At the Barricade // Green Day @ Webster Hall, 10.8.16

I’d spent the last number of weeks looking for an extra ticket to see Green Day at Webster Hall. I posted on the event page, on my feed, friends feeds, etc. I was super annoying. But even as Saturday approached and no ticket was in sight, this wasn’t my first time at this rodeo and I had absolute faith that I’d get in. At 2pm on Saturday as I was laying down to take a nap, I looked st my phone to find a text from a Green Day friend asking if I still needed a ticket. After she verified that she knew the person and that she was not a scammer, I happily PayPal’ed her $100 and napped for about an hour.

I met up with a few Green Day friends at Bar None before going to meet up with my new best friend. There weren’t actual tickets, so we went in (luckily avoiding the entire square block long line to get in, thank fuck) and our names were checked off a list and our wristbands slapped on. Pictures after the jump 🙂

Webster Hall was already pretty packed so instead of trying to get closer going the way that everyone else was going (ie. the side closest to the door), we went to the opposite side and got right up against the barricade – pretty much – on the side. It was a first for me to be so close to the front, albeit the side, at a Green Day show, and at first I was like ‘where are all the people coming from that security is escorting out?’ and then I realized they were likely crowd surfers. Security sometimes pushed their way through us behind the barricade, too. Well, it was something. But we were close and got lots of love from BJA and Mike during the show, which was totally fun.

They played a 36ish song set, including some throws WAYYYYYY back that I hadn’t listened to in a LONG time. I probably appreciated hearing Nice Guys Finish Last and Minority, since I’m a huge fan of Warning. I’d never heard Nice Guys live before! I also, of course, loved hearing Bang Bang and Revolution Radio performed live.

Billie rhapsodized a lot on us all being together and to forget Facebook and the news for one night and just be present. I appreciated that. Still, there were a lot of phones up the entire time. Oh well.

American Idiot was especially timely given the state of our politics. And Jesus of Suburbia… who doesn’t love a 9-minute song cycle?

After two and a half hours of jumping, dancing, screaming, and singing we were sufficiently beat. I wasn’t deaf, which was surprising given how close I was to a few speakers.

I also picked up a completely affordable $40 shirt because no trip to see Green Day is complete without that.

I felt energized and inspired leaving the East Village but also really happy to go home and sleep. Because was I ever exhausted. But it was worth it. So, so worth it.

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We will be seen, but not be heard. // Last night’s epic Green Day concert at Webster Hall was epic. More photos to come soon.

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Dos!, the second installment in Green Day’s trilogy, was released on Tuesday and it’s been a good week ever since. Before listening to it, I read in AMNY that it was the low point of the three albums. Awesome, I thought, this one will definitely be my favorite! (Since the album Warning is one of my favorites and it’s often cited as the near-death of Green Day…)

Anyways… I’ve listened through Dos! probably ten times since Tuesday and I absolutely love it. Here’s the rundown: 

See You Tonight: A quick, acoustic one that’s kind of sweet. It’s far from one of my favorites, but I definitely don’t dislike it.

Fuck Time: I don’t think I really need to go into much description about this. The guys wrote this song in 2010 after it became a pre-show ritual at American Idiot. They wrote it and performed it as a Foxboro Hottubs song, but I’m quite O.K. with them recording it as Green Day. It sounds a tad different from when I’ve heard them play it live, but it’s still an awesome, rockin’ time. (I love the shout-out to Amanda Jones at the beginning of the second verse too. God, that woman certainly left a mark on Billie Joe’s soul.)

Stop When the Red Lights Flash: I’d heard this for the first time at Webster Hall in 2011. It’s a solid song, and one that I definitely enjoy. I need to look over the lyrics to this and Oh, Love and see if there’s any relation (because in that one they say “don’t stop when the red lights flash,” so why is he now telling us to stop?). Definitely love the opening guitar riff too.

Lazy Bones: Took me a couple of listens to warm up to, but I like it now.  Again, I love the intro riff. This song makes you realize why Billie Joe might’ve put himself in rehab after they finished up these albums. 

Wild One: This is one I skipped over at least two times. It seemed to go on for forever. But after listening to it for a few times, I grew to appreciate it. It’s sweet, really.

