01-07-2010 Green Day

Supports: Donots, Rise Against; Venue: Messepark Mainz (Germany)
By: Nina Mende

It was the last day of Green Day to play in Germany, and not only fort his tour but also for a while as Billy Joel mentioned.

I was stuck in traffic so I missed the first band which was a German band called Donots. Since I came a little over an hour later than the show began I figure they played for about 50 minutes. But I am not too sure about that.

The entire show took place at the “Messepark Mainz”, the open air area of the fair in Mainz/Germany. 20 000 fans were there to be part of the party. It was more a festival feeling than only a concert. But it was Green Day and with them everything is bigger better louder.

So, right as I arrived, after my two hours of being stuck in the traffic jam – for less than 20km – , listening to AFI who will be touring with Green Day in the USA from August 4th on, Rise Against entered the stage. Rise Against is an American punk rock band from Chicago, Illinois, formed in 1999. The band currently consists of Tim McIlrath (lead vocals, rhythm guitar), Zach Blair (lead guitar, backing vocals), Joe Principe (bass guitar, backing vocals) and Brandon Barnes (drums, percussion). Rise Against spent its first five years signed to the independent record label Fat Wreck Chords, on which it released two studio albums, The Unraveling (2001) and Revolutions per Minute (2003). Both the albums met with considerable underground success and in 2003, the band signed onto the major label, Geffen. All three albums released via Geffen were certified platinum in Canada and gold in the United States. The band actively promotes animal rights and are all straight edge, PETA supporters and vegans (excluding Barnes). Rise Against did not have a hard time to heat up the crowd, and that not only because it was steaming hot already, but also because everybody had a good time already. It was an awesome feeling at “Messepark”, everybody rocked along to the music of Rise Against. The guys on stage thanked the audience a whole lot for being so awesome. The audience thanked them by going wild and cheering like hell. To songs like “Give It All” or “Prayer Of The Refugee” almost everybody was singing along. Before the band played their last song they played some table soccer on stage. All because of the European (and especially German) world cup hype. For about an hour Rise Against rocked the masses. The dust from the dry ground was rising, you could see the cloud from afar. Rise Against played an amazing show.

After the changeover it was time for the time of our lives! Green Day was ready to rock the stage. But before they came on stage there was a guy in a pink bunny suite running all across the stage, dancing, drinking and being drunk, hilarious to watch. And an awesome idea to let time fly by during boring changeovers. But then it all began. Green Day entered the stage and everything changed. Green Day is an American punk rock trio formed in 1987. The band has consisted of lead vocalist and guitarist Billie Joe Armstrong, bassist and backing vocalist Mike Dirnt, and drummer Tré Cool for the majority of its existence. The band is credited as one of the three main bands, along with The Offspring and Rancid, who put the punk revival into process. Green Day was originally part of the punk scene at 924 Gilman Street in Berkeley, California. The band’s early releases for independent record label Lookout! Records earned it a grassroots fanbase. Nevertheless, its major label debut “Dookie” (1994) became a breakout success and eventually sold over 10 million copies in the U.S. and 15 million worldwide. As a result, Green Day was widely credited, alongside fellow California punk bands The Offspring and Rancid, with reviving mainstream interest in and popularizing punk rock in the United States. Green Day’s three follow-up albums, “Insomniac”, “Nimrod” and “Warning” did not achieve the massive success of “Dookie”, but they were still successful, reaching double platinum, double platinum, and gold status respectively. Green Day’s 2004 rock opera “American Idiot” reignited the band’s popularity with a younger generation, selling five million copies in the U.S. The band’s eighth studio album, “21st Century Breakdown”, was released on May 15, 2009. And with that one they were touring now. The audience of 20 000 people went insane as Green Day entered the stage. From the very first second on the power and energy both parties spread were intense. The band hit it from the first second on. There was no slow start and peak, it was a peak all the way through. Green Day had fireworks, flames – even blue ones, and awesome backdrop lightning – it always showed images or fitting sceneries. But not only was the show and the stage set up amazing, the band was amazing as well. And so terribly close to their fans. Joel came on stage all dressed in German fan gear for the world cup, spoke a few words of German, which always made the audience go wild, and changed hats and other stuff for the head all the time as soon as people threw new stuff up to him. Besides all that they of course also played music. Songs off all albums, not only the hits, even though it seems like every Green Day song is a hit in a way. Throughout their performance they got several people up on stage. Two – a boy in the second song and a girl later throughout the show – to just sing along and then go off stage diving. Billy Joel gave them big hugs and kisses. The little boy was an amazing singer and the audience loved him. Billy Joel said he should be the new Green Day singer, the little boy was so overwhelmed by everything. And the audience totally felt with him. Later Billy Joel “casted” a band and got kids up to play the instruments and finish a Green Day song. The 14year old that went up to play guitar ended up getting Billy Joel’s guitar. The show lasted for three hours including encore of 30 minutes. Green Day also played an AC/DC medley as well as other cover songs from the 70s to for example introduce the band or simply get the audience to do some stuff. each one of the band sang a little, and I must say, they all have awesome voices. Billy Joel played acoustic guitar in between every once in a while. Sometimes they laid down on stage while playing. You simply always had something to watch, even if you kept your eyes on only one of the guys. Green Day played a lot with the audience and made them, sing a lot. It was an amazing show with everybody singing along so loudly they could probably still hear us towns away. One last thing I have to say though: I have never heard such a clear and brilliant sound like I did at this event. It was brilliant!

Links:
Donots Official
Rise Against Official
Green Day Official