally Green Day came on. The crowd was pumped. They played Maria first, but I really don't remember it being that I was in the front. Billie Joe was really excited. The next songs were Longview, Welcome To Paradise, and then I totally forget. I'm so pissed I didn't get my camera in, because I never wanna forget when Billie Joe had his hands in his pants or lifted his shirt. When Billie asked for a bass and guitar player for Knowledge, we pointed to the guys next to us (they were really nice and kept us from being smashed into the barricade) and Billie Joe picked him. During Minority and When I Come Around I got pushed to the fourth row which was the most painful thing I've ever gone through. Me and about 30 other people just completely fell. During Time Of Your Life I decided to push my way to the front. I think I liked Shout the best. Especially when Billie Joe had a cape on and did the whole James Brown thing. I also got a part of Tre's drumstick."

Ed Masley: "Green Day opening for Blink-182 is kind of like the Buzzcocks being made to open Green Day's Dookie tour in '94. Of course, it puts more bodies in the seats. But where's the sense of history, the sense of justice? To their credit, the members of Green Day didn't seem to care much either way as they plowed through the hits for a crowd of 15,157 at the Post-Gazette Pavilion Saturday. In fact, they worked the stage like it was their show, bashing out such timeless hooks as Basket Case, Welcome to Paradise, She and Longview with a reckless sense of urgency that would have made it feel like 1994 again if Waiting, pulled from Green Day's latest album, hadn't been the most inspired moment of their set. They opened with an even newer song, Maria. Recorded for last year's hits collection, it already had the feel of one of Green Day's concert staples, fast and raucous, with some killer fills from drummer Tre Cool and a sound so massive, I assumed it had a lot to do with the second guitarist Green Day never introduced until he went away and Longview sounded just as massive. It's hard to imagine a band in modern rock that could have stocked a 90-minute set with half as many worthwhile hits as Green Day did. And there were hits they didn't even get a chance to play, but those they did included Brain Stew, the thrashing-est Jaded ever, When I Come Around, Hitchin' A Ride, Minority and a solo electric performance by Billie Joe Armstrong of Good Riddance (Time of Your Life). The hits alone would be enough to entertain your average crowd, of course, but half the entertainment value of a Green Day set will always be the Armstrong show. The man was born to entertain, clowning his way through all the greatest rock-star moves in history, from Elvis Presley's pelvic thrust to Roger Daltrey's spinning mike to Jimi Hendrix's guitar behind the head. He even dropped and did a breakdance move. But the highlight of Armstrong's shenanigans came at the end of a spirited cover of Shout. The crown he'd donned to lead the band in King For A Day still on his head, he dropped down to his knees, and as he knelt there, an assistant brought a cape out, draping it over his shoulders in a punk-rock tribute to the great James Brown. It was hilarious. He also did that thing where he assembles a band out of audience members during Operation Ivy's Knowledge. Saturday, he took the gesture one step further, letting Matt Tanner of Newcastle keep the Fender Fat Strat he'd been playing (after mistakenly telling the crowd his name was Ben). At one point, Armstrong even stuck his arm inside his pants and pretended to pleasure himself in an obvious bid to keep up with the grade-school humor of the guys in Blink-182. He would have had to try a whole lot harder. But it'll be a while before they have enough good songs to turn in a set that's as solid as Green Day's. And by then, their drummer will have hopefully had time to learn some taste from watching Cool."

Opening Band(s): Blink-182, Saves the Day

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Tour Statistics: Pop Disaster tour
Show Reviews: 0