Full recap of Green Day's comeback show last night in Pomona, CA
By Jack /Mar. 11, 2013 / Comments
[pic=Billie Joe walking onstage last night in Pomona, CA]031113_rsz_i-twsn9fp-l.jpg[/pic]Green Day is back. The band is back. After all of the rehab, postponing, cancellations, and the general lack of activity, Green Day is back. The band made their triumphant return last night at the Fox Theater in Pomona, California. It was their first public performance since the iHeartRadio Festival in September of last year. This recap is based on tweets and descriptions from people that were at the show.
At about 5pm PST, fans waiting outside the theater got a special treat: a fan paid to have a massive banner flown from the back of a plane in the sky. The banner read "SO PROUD OF YOU GREEN DAY <3 #IDIOTLOVE." Hopefully the band at least heard about that! Green Day arrived at the venue about two hours before the show. Someone in the crowd waiting outside took a great photo of Billie Joe walking into the venue. The band played "Murder City," "Stray Heart," and a bit of "Know Your Enemy" for soundcheck.
After the doors opened and the fans filled the theater, the opening act came on. The Stitches, who will also open for Green Day tonight in Tempe, Arizona, received mixed reactions from the fans in attendance. Some thought that they were an okay opening band, but others said they were awful. At one point, the lead singer of The Stitches asked the crowd what they wanted to hear next. The audience, all at once, shouted back, "Green Day!" This probably wasn't the reaction that The Stitches had hoped for, but what else can you expect?!
After a brief break for equipment setup, Green Day came on at about 9pm PST. The band opened with "99 Revolutions," which surprised many people. One interesting note: for parts of the show, Billie Joe played the same guitar that he smashed at the iHeartRadio Festival, and later had repaired.
Now, a few brief highlights from the descriptions and tweets of GDC members and others. During "Oh Love," Billie Joe said something like, "I have to tell you something right now: I'm the only one who's a little bit uncomfortable." A few fans mentioned that Billie Joe seemed a bit nervous at times during the show. At one point, Billie Joe asked the crowd whether they wanted to see "an explosion, a party, or a celebration." During the bridge in "Letterbomb," Billie Joe apparently got a bit choked up, and was barely able to sing one of his lines. During the next song, "Boulevard Of Broken Dreams," Billie Joe told the crowd, "Welcome back!" and then, "Thank God I'm alive!" During "2,000 Light Years Away," Billie Joe invited fans onstage, and was hoisted onto the shoulders of one fan while he played his guitar solo. The only real deviation from the setlist that was posted on the stage was when the band played "Coming Clean," a song rarely played live. Green Day played a fairly normal and safe set of songs, and closed with an encore of "American Idiot" and "Jesus of Suburbia." You can take a look at the full setlist below:
1. 99 Revolutions
2. Know Your Enemy (kid from the crowd sang a verse)
3. Stay The Night
4. Stop When The Red Lights Flash
5. Let Yourself Go
6. Oh Love
7. Holiday
8. Letterbomb
9. Boulevard Of Broken Dreams (crowd sang a verse)
10. Hitchin' A Ride
11. Stairway to Heaven (Tease), Highway To Hell
12. Brain Stew
13. St. Jimmy
14. 2,000 Light Years Away (audience members danced onstage)
15. Paper Lanterns
16. Coming Clean
17. When I Come Around
18. She
19. Basket Case
20. King For A Day/Shout
21. Minority
ENCORE:
22. American Idiot
23. Jesus Of Suburbia
Check out the tour page for this show, and also the photos from last night in the album below:
[picvault=452]
Here are a couple of videos from the show, both with decent audio. We'll update this post when better videos surface.
"American Idiot":
"2,000 Light Years Away":
Overall, fans who attended this show described it as being a "safe" show (in regard to which songs were played), but also a solid show at the same time. They said that the band had definitely not lost any of their showmanship skills or their musical capability. The band put on a high-energy performance, as they always do. Now that they're back on their feet, fans are sure that we're in for a great tour. Green Day are back, and based on this show, you'd never even think that they had left. This quote from crock6000 on GDC who was at the show sums the night up well: "My feelings about whether a sober Green Day would still rock the bells have been answered, and the answer is most definitely, YES."
