Details
Location:
Lupo's Heartbreak Hotel in Providence, RI
Date:
November 15, 1997
Other Acts:
Superdrag
Notes:
- MyaloMark: "Back in '97 I was sharing an apartment in Providence with Art Tedeschi, drummer for a now-defunct band called Waterdog. They sounded very much like Green Day and were on the same label. A couple of times they'd shared the stage. So one Saturday, Green Day was scheduled to play at Lupo's and Billie Joe had our address and decided to track Art down. So Art answered the door to find him standing there. He came in and sat around for a bit. Then he and Art went to Berk's Shoes on Thayer Street to buy himself some new shoes. I had other things to do. That's about it. Nothing much more to say about that one."
- Whatever: "Still immensely popular with the 14-18 year old sect, Green Day has managed to grow older while maintaining the energy level they've always had. This show was sold out with plenty of all-agers trying to survive up front while their parents watched from the back. The pit wasn't the most dangerous I've ever seen, but it did start up the second Green Day started playing and didn't stop until the end. Lots of little kids were in the fray, but nobody got hurt as far as I saw. Billie Joe may be a father now, but he still isn't the best role model. He made sure to tell everybody that he thinks benefit festivals like the Tibetan Freedom Concert are bullshit, becasue rock'n'roll is 'about getting fucked up and listening to mucic, not some stupid hippie shit.' He also asked how many guys had little cocks, then told them it was okay. Green Day was cool enough to make sure there were tons of speakers pointed every which way so that you could hear from every direction, even if you couldn't really see. As the show went on I got maved further back but the sound was always excellen t which was refreshing. Although Green Day has a new CD out, Nimrod, they played a good mix of their old stuff and weren't shy about playing the hits from Dookie. Of course it's easier to play a big mix of songs if all of them are under three minutes, but they really tried to keep it fun for everybody. Green Day may be a punk band at heart, but part of the reason they've become so popular is they write great rock'n'roll hooks. The new stuff rom Nimrod is just as rock'n'roll as Dookie was, so it's easy for people to like it even if they haven't bought the CD yet or had it force-fed to them over the radio. Billie Joe didn't strip down and flash his penis like he used to, instead he started asking for people to throw shirts and hats at him so he could wear them all at once and lose some weight sweating. The band did sprinkle the pit with lots of water to keep them cool, and had plenty of room to run around since they don't take up too much space with huge drum kits or anything. To keep things real Billie Joe now invites somebody up to play Knowledge, on his guitar to show that anybody can be in a punk band. He may have grown out of Gilman, but he still tries to keep his punk heart pure. It was actually a great time for everybody. The Docker dads in the back knew the words to some of the songs, and their kids danced around in relative safety. The drinking folks gathered as close to the bar as possible, while the pit freaks moved up front. Everybody staked out their space and did their best to hold on for the ride."
Setlist
1. Going To Pasalacqua
2. Welcome To Paradise
3. Geek Stink Breath
4. Nice Guys Finish Last
5. Hitchin' A Ride
6. The Grouch
7. Chump
8. Longview
9. 2,000 Light Years Away
10. Jaded
11. Knowledge (Operation Ivy cover)
12. Basket Case
13. She
14. F.O.D.
15. Paper Lanterns
Encore
16. Scattered
17. Prosthetic Head
18. When I Come Around
19. Good Riddance (Time Of Your Life)
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