Green Day at the Fonda

Posted by Julian in Shows on 06 6th, 2009 | no responses

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[picture credit LA TImes]

I have mixed feelings about Green Day’s latest show, right here in my town of Los Angeles last Thursday (June 4th for those who are counting). To start off with, I HATE SCALPERS. They’re the scum of the earth and If I could, I’d unleash the fury of a thousand evil sprits because of what they do. Why the hatin’ you might ask? Well, I was about 2 minutes late to buy the tickets online at Ticketmaster, unsuccessfully, only to find d-bags like this, and this, selling them on Craigslist making 500% profits. End of Rant.

(Justin Long, the Mac guy and Drew Barrymore
leaving the concert,picture credit here)

Well, on the positive side, and believe me, there were many, Green Day played an amazing show. The OC Register titles their article “Green Day unleashes epic fury at the Fonda“. They didn’t play 21st Century Breakdown in its entirety, they basically cut out the “boring” parts (there aren’t any if you ask me):

“So it made sense to assume a full-blown “Breakdown” would happen at the Fonda. With wallop-providing producer Butch Vig looking down from the balcony like an approving papa, Green Day instead delivered an abridged version, regrettably with the softer, slower parts removed, save for the anthem “21 Guns” and, if this counts, the cabaret bounce of “¿Viva La Gloria? (Little Girl).” In fact, much of the first act, “Heroes and Cons,” was skipped entirely, the set leaping from the opening blast of the title track and lead single “Know Your Enemy” straight to the equally roaring kickoff cut (“East Jesus Nowhere”) of the second act, “Charlatans and Saints.”"

The LA Times article titled “Green Day shakes and shouts at the Henry Fonda Theater” says:

The second half of the night was an endearing hit parade of songs from the band’s older albums. Armstrong took deep catalog requests from the crowd and invited multiple fans onstage to helm the microphone for older singles.

And they end it on a positive, and sorta cute note:

The most telling moment might have come early in the night. After a rousing start to “East Jesus Nowhere,” Armstrong pulled a tiny blond child onstage to sing along with him. The kid knew every word, and soon crowd-surfed back to his waiting mother. It took a big chorus to get his pre-tween attention, but a budding rebel was probably made that night.

So, there you have it, two reviews from local papers, but, this wouldn’t be a fan site without some direct fan input. Cowboysandaliens1, via Twitter, says:

I did! my friend and i were the first in line and ended up in front of BILLIE. It was a great show!! My top of the year so far.

And MissJosieM, after asking about the show said:

I did!! It was amazing, the Fonda is so intimate! They took requests for old songs, and Billie chose Coming Clean!

And how about jrnelson, lucky fan who…let him explain:

I went to Fonda, was in front for second half, billie let me strum Blue from the pit, and he wore my glasses for King For A Day.And considering that was my first rock concert ever, I would say it was absolutely amazing! Yeah, pretty much one of the best days of my life!

I’ll be going to Seattle for Green Day’s 1st big show on July 3rd, and I’ll also be at the Forum in Los Angeles for their closing show of their US tour on August 25th (the day before my b-day!). Expect full-blown reviews right here (along with pictures if I manage to sneak in a camera). Got my tickets via the Idiot Club and their pre-sales, the only way to guarantee d-bags won’t scalp.

Were you there? Got pictures? Be sure to share your experience on the comments below.