At about 5pm PST, fans waiting outside the theater got a special treat: a fan paid to have a massive banner flown from the back of a plane in the sky. The banner read "SO PROUD OF YOU GREEN DAY <3 #IDIOTLOVE." Hopefully the band at least heard about that! Green Day arrived at the venue about two hours before the show. Someone in the crowd waiting outside took a great photo of Billie Joe walking into the venue. The band played "Murder City," "Stray Heart," and a bit of "Know Your Enemy" for soundcheck.
After the doors opened and the fans filled the theater, the opening act came on. The Stitches, who will also open for Green Day tonight in Tempe, Arizona, received mixed reactions from the fans in attendance. Some thought that they were an okay opening band, but others said they were awful. At one point, the lead singer of The Stitches asked the crowd what they wanted to hear next. The audience, all at once, shouted back, "Green Day!" This probably wasn't the reaction that The Stitches had hoped for, but what else can you expect?!
After a brief break for equipment setup, Green Day came on at about 9pm PST. The band opened with "99 Revolutions," which surprised many people. One interesting note: for parts of the show, Billie Joe played the same guitar that he smashed at the iHeartRadio Festival, and later had repaired.
Now, a few brief highlights from the descriptions and tweets of GDC members and others. During "Oh Love," Billie Joe said something like, "I have to tell you something right now: I'm the only one who's a little bit uncomfortable." A few fans mentioned that Billie Joe seemed a bit nervous at times during the show. At one point, Billie Joe asked the crowd whether they wanted to see "an explosion, a party, or a celebration." During the bridge in "Letterbomb," Billie Joe apparently got a bit choked up, and was barely able to sing one of his lines. During the next song, "Boulevard Of Broken Dreams," Billie Joe told the crowd, "Welcome back!" and then, "Thank God I'm alive!" During "2,000 Light Years Away," Billie Joe invited fans onstage, and was hoisted onto the shoulders of one fan while he played his guitar solo. The only real deviation from the setlist that was posted on the stage was when the band played "Coming Clean," a song rarely played live. Green Day played a fairly normal and safe set of songs, and closed with an encore of "American Idiot" and "Jesus of Suburbia." You can take a look at the full setlist below:
1. 99 Revolutions
2. Know Your Enemy (kid from the crowd sang a verse)
3. Stay The Night
4. Stop When The Red Lights Flash
5. Let Yourself Go
6. Oh Love
7. Holiday
8. Letterbomb
9. Boulevard Of Broken Dreams (crowd sang a verse)
10. Hitchin' A Ride
11. Stairway to Heaven (Tease), Highway To Hell
12. Brain Stew
13. St. Jimmy
14. 2,000 Light Years Away (audience members danced onstage)
15. Paper Lanterns
16. Coming Clean
17. When I Come Around
18. She
19. Basket Case
20. King For A Day/Shout
21. Minority
ENCORE:
22. American Idiot
23. Jesus Of Suburbia
Check out the tour page for this show, and also the photos from last night in the album below:
[picvault=452]
Here are a couple of videos from the show, both with decent audio. We'll update this post when better videos surface.
"American Idiot":
"2,000 Light Years Away":
Overall, fans who attended this show described it as being a "safe" show (in regard to which songs were played), but also a solid show at the same time. They said that the band had definitely not lost any of their showmanship skills or their musical capability. The band put on a high-energy performance, as they always do. Now that they're back on their feet, fans are sure that we're in for a great tour. Green Day are back, and based on this show, you'd never even think that they had left. This quote from crock6000 on GDC who was at the show sums the night up well: "My feelings about whether a sober Green Day would still rock the bells have been answered, and the answer is most definitely, YES."
