good times...a weblog by Russell and Joanne: Green Day

Saturday night was Green Day's concert at the Home Depot Center in Carson. It was their last stop on their American Idiot Tour. This concert was truly amazing. Green Day has been around for 17 years (are we that old?) and this was their biggest concert in LA. It was sold out and every seat was taken.

Going in, I told Joel that I was definitely bringing in my camera despite the stated rules. I had been to several concerts where it was no problem getting one through security and everyone seemed to have one anyway. Well, when we got to the front of the line, we noticed that they had the metal detector gates just like the ones at the airport. Damn. So, I came up with a plan and we decided to try anyway. Went through the gate, put the keys and cell phone in the basket, walked through, and the buzzer went off. They sent me to the secondary security guy. I put my keys back in my pocket (I don't know why). He busted out the metal detector wand and it went off by my pocket (of course). I pulled out my keys. He checked again. It went off by my belt buckle. I showed him my belt. Clear. Enjoy the concert. (The camera was hidden just behind my belt buckle) Nice. And for my troubles, here are some pictures and video.

Jimmy Eat World opened for Green Day and their performance was great. The pit area was huge (it's an entire soccer field) and it was packed. Here's what it looked like while they were setting up after Jimmy Eat World's set.

Our seats were in the closest seated section on the right side of the stage. Joel and I were worried that the seats would have a bad view, but it worked out great. The band members could run to the sides of the stage and get real close!

The lead singer, Billy Joe, is insane. He never seemed to run out of energy and provided the most exciting rock concert I've ever seen. (Right up there with U2) He was always doing something different. He even brought up a few people from the audience to play on the band's instruments (drums, bass, lead guitar). The first lead guitarist they chose was about 3 years old and the guitar was too big, so they found someone else. As a consolation, Billy Joe gave the 3-year-old his guitar! Billy Joe came out with different hats on from time to time. Here's some.

The band played about 7 tracks from their new album (great album) and some old favorites like Basket Case, Hitchin' a Ride, Longview, Brain Stew, Minority, and Time of Your Life. Thrown inbetween were Shout (originally by Isley Brothers), Stand By Me (originally by Ben E. King), and We are the Champions (originally by Queen). Very cool. Here's a view of the crowd with their cell phones and lighters during Wake Me Up When September Ends.

Their pyrotechnics were phenomenal. They had fireworks, explosions, and huge fire torches going off all the time. It got pretty hot from our seats. At the finale, they had the stadium filled with confetti.