Green Day 綠 日
Hella cool!! Saturday's concert was the most spectacular one I have ever seen. I had tickets to see Green Day at SBC Park in San Francisco. Running late from a nice Chinese dinner (excellent 金 針 銀 耳 焗 蠔 煲 baked oyster hot pot with cloud fungus), I arrived at the stadium midway through the set by Jimmy Eat World, another well known band. They played a couple of big hits. But that was just a warm up for Green Day. From the moment that Green Day came on the stage until their final song 2 hours later, the crowd of about 50,000 went wild. People were totally into the music--yelling, pumping their arms in the air, jumping, dancing, waving lighted cellphones, and having fun. The combination of great music and the punk look (heavy tattoos, metal studs, etc.) was exciting. I had the feeling that I was seeing the best punk band in the U.S. playing at their peak. They played many of my favorites--2,000 Light Years Away, Basket Case, She, Boulevard of Broken Dreams, and Good Riddance (Time of Your Life). But the music wasn't the only thing. The large video displays, stage lights, and fireworks (flares, explosions, Roman candles, and skyrockets) created a dazzling display. And I have never seen a lead singer so captivate a crowd as Billie Joe Armstrong did with his powerful voice, audience interaction, and showmanship.

After the concert, I walked past the band's bus, which was painted up like the poster above. Seeing that people were handing out posters, I ran over and grabbed one to share on my blog. All the while, I was stunned, not quite believing that I had seen such an awesome show. My buzz even lasted into the next day.

It's hard to tell whether Green Day would appeal to a HK audience. Their hard-edged music and punk look might be a bit extreme for Cantopop fans. On the other hand, the punk look might appeal to fashion fans. It would be interesting to see HK's reaction to a Green Day concert.  ¶ 7:55 PM