GREEN DAY
LIVE CRITICAL QUOTES
2000-2001
"...riotously great show...a two-hour eruption...It's been seven years since GREEN DAY released Dookie, an album that sold more than 8 million copies and established these snot-nosed Californians as the inheritors of the punk-meets-melody tradition started by the Ramones in the early 70's. Now, GREEN DAY is inspiring its own imitators...and embracing life after platinum with energy, gratitude and a SuperSoaker, one of those outsize water guns, which Armstrong used to drench the crowd every half-hour."--David Segal, WASHINGTON POST, June 26, 2001
"It was one of those good nights for the band, when it became a simple task to put Green Day in the punk rock pantheon of The Stooges and Ramones...the band's fans welcomed the performances of the first single from Green Day's latest album, 'Minority' with the same vigor they displayed in responding to the breakthrough works of 'Longview' and 'When I Come Around.'"--Phil Gallo, Daily Variety, July 23, 2001
"GREEN DAY remain among the cream of touring acts."--Erik Pedersen, HOLLYWOOD REPORTER, July 24, 2001
"Armstrong's voice is stronger and more mature than in recent years. How can anyone yell and sound that good?...you can tell they've been hitting old Dylan albums especially when Armstrong broke out he harmonica on an extended version of 'Minority.' And their aesthetic stretching helped the boys prove there's more to punk rock than smashing guitars and bashing authority."--Jessica Yadergaran, San Diego Union-Tribune, July 24, 2001
"Bob Dylan may have coined the phrase, but the freewheelin' members of GREEN DAY are the ones who've stayed forever young. That explains why they're also still popular. Frontman Billy Joe Armstrong and cohorts Tre Cool and Mike Dirnt may be just a few gray hairs shy of 30, but the Oakland, Calif., punk band came on like a trio of sugar-addicted 16-year-olds at their sold-out Austin Music Hall concert."-- Chris Riemenschneider, Austin American-Statesman, January 16, 2001
"What makes Green Day's concert craft so appealing, besides the music, is how the band destroys the invisible wall between themselves and the fans...all the new songs have very distinct personalities. Song peaks of those new tunes include 'Blood, Sex & Booze' and the title track to 'Warning,' both played late in the set, as well as 'Jackass' and 'Minority.' "--Dan Aquilante, New York Post, October 3, 2000
"Lead singer Billie Joe Armstrong's kinetic energy could power a large city..."--Debbie Hummel, THE SALT LAKE TRIBUNE, July 30, 2001
"The concert was a must-see...GREEN DAY's Armstrong, drummer Tre' Cool, and bassist Mike Dirnt sent pulses racing, as they always have, in their demonstration of how much noise can be made by a three-piece outfit."--Kevin Johnson, ST. LOUIS POST DISPATCH, June 21, 2001
"GREEN DAY has never released a concert album or a greatest-hits package, but all must have left this show wishing they would. One doesn't realize how many hits this band has had until it plays them back to back. Let's put it this way: As with all great punk music, GREEN DAY's songs are an average of three minutes long. On this night the band played for two hours, and almost every one of the songs (except for a half-dozen new tracks) had been on the radio at one time or another."-- Michael D. Clark, Houston Chronicle, January 15, 2001
"Green Day presented a perfect example of how a band can stay true to its punk roots while still offering a dose of arena rock showmanship."--Eric Schumacher-Rasmussen, MTV ONLINE, June 19, 2001
"GREEN DAY singer and guitarist Billie Joe Armstrong stood perched atop a stage monitor at Roy Wilkins Auditorium like an orchestra conductor, waving his arms up and down in a frenzied fashion. The thousands of teenage fans spread out in a human sea beneath him mimicked his every movement, ready to ride wherever Armstrong wanted them to go. GREEN DAY took them on a raucous ride Sunday evening, powering a journey with the punk-pop hits that made the California trio superstars...The audience devoured Armstrong's onstage energy, bouncing up and down, body surfing and waving their arms to the fast-paced punk numbers GREEN DAY churned out."--John Nemo, ST. PAUL PIONEER PRESS, June 22, 2001
"The GREEN DAY members obviously aren't kids anymore, having basked in the light of platinum selling success for six years now. But somehow, Billie Joe can still wail out his disaffected youth drama of frustration, loss of motivation and boredom in ways that hit the struggling post adolescent in all of us...New material showed how GREEN DAY's ability to organically change without abandoning its strengths has given the band a shelf life longer than anyone else in the pop-punk genre."--Lucas Oswalt, Tulsa World, January 29, 2001
"The fact that so many people continue to listen to three so-called punks from Berkeley, California, is a testament to the band's ability to put its collective finger on the ambiguities of contemporary life--and offer it up in a cathartic, primal roar."--Carol Simmons, Dayton Daily News, January 25, 2001
"Those San Fran punk/pop rockers, Green Day, roared into Ashbury's Convention Hall and gave the rock performance of the summer thus far. And while it's true that their latest release, Warning, offers up an more mature take on life, love and music. I am happy to report that live, Billie Joe Armstrong, Mike Dirnt and Tre Cool haven't lost any of their rebellious attitude, swagger. Spirit or sense of humor."--Uncle Mike, Two River Times (Asbury Park, NJ), July 6, 2001
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