Green Day - 99 Revolutions Tour Review (Emirates London)

Green Day Not many bands can draw a crowd from so many generations. From 6 year olds in banners bigger than they are to teens with My Chemical Romance tattoos to middle age punks with Bad Religion jackets they are all being represented here today. All Time Low are essentially a Blink 182 tribute band to the kids who were too young for the three piece. Their perky pop with guitars is entertaining enough although unoriginal. The more upbeat €˜Time Bomb€™ and €˜Lost In Stereo€™ go down best in a half empty stadium. Jack Barakat, per usual, lowers the tone with butt and your mum jokes and it just feels unnecessary and a tad creepy. With a back catalogue like the Kaiser Chiefs it€™s hard to not get a crowd singing. Ricky Wilson is on form running from corner to corner of the stage and up the frame work like a hyperactive child. Even on their lesser known songs he still keeps the crowd alive. They showcase a new song €˜Bows and Arrow€™(their first without vocalist/ singer Nick Hodgson) but it lacks the sing along factor €˜Oh My God€™ and €˜Ruby€™ has. They are the perfect band to hype a crowd up before the big act. After a little interval with the drunk Easter Bunny that appears at Green Day€™s show. They power through an upbeat set that starts of with 99 revolutions and go through a set that nicely mixed with new triple album, American Idiot and the 90€™s classics. Crowd participation is, per usual, always a huge part of Green Day shows whether you love it or hate it. Billie pulls a kid holding a banner up (who wasn't even born with American Idiot was released) to stand beside him holding up his sign, a man hidden behind a union jacket onesie shouts some lines into the mic during 'Know Your Enemy', a surprisingly talented fan joins them for the end of 'Longview' who takes over the stage like it is his show (he even starts of his own chant) and a purple haired fan plays guitar at the end of their cover of Operation Ivy€™s €˜Knowledge€™. I personally think these intervals of fan participation keeps the show fresh and unpredictable, something welcomed on a world tour where everyone can Google the set list and Youtube their previous performances the night before. Frontman Billie Joe is as charmingly brattish as usual, his well-publicized meltdown seemingly completely behind him. The man command the crowd like a messiah looking to his followers. It€™s hard with a band with some many years of music to not leave someone€™s favourite out. Despite being on half the merch €˜Kill the DJ€™ is missing, the usual acoustic €˜Wake Me Up When September ends€™ is also left out. 2008€™s 21st Century Breakdown is left in the cold except for €˜Know Your Enemy€™, it seems the new songs are the interchangeable ones on their set list. I missed more American Idiot tracks like €˜We Are The Waiting€™ while the next person will say €˜Brain Stew€™ was missed, you can't please them all. We did get something new with the live debut of Tre€™s €˜Missing You€™. The band play a huge 31 song set list for nearly 3 hours, they could have probably have fitted in another 5 if they didn't drag most on their tracks for 4 minutes longer than necessary. If anyone wants to fault this show it would have to be in the fact there is too much audience participation. Every song has to have a fan sing on it or a break down for the crowd to chant on, so much so that when he starts the song back up you've forgotten which one you were even listening to. The song which is king of going of on a tangent is Nimrod€™s 'King For A Day' where the band in silly hats and glasses are joined by the Easter Bunny. The ska influenced track soon goes into a lively version of Shout sung by the green haired drummer Tre Cool before a medley of €˜(I Can€™t Get No) Satisfaction€™,€™Teenage Kicks€™ and Monty Python€™s €˜Always Look On The Bright Side Of Life€™ sung from the stage floor. There are no huge screens, cannons of confetti or firework like these events usually do. Instead a wall of lights, a t-shirt gun and a toilet roll thrower that gets fired into the pit in true DIY punk fashion are all the prop on show tonight. The band entertain enough with good music and dynamic performing, they don€™t need the smoke and mirrors. Their encore starts with the spot on choices of €˜American Idiot€™ followed by €˜Jesus Of Suburbia€™. With a song as perfect as €˜Good Riddance (Time Of Your Life)€™ to end with the finale of the downbeat €˜Brutal Love€™ is strange and ends this great night on a sour note. Even Green Day€™s biggest critics would find it hard to not appreciate the love and devotion they have to performing. No current front man could have a crowd this big eating out his hand like Billie Joe can. Fan Gallery Were you at the Emirates for the 99 Revolutions tour? Share your own thought below.
Contributor
Contributor

Bournemouth born journalist, radio DJ and fiction writer. A fan of loud music, quiet films, Doctor Who and trashy TV. Editor at http://dailyactress.tumblr.com/ email me at hillbourne2006@yahoo.co.uk