By George F. Lee, Star-Bulletin
Billie Joe Armstrong, left, and Mike Dirnt holler and cuss
their way through yesterday's Green Day concert at the
University of Hawaii's Andrews Amphitheatre.
From 'Geek Stink Breath' to
Real rock:
'Nice Guys Finish Last'
Color it green
By Nadine Kam
Assistant Features Editor
Star-BulletinTHE debate over whether rock 'n' roll is dead or alive rages on, with many these days siding with the former camp -- rock having been displaced by the third ska revival and upstart drum 'n' bass practitioners.
But Green Day showed yesterday at Andrew's Amphitheatre that it's one band that won't go quietly. They held Mr. Reaper at bay with a solid wall of pure power punk energy. If Mr. Reaper should dare get close, he'll likely get a round of cussing from singer-guitarist Billie Joe Armstrong, not to mention getting his cloaked head bashed by a bass or floor tom.
What, them worry? Damn the consequences, full steam ahead.
By George F. Lee, Star-Bulletin
Green Day fans, from left, Leona Cruz, Jennifer Smith and
Elena Juarez, did their hair up special for the show.
Drawing from comic traditions -- from court jester to class clown to circus barker -- Armstrong put out enough brashness, bravado and talent to compensate for all of the wimpy, polite college boys and girls on rock radio today. It was a joy to witness.Smart kids arrived at the venue by taxi and got dropped off at the end of the entrance line, about 200 feet from the gate at start time, 2 p.m.
The capacity crowd came dressed in their best Vuarnet, Stussy and Oxydo shades for a mostly sunny concert after a week's worth of rain. It warmed up early enough for much of the mud at the floor of the amphitheater to dry. Too bad. Those of us comfy, high and dry in the stands would have loved to see a repeat of the mud show Green Day put on at most recent Woodstock fest.
Local punkers Grapefruit opened the show at about 2:25 p.m. for a half hour that whipped the moshers into a frenzy. A kid in a Burger King crown drew the loudest cheers of the set when he rose to the top of the pit with both arms raised in one-finger salutes to the crowd.
By George F. Lee, Star-Bulletin
Tre Cool, the green-haired drummer, and his rubber
chicken stayed in the background until the very end.
Ramones' audio fueled the interlude between Grapefruit and the main act, kicking off with "I Want to Be Sedated" and ending with "Sheena is a Punk Rocker" before we heard some Devo, and Armstrong, bassist Mike Dirnt and drummer Tre Cool casually walked on stage.With a "yeah, yeah, yeah" from Dirnt, the band launched into tight renditions of an oldie, "Going to Pasalacqua," followed by "Welcome to Paradise" and "Geek Stink Breath."
"Nice Guys Finish Last" had Armstrong tugging at the end of his too-short guitar cord like a dog on a leash as he stretched over to Dirnt's microphone.
The band maintained cohesive energy throughout. Armstrong complained at one point that none of the equipment was working, but no one in the audience seemed to notice or care.
After "Hitching a Ride," Armstrong caught a shirt from the audience and put it on over his navy blue T-shirt. This brought a barrage of shoes, hats and slippers until another guy in the audience passed Armstrong a brown hat to complete his ensemble. Just goes to show you, not all rock stars get dressed by Versace.
A sea of topless men on the ground grew pinker by the minute as the sun beat down through "The Grouch," "Long View" and "Brain Stew." Armstrong doused the crowed with bottled water while Dirnt poured his very own stash of beer -- the only beer to be had at the venue.
Then Armstrong teased the crowd with a threat to play heavy metal. They struck the opening chords to "Eye of the Tiger" before changing course and dissing Third Eye Blind.
A cover of an Operation Ivy tune brought the only opportunity for a guitar solo, which Armstrong played to the hilt, showing he could strut, pose and wank with the best of the metal gods. He even pulled a Gene Simmons, flicking his tongue.
By George F. Lee, Star-Bulletin
To be in the front row is to risk being squished as fans
farther back jockey for a better view. Security officers at
Andrews Amphitheatre yesterday had to curb
some enthusiasm in the mosh pit.
By this time, Armstrong had gotten ahold of bikini panties and a bra. He dropped his pants to reveal ... white boxers. For modesty's sake, he pulled the panties -- white tag showing in the back -- up over his boxers, before doing a bump and grind. This is one guy who should always wear as much clothes as possible.Then he pulled one lucky fan out of the audience to play his guitar just as it started to rain. The guy did OK technically, even if he had none of Billie Joe's pizzazz. Still, he did get the last jump of the song, which brought many in the stands to their feet.
Green Day also treated us to the opening chords of Metallica's "Master of Puppets" before dissing that, too, as "cheese."
The band played "Scattered" before leaving the stage an hour after getting started. But they were back in 5 minutes, ripping through an encore of "Platypus (I Hate You)," "Prosthetic Head" and "When I Come Around."
The show had to be over when Tre Cool came crashing over his drum kit. Having been hidden behind drums for the set, the green-haired drummer was going to have his time in the spotlight -- even if he had to kill a few instruments in the process.
He punctuated the proceedings with the crash of a microphone on a cymbal, threw his bass drum, then, lifting his floor tom over his head, he bashed every side on the corner of the stage as if he were husking a coconut.
But the show wasn't over just yet. Armstrong came back with guitar for a solo version of "Good Riddance (Time of Your Life)," with sentiments making it a fitting class song for any age,.
For those who had forgotten how nice it is to go to a concert where you could check your brain at the door, it was a mighty pleasant sensation.