Makeout Party: I remember loving this one at the Webster Hall concert and I still love it.   Awesome opening riff, uptempo, and I love the lyrics. 

Stray Heart: It’s definitely more pop than rock or punk. Almost sounds like something that could’ve been played at a 1950’s Sockhop? I love the chorus.

Ashley: Who is the girl that Billie Joe wrote this for?? She’s sounds vile, but I’d like to meet her. He certainly did a number on him and pissed him off. But I think we can all relate to being strung along by someone. In short: I love this song. One of my favorites on the album.

Baby Eyes: I hate the title, but I love the opening riff. This is probably one of the songs I like less on the album. Probably because I don’t understand the lyrics yet.

Lady Cobra: This was written for the lead singer of Mystic Knights of the Cobra, a band that’s pretty popular among some my friends (though I’m not very familiar with them). Another awesome opening riff that pulls you in right away. It’s a solid, awesome song.

Nightlife: Featuring the aforementioned Lady Cobra, when I first listened to this song, the first thought I had was, “WTF is this?” It is probably the furthest thing from typical Green Day fare since 2000’s Misery. Billie Joe’s voice is distorted, it’s featuring a female singer, and the lyrics are out there (even for him!). I really like this one though – or rather: I’ve grown to appreciate it over the past couple of days.

Wow That’s Loud!: They played this at Webster Hall and I loved it then, and I still love it. I love the opening and recurring guitar riff – as has been the case with so many of the songs on Dos!. I haven’t listened closely enough to the lyrics yet to figure out what the song is about exactly, but I adore it regardless. And that’s saying something.

Amy: This one leaked around Halloween last year and I think it’s a great way to end in the album. It’s one that was written for Amy Winehouse and it’s a really pretty, simple, melodic song. And when you find out it was written for Amy Winehouse, it’s also pretty sad.

Those are my thoughts on Dos!. I think it’s pretty unique, and I also think it’s a pretty good album, so sue me.  Nightlife has to be heard by everyone, so you can listen to it above. Leave your opinions below on it if you have one. 

Had no idea she played guitar! That = awesome.

Earlier this year I was introduced to Martin Solveig, and in a few of my favorite songs of his were the vocal stylings of Dragonette, an adorable, pop-y singer with a unique sounding voice (in a good way!). Before I stopped seeing the dude who introduced me to Solveig, he forwarded me an email about Dragonette’s concert at Webster Hall. A couple of months later, I purchased a ticket. 

It was my first concert in the main ballroom at Webster Hall (since being in The Studio a year ago for Green Day) and it was an experience for sure. I’d heard a handful of other songs by Dragonette in addition to Hello and Big in Japan, but I knew very little about her otherwise. Her music is fun, positive, and makes you want to dance. Plain and simple. Everyone in the room was excited to see her perform.

The lighting concepts for her concert are AWESOME, and she is an awesome performer.  She sang Hello near the end of her set and my night was made. I left Webster Hall that night completely blissed out. Above are a few photos. 

Pinch me.

I was convinced I was being punk’d until I finally saw my name on the list inside the door of The Studio at Webster Hall. The Studio is a small underground bar that holds around 300 people. Did I really see my favorite band in a venue that wasn’t big enough to fit my graduating class from high school? Yes. Was I really three people from the stage the entire time? Yes. Did I survive the roughness up front of some obnoxious fans and almost get kicked in the face by Michael Esper? Mhmm. I was there.  

I usually never line up outside venues before concerts but since The Studio was so small and I was excited, I decided to get there early. I expected nearly every one of the 300 people to get there extremely early, but only about 60 did. I arrived down on East 11th Street around 7:15pm after grabbing dinner and cash and a little while later my friend Ben met me, and later Andrew and his brother joined us. There were several other concerts at Webster Hall that night and whenever someone asked us, “Who are you on line for?” and we’d reply, “Green Day!” They’d always respond with a look of shock and say, “Green Day?! They’re playing here?! No way!” The guys in front of us found out that Green Day was planning on doing 25 new songs and then a set of greatest hits.  I was stoked (and nervous that I’d be out until 4am, but more excited, really). I also found out via the fantastic people of Twitter that a band (called No-No Spot) comprised of Gerard Canonico, John Gallagher Jr., and Michael Esper (as well as a fantastic guitarist named Aaron Lee Tasjan) would be opening.

