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ARTS
0
Monday
June 17, 2002 10
IT WAS A POP DISASTER
Modeprn - unk deities gathered iz
the Palace or a kin g-si ed rocking Uff;r'
By Tony Ding
Daily ArtsWriter
"Who's your fucking daddy?"
shouted Billie Joe Armstrong as he
leapt onto a stage monitor and exu-
berantly goaled the packed arena for
affirmation and overwhelming
respect. The singer, songwriter and
guitarist of Green Day was making
a pit-stop in Motown as part of a co-
headlining circuit across the country
with fellow megastars Blink 182,
currently on the road for MTV's
Pop-Disaster Tour. With everything
from. an onstage petting zoo of per- perhaps, as it was whimsically noted i
formers to their timeless musical by Green Day's frontman after the
talent, Armstrong's Green Day stood opening song, a new half-generation k<
triumphant upon their throne as have been assimilated into the
incumbent crown to deity's kingdom.
their pop-punk sub- Amid flashing
jects. lights, 10 foot tal
In perhaps an exul- **** columns of flames and
tant display of Green a gradient backdrop
Day's carefree rule, a MTV'S Pop Dis- adorned with a border
giant pink bunny strut- ASTER TOUR: of cinematic, incandes-
ted on stage to intro- WITH BLINK cent flashing bulbs,
duce the band, and after 182, GREEN DAY Green Day rolled
jauntily tossing away AND SAVES THE through one hit after
the beer bottle it's been DAY another. The Green
nursing, Day banner was also
p u l l e d June 11, 2002 unleashed mid-way
out a The Palace ofAuburn through the set to
healthy- Hills reveal an equally glit-
s i z e d tery, giant pop-tastic
glass bong and LED of the band's name. Crowd-
puffed up a big one pleasers such as "Hitchin' A Ride" Up close and personal with Green Day sin
amid raucous from 1997's Nimrod produced earth-
applause from the shaking, rhythmic anthems - a to retro mechanic's shirts. Mid-song
oh-so-impressionable brilliant choice for the riotous through "Longview" (Dookie '94),
teenage audience. crowd of arena rock. and after a long drown out chant
It was indeed a The magic for Green Day was that inducer, Armstrong climaxed the
rather uneasy specta- they produced such a large- amount song and acted out its message cen-
cle for even a 19 of hits. Hits that the audience knew ter stage with simulated masturba-
year-old, to see The the words to and was able to sing tion. "Do the wave!" he then
Palace breaking out along to, for the pomp and majesty commanded, and the 10,000-plus
from the heaving of the music did not drown out Arm- arena caught off-guard with the
masses of prepubes- strong's crisp voice. The show was request hastily produced a complete
cent youth. Perhaps it not simply a performance, but a wave that traversed the stands in a
was the draw of revival for the old-school following fashion adequate enough for Michi-
Blink 182 that sent and a baptism for the virgin fans. gan Stadium. The best surprises of
idol-worshipping Armstrong repeatedly super-soaked the show came however when
freshmen girls to the crowd-surfing floor of young Green Day picked three amazingly
plead that their mom- devotees between and during songs competent boys from the moshing
TONYDING/Daly mies and daddies with a comical-sized pump-action floor to pluck and pound on their
drive them there, or water gun, and even resorting to pro- instruments as Armstrong sang a
jecting bursts of mineral water from cover of Operation Ivy's "Knowl-
0 penthe band's own refreshment stash. edge." The stunt worked magnifi-
en... The band's onstage antics were cently andthe three boys were
complimented by their double-take awarded with hugs and the right to
*p*s *"*sattire, with Armstrong dressed in keep the guitars, bass and drum-
black with a skinny silver tie and his sticks they used. The overly zealous
F Ecohorts varying from hot-pink ants drummer also took the liberty of
stage diving back into the crowded
floor.
The Michigan baily Other unexpected moments
Display-Staff is proud occurred during "King For A Day"
when it eventually transformed into
a showstopper tribute of "Shout!"
from the Isley Brothers, and
accompanied by dressed up imari-
rience the fun side of tea O achi trombone players, a giant
chicken, and his sidekick bee. Arm-
strong also donned his royal crown
and flapped around stage in a vel-
acs ofth~e weak vet cape, reaffirming his status.
Green Day's show was brought to
Tea Corats an end by the popular hit "Minori-
le Ted mid thaniksty" (Warning '01), and the pop-gem
for your "Good Riddance (Time Of Your
C ard work! Life)" (Nimrod '97) when all the
e ,-e pyrotechnics and lights were
e your own Mix of Teas! -Sponsored by: b jmati's dimmed, and Armstrong quietly
Blink 182's Mark Hoppus plucks away
I
Now
TONY 015j Daily
nger Billie Joe Armstrong.
brought on a vigil of hand-held
lighter flames, as the crowd filled
the somber melodies of this grad-
night song with salty-eyed chorus,
a powerful flashback that brought
the musician's lyrics down to an
individualized level. Green Day has
mastered this talent to connect inti-
mately with its fans, flung to life
from the mud of Woodstock '94
and immortalized in their music. In
a humble act of gratitude, Bille Joe
Armstrong silently bowed before
gliding offstage.
It was an error to have let Blink
182 play after Green Day, for what
Green Day had in energy, spirit and
musical brilliance, Blink came off
as simply chaotic, tiring and convo-
luted noise. Blink kicked off their
set with popular hits "Anthem Part
Two" and "The Rock Show," with
an excessive display of synchro-
nized pyrotechnics and lack-luster
stage presence from the two front-
men Mark Hoppus and Tom
Delonge. Blink's trademark gross-
out comedy on stage was surpris-
ingly toned down throughout the
performance - perhaps ashamed
to seem juvenile following Green
Day.
As openers for the pop-punk roy-
alty, emo-punk boys Saves the Day
raced through 11 songs in 35 min-
utes, compared with the 75 minutes
both Green Day and Blink enjoyed.
STD's darling singer Chris Conley
busted out his now familiar sexy
shoulder bobs and waist swaying;
which excited some of the young
ladies in view, but nevertheless the
royalty that followed them later in
the night stole everyone's undivided
attention.
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