Nov
14
Fri • 1997
Electric Factory
20
Songs
1
Set
Set 1:
-
#6 The Grouch
-
#7 Chump
-
#8 Longview
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#10 Brain Stew
-
#11 Jaded
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#12 Knowledge
-
#13 Basket Case
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#14 She
-
#15 F.O.D.
-
#16 Paper Lanterns
Encore:
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#17 Scattered
-
#18 Prosthetic Head
Encore 2:
Show Notes
S.W.: "I just went to their concert at the Electric Factory in Philadelphia. All I gotta say is that it was one of the best days of my life. When I got their my friend and I smoked a joint with some guy we didn't know (big mistake). After about ten minutes we found out that it was laced with something. I passed out and woke up in the first aid room. I was feeling better and they made me call my parents since I was underaged. Well, I was sitting in a chair backstage in the hallway waiting to use the phone. Billie walked out of his dressing room and stood there staring at me for about ten minutes. Then, I had to go into the office to use the phone. When I came back out he had already gone back into his dressing room (all of this happened before they came on stage). After the concert I waited outside for the band to come out. The long wait was well worth it! I got Billie Joe and Mike to autograph my ticket stub. Right now that stub is hanging up on my wall next to all my posters of Green Day. When they were leaving I told Mike that his pants were really cool and he smiled and winked at me! They made my day."
The Inquirer: "Green Day, three guys from Berkeley, Calif., who have sold more albums than any punk band in history, aren't making millions off their originality. It's their energy, attitude and hooks, plus rock-solid musicianship, that have propelled them to the top of the heap. And in Friday's show at the Electric Factory, they had enough of all four to burn. The trio ignored most songs on its new album, Nimrod (Reprise), that vary from the punk genre. Except for the Stray Cat strut of Hitchin' A Ride and the show's closer, a solo acoustic Good Riddance (Time Of Your Life), from frontman Billie Joe Armstrong, this was a punk concert that could have been ripped right out of the late '70s. As at past shows, the restive bass riffs of Mike Dirnt and hyperspeed drumming of Tre Cool blasted the energy level through the roof, while Armstrong's four-chord rhythm guitar supplied the mighty hooks. Armstrong is a consummate showman, just as skilled at entertaining as Frank Sinatra or Neil Diamond. Though the comparison isn't an obvious one to make, all three know their audience's fantasies and act as a mirror for them. In Armstrong's case, however, the fantasy is of finding a place where misfits are accepted, even celebrated. It makes sense, then, that Armstrong both insulted and praised his audience, 'blessed' them with bottled water like a punk priest, introduced himself with a smirk as Paco Techsquala, and alluded to being a loser in funny, off-the-cuff comments full of expletives. Fans were both guessing what he'd do next, and feeling like his coconspirators."
The Inquirer: "Green Day, three guys from Berkeley, Calif., who have sold more albums than any punk band in history, aren't making millions off their originality. It's their energy, attitude and hooks, plus rock-solid musicianship, that have propelled them to the top of the heap. And in Friday's show at the Electric Factory, they had enough of all four to burn. The trio ignored most songs on its new album, Nimrod (Reprise), that vary from the punk genre. Except for the Stray Cat strut of Hitchin' A Ride and the show's closer, a solo acoustic Good Riddance (Time Of Your Life), from frontman Billie Joe Armstrong, this was a punk concert that could have been ripped right out of the late '70s. As at past shows, the restive bass riffs of Mike Dirnt and hyperspeed drumming of Tre Cool blasted the energy level through the roof, while Armstrong's four-chord rhythm guitar supplied the mighty hooks. Armstrong is a consummate showman, just as skilled at entertaining as Frank Sinatra or Neil Diamond. Though the comparison isn't an obvious one to make, all three know their audience's fantasies and act as a mirror for them. In Armstrong's case, however, the fantasy is of finding a place where misfits are accepted, even celebrated. It makes sense, then, that Armstrong both insulted and praised his audience, 'blessed' them with bottled water like a punk priest, introduced himself with a smirk as Paco Techsquala, and alluded to being a loser in funny, off-the-cuff comments full of expletives. Fans were both guessing what he'd do next, and feeling like his coconspirators."