Unabashedly political and pushing the envelope as only punk rockers can, Green Day had the nearly full crowd at the Everett Events Center in the palm of its hand all night Tuesday.
The new face of punk rock reached back through 13 years of its catalog for an 18-song, nearly two-hour set that kept fans on their feet for the duration.
The first four songs were off the band’s current album, “American Idiot,” which debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard pop chart after its release in September.
The title track sent fans into a frenzy as singer Billie Joe Armstrong spewed lyrics like “I’m not a part of a redneck agenda.”
Armstrong, who’s been an outspoken Bush administration critic in recent months, told VH-1 at the start of the tour, “We don’t really have an agenda or anything like that, so we really want our live shows to be about having a good time.”
Apparently, he just couldn’t help himself.
Setting the tone for the evening, Armstrong told the crowd during “American Idiot,” “This song means a lot more today than it did about a week and a half ago.”
But the most fiery political shots were lofted when Armstrong got hold of a camouflage baseball cap and pronounced himself “George W. Bush.”
“I’m here to take away your civil liberties,” he said, in character. “I’m declaring martial law. I am a total racist, and hopefully I’ll be assassinated one day.”
The crowd – made up mostly of those not old enough to vote – erupted.
But the night was about more than political messages. It was about music with genuine attitude, something that’s getting harder and harder to find on the pop charts.
It was also about three guys – Armstrong, bassist Mike Dirnt and drummer Tre Cool – who exploded onto the pop music scene 10 years ago, lingered for a while and are now being accepted as a legitimate force.
After the quartet of new songs, Green Day launched into “Longview,” the single that propelled the band into mainstream consciousness in 1994.
The reaction of the crowd – which would, on average, have been about 5 years old when the song came out – spoke to the stature of the band’s early music and puts Green Day on par with the likes of The Ramones for its impact on later generations.
But the trio quickly acknowledges its own inspirations. Armstrong dedicated the song, “Wake Me Up When September Ends,” to Johnny Ramone.
He also drew on the late Queen frontman Freddie Mercury, using the flamboyant singer’s trademark, “Ey-oh” call to get the crowd’s response and, at one point, parading around the stage in a crown and velvet cape like Mercury used to.
The band then gave the ultimate tribute, getting the masses to sing along with a cover of Queen’s “We Are the Champions” before closing the show on a somber note, with Armstrong standing alone at the front of the stage playing the band’s best-known ballad, “Good Riddance (Time of Your Life).”
Reporter Victor Balta: 425-339-3455 or vbalta@heraldnet.com.
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