Rockin' with Green Day

If you ask me, there's nothing better than tossing back a few brews and rockin out with a band who's back catalog you know with some familiarity. Tonight, some NorCal locals passed through town, and I wasn't about to pass them up.

The always entertaining Green Day rocked Sacramento, offering a hearty set that must have lasted over 2 1/2 hours at Arco Arena. For a couple of punks from the East Bay, I will say that these boys put on one hell of a show.

But before they hit the stage, I'll admit that I had my doubts. For starters, I didn't used to be a huge Green Day fan. Back in my earlier days, my brother was the Green Day fan, while I was much more of a Metallica fan. He had his music, I had mine, and there may or may not have been an argument or two over who is superior. It wasn't until 2004, amidst a turbulent political cycle in the nation's history, that a friend handed me a burned copy of American Idiot and insisted that it was excellent. And, I have to say, that was an excellent album. From there I learned much of their back catalog, and have since purchased their new album, and I will now vouch for them as being an excellent band.

Plus they're from the East Bay, my neck of the woods (and there are stories to be told from that... for another day), so I'm always happy to support a local band.

But that aside, I will say that as I entered the venue, I couldn't help but notice that they were straying a bit from their anti-establishment punk roots. Not that I have anything against their success... but I saw several tour T-shirts (and their tour bus) sporting Verison and Blackberry logos. Along with that, there was a sign at the toll booth declaring "no cameras allowed inside". A bicycle patrol that forced people to pour out their beers (what ever happened to tailgating?!) was also sure to remind people that no cameras were allowed inside.

However, with a little strategery (choosing the line with a confused old lady doing the searching), Photocalypse cameras had to problems making entry.

It was an excellent show. Heavy on the new stuff, but not without the mandatory classics. Have these guys sold out? Totally, but that's not a bad thing. I saw them about 10 years ago on the Warped Tour, where they played a 30 minute set (and I crowd surfed for the first time... I used to be skinnier) and weren't much more than some punks hollering about fighting The Man. They were good, but certainly different from what they are today. They've evolved into a big production arena band, with crazy pyros and theatrics, which surprisingly fits them quite well.

The best part about the extensive set was the crowd interaction. They must have had 10, maybe 15 fans pulled onto the stage throughout the show, most of whom were kids. They got to sing the songs, rile up the crowd, and one kid who was holding a sign saying he flew from Israel to see the show got to play guitar for the 10-minute Jesus of Suburbia. Check this out- Billy Joe kicks out some dude that was trying to start a fight, then requests that a child come on stage so he can be "saved":

Talk about having a good day for a 10-year-old. And I thought I was cool because I met Ronald McDonald when I was young.

All around, a kick-ass, high energy show. I was very much impressed.