As London Continues To Riot And Burn -- Celebrities Lend Their Support On Twitter
Posted on Aug 09, 2011 @ 03:30PM - 2 comments Read more
Green Day Brings Born-Again Rock & Roll Anarchy To Miami
Posted on Aug 06, 2009 @ 10:49AM - Add a comment
“Who wants to be saved tonight?” shouted Billy Joe Armstrong a few minutes into Green Day’s sold out show at Miami’s American Airlines Arena on August 4. The band’s frenetic front man had just finished leading an arena-rattling extended version of Know Your Enemy before launching into a faux religious rant that included bringing an audience member on stage to be saved before a rendition of East Jesus Nowhere. It was only a brief bit of fun for Armstrong who followed by crashing into Holiday, forgoing tempo shifts for a red-line engine-blowing rendition that will leave fans debating the difference between rock and roll and punk.
The religious parody theme was perfectly fitting because Green Day is a band reborn, still possessing the soul (and ear-ringing sound) of punk rockers who are now staking their claim to the title of world’s best live band.
Yeah, that’s heady territory for a group that barely survived the meaningless prosperity of the 1990s only to suddenly risk it all for the politically themed American Idiot in 2003. But their two-and-a-half hour Miami performance with Armstrong alternately cursing and cajoling the crowd – in control of everything and everyone the entire night – was a blaring statement to the musical establishment: if you thought you knew the old Green Day, you don’t know this band.
