Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...

September 19, 2024 Review by Jimmy Alvarez

Living in Southern California has always been a place with peaks and valleys, highs and lows, ebbs and flows. Anyone can visit Disney, the beach, then go to the mountains and desert in a day. Nobody really does that, but you can if you really tried.

That said, there’s something else you can do on the regular is take in a great band on any night of the week. So was the case on September 16th in Hollywood as the masses congregated at “Jimmy Kimmel Live” to take in one of the lightning rods of the music industry – Green Day!

Green Day has been around since 1994, and with a steady catalogue of solid music, they have moved from being a great band, to being a legendary band.

Their last album, “Saviors,” may have pushed them into the upper echelon of the music industry hierarchy.

The trio is led by Billie Joe Armstrong on guitar, with lifetime friends, Mike Dirnt on bass, and Tré Cool on drums. They have evolved from a ruckus band, to a band that stands for something. They truly care about the environment, their fans, their friends, their families, and the world we live in, and their music represents that sentiment.

Being in the midst of their “Saviors” tour (celebrating anniversaries of their landmark albums “Dookie” and “American Idiot”), the band coordinated with The World Famous KROQ and “JKL” to put on this special presentation. For the locals, KROQ was doing an on-air contest to see Green Day, and the contest took on a life of its own – the excitement very reflective of what’s happening at the station today.

As I rolled into Hollywood Blvd., there was everything that the movies depict. The stars on the Walk of Fame, the vendors and characters dressed up, and the tour buses filling the streets. Plus a multitude of Green Day fans dressed in full GD regalia.

The crowd had formed in the “JKL” Snapdragon stage area, and it was amazing to hear the stories from fans as to why this band meant so much to them; why they had to be there and how they were able to get in to the show. The thing about becoming a legend, that often comes with a catalogue of music that moves people not just sonically, but the music touches their souls.

Armstrong, Dirnt, and Cool have done just that; they have touched their fans through their music just like the great bands from the ‘60s and ‘70s. They put out consequential music that matters. That was the consensus from everyone I spoke with that was eager to take in the show. I asked a fan to describe Green Day and he said, “Well-crafted lyrics with catchy hooks have catapulted this band to a MUST SEE show no matter when and where they play.”

As the crowd waited for the show to start, vendors were passing out Warped Tour water and Green Day coffee souvenirs that everyone was taking in. During that pre-show angst, we got to watch the taping of “Jimmy Kimmel Live” in real time on the video monitors (that night’s guest were Chris Hemsworth and Elizabeth Olson).

As each interview ended, the electricity in the air was increasing and everyone was ready. Then, as the taping of the show ended, Klein, Ally, and Johnny from the KROQ morning show emerged. The crowd erupted, Kimmel was on his way from the taping area, so the trio entertained everyone with their humor and wit. Then everyone lost their minds as Green Day took the stage and opened with “Welcome to Paradise.”

Then, out came Kimmel and introduced Green Day for the show broadcast and the show blasted off with “Bobby Sox.”

At the first break, Billie Joe welcomed everyone to the show, but then stopped for a second as the stage manager whispered in his ear.

Then, Armstrong let everyone know they had to do another take of the song, and he said, “Let’s try it again… but with more feeling!”

What’s funny about that is they did “Bobby Sox” again, and you could tell Armstrong was more animated in this second run of the song, which made the crowd love their effort even more.

After the final note, Armstrong smiled and said, “Here’s one you might know,” and the hit parade started with “Longview,” followed by “Basket Case,” and “When I Come Around.”

I have seen this band a few times, but there was something different this night. They had the same energy, but they seemed so relaxed; like it was a backyard kind of show. During and in between songs, Armstrong and Dirnt waved and were communicating with fans on the front of the stage; it really was like a hometown show.

The best part of the night happened next. Armstrong started off “Know Your Enemy,” with that familiar bassline, and if you have ever seen a Green Day show you would know what was coming. Armstrong looked for someone in the crowd. He found a young woman who was decked out in Green Day garb from head to toe. He brought her up to the stage while the band kept a beat going.

Just like in all shows, he had the young woman sing along to the song, he held the mic and sang the song and she did too. But what happened next was a moment of joy for everyone, including the band. The young woman took the mic out of Armstrong’s hands, and began to sing the song on her own. Wouldn’t you know it, she knew every word and sang like she was in the shower, at the top of her lungs with the biggest smile you have ever seen: “Do you know your enemy, well, gotta’ know the enemy, violence is an energy, against the enemy, well, violence is an energy.” Armstrong stepped back and let her do her thing as he looked on with amazement, which drew the biggest smile I have never seen from him on a stage.

It’s hard to believe, but that wasn’t the show stopper. Halfway through the song, she gave the mic back to a stage crew and a staff member was motioning her to follow him to get off the stage. She did not follow the direction, instead she began to do a improve dance, then like the Blind Melon Bee Girl, she danced her ass off for the crowd behind Armstrong.

Once the song ended, Armstrong saw her behind him and caught the end of her dance, and she did a curtsy to the crowd. The entire band laughed and you could tell they shared in seeing her have a moment of joy that we all got to share in. What a moment for her, and for all that were there to witness it.

After she exited the stage, the hit parade continued with “Look Ma, No Brains” and “Dilemma,” both songs off the new album, which received crazy cheers from the crowd. Then, it was time for “Brain Stew.”

By now we all knew the night was almost done. Green Day then lived up to the hype of being a band that matters as they electrified the crowd with “American Idiot.”

With a few lyric alterations, everyone knew what that song was now about and the relevance to the world we live in was clear, and it brought a look of defiance from the crowd that only certain legends can produce.

As if on cue with the response, the crowd erupted to “Minority.” Everyone sang along to each word with defiant fist pumps; the electricity that this band created was something to marvel, something I don’t think I have seen to this extent since I last saw Rage Against the Machine play the Coliseum.

In unison, and with passion, everyone screamed out… “For crying out loud, she screamed unto me, a free for all, fuck ‘em all, you are at your own sight, ‘Cause I wanna be the minority, I don’t need your authority, down with the moral majority, ‘Cause I wanna be the minority.” WOW… what a moment in time that was!

What a night for music, and what a band KROQ was able to deliver to the masses. Larger-than-life things are happening with Green Day and at The World Famous KROQ.

TO FOLLOW

SID 240922 | TRACI TURNER | EDITOR