As expected, the guys rocked it out. Esper is a fantastic guitarist and I always love watching him jam. Esper and Gallagher split the vocals on the songs for the most part. Canonico is a fantastic drummer, too (which we already knew). Tasjan was also awesomely fun to watch.

Around 11:45pm, Green Day took the stage and it got rough down front. There was definitely a large presence of douche in The Studio, but we overcame, I suppose (and pushed back at times).  I was three people from the stage. It was pretty awesome. They were all in costume (BJA was reminiscent as Jack Skeleton, Dirnt was a zombie, Tre was a pink fairy, and I’ll guess that Jason White was a mad hatter) and opened with The Monster Mash (listen here!), which included the insertion of Basketcase lyrics at one point, and beautiful back-up vocals by Rebecca Naomi Jones and Alysha Umphress.  

They played a long list of new songs punctured by two Foxboro Hot Tub’s songs (Stop, Drop, and Roll and It’s Fuck Time) as well as a cover or two. All of the new material was top-notch; I can’t wait to hear what makes it onto their next album.  Everyone in attendance went absolutely batshit when the guys started to play the opening chords for Fuck Time. How can you not love that song? Billie Joe hung from the club’s piping, crowd surfed, and even threw an obnoxious crowd surfer off stage.  

I couldn’t wait to hear what songs they’d choose for their encore of “old” songs. They started off with Murder City, which I’d never heard live (admittedly I haven’t heard MOST of their songs live, sadly) but it’s a track that I love. It was during this song the obnoxious crowd surfer was thrown onstage, knocking over BJA’s mic stand so he stopped singing, but kept playing and the crowd kept up with the lyrics. He picked up right where we left off without a hitch. They played Letterbomb next, which I swore Rebecca Jones would probably get onstage for but alas, she did not. Michael Esper did crowd surf though! As much as I love the all-female girl power orchestration of Letterbomb from the stage, I can’t help but love it more seeing it performed by the guys who wrote it. It’s just such an awesome song.

The other “old songs” included Going to Pasalacqua, Hitchin’ A Ride, Welcome to Paradise (a song they didn’t do at PNC last summer that I was disappointed about – score!), Geek Stink Breath, Paper Lanterns, She, 2000 Light Years Away (I wonder if Adrienne Armstrong ever gets tired of hearing this?), and 1000 Hours (if I missed any, let me know – also click here to see the new song setlist).  They’d had enough around 2am and we dispersed with new faith in good music and the inability to hear anything but ringing in our ears.  I spotted Libby Winters and Theo Stockman also in attendance afterward, as well as Joseph Gordon-Levitt! (Talk about random!)

Needless to say it was an epic night. I got home at 2:30am and went to sleep around 3am (much more easily than I expected since my head was pounding!). It was being digitally recorded (picture and sound) from all angles so I think we’ll see footage on the next album extras.  My photos are almost all blurry or overexposed, but if you want to take a look at the rest, they’re over here.  

Last night was awesome. They were strict with no photos, so I only got a few decent shots. Here’s one of them.

The last time I saw these three dudes onstage it was April 24th, 2011. Six months and three days later I will be seeing them again. At Webster Hall in the East Village. 

I lucked out and was able to buy two tickets. A friend had told me two days ago that his friend’s band had been bumped off the bill at Webster Hall on Thursday night and when she inquired as to why, the booker said, “I’m sorry, but it’s Green Day.” Until about 11:30am today, there was no mention at all of this concert in print or online. Anywhere. Well, of course, as these things usually go, 11:59am rolled around and the website basically crashes. I reload and discover I’m now on the “waiting list” to buy tickets and soon after I’m forwarded back to the site that says “SOLD OUT.”

Well, shit. I was disappointed, but as usual, I was persistent. I kept re-loading and after about a dozen reloads it asked me how many tickets I would like. I bought two and became a happy camper.

I’ve only seen them in a huge spaces before so I’m looking forward to this quite a lot. Is anyone else going?

Above photo is mine from April 24th, 2011.