Reviews

American Idiot Review
Contra Costa Times (Walnut Creek, CA)
'Idiot' is pure genius from Green Day;
TONY HICKS: MUSIC CRITIC

IS THERE ANYTHING even remotely as nauseating as a punk band getting big enough to think they can do something as pretentious as a "rock opera" and get away with it?

Theoretically ... not even close.

But here's what's really appalling about the whole idea of Green Day's new, mega-hyped record, which is billed on the cover as "Green Day Presents American Idiot" It's exceptional.

And, even more repellent ... it makes perfect sense, especially coming two months before an election about which some people are panicking and becoming more willing than ever to publicly speak up rather than live with the consequences.

In a time when we can't walk through a supermarket without tripping over a political statement, "American Idiot" will grab listeners and give them a good shake -- both in content and the music itself.

The difference between opinionated art from Michael Moore and Green Day is more than just in the delivery. People expect Green Day to be the same, smirking, nose-picking, East Bay punks they were a decade ago breaking through with "Dookie." When a band like Green Day (which, let's face it, has never been overly afraid of upsetting their purist constituency), goes way out on a limb like this, it's worth noticing.

When they do it so clearly, in terms that a fan base can understand, it's more than worthy of notice. But going a step further, it's really special when they do it with great song after great song, managing to make their point, push the boundaries and still sound like the punk band we know and love (with a nod here and there to the Who and Meat Loaf).

There are so few records in the world worth sitting and reading along with, which is one reason why CDs are dying. The inside jacket on this one, however, is required reading.

It's not obvious in the slightest, but there are lots of sharp ups and downs, and pain and confusion, both in lyrics and music. Listeners can easily detect the direction but can form their own conclusion about the details.

The "American Idiot" protagonist evolves from being young and overwhelmed to confused, angry, reflective, accepting, and perhaps a bit wistful over how he turned out. The process technically involves 13 songs, though two are arching, five-part stories with 90-second twists. We hear a suburban kid becoming self-aware and going through the accompanying range of emotions. The storyline isn't so rare, but the broad context in modern terms is powerful. The whole thing pulsates with emotional conscience -- anger, acceptance, sadness, more anger, etc.

After kicking off the overview in typical Green Day fashion with first single "American Idiot," the band goes into "Jesus of Suburbia," one of the five-parters ranging from the gentle to the snarling. "Holiday" offers up a plethora of potentially classic lines, like "I beg to dream and differ from the hollow lies. This is the dawning of the rest of our lives," or "Another protester has crossed the line to find the money's on the other side."

Nope, no poo-poo jokes on this record. But in this new territory, Green Day does a great job of staying focused and transitioning well from song to song while retaining their sound all the while. At least four songs could stand on their own as very good singles, especially the layered "Boulevard of Broken Dreams," the pained dynamics of "Give Me Novocain," and the double-time melodies of "Extraordinary Girl," which captures bright '60s pop like no other band since early '90s Jellyfish.

The material gets weighty again on the second five-part epic "Homecoming," which is a bit more like classic concept pieces paying quick homage to the Who on "East 12th Street," and Meat Loaf's "Rocky Horror Picture Show" appearance in "Rock and Roll Girlfriend," (penned by drummer Tre Cool).

The record ends appropriately with "Whatshername," as the protagonist is older and perhaps on another path. The character may have lost some edge, but not the band. Green Day has gone from being ultimate goofball punkers to really caring about their world, and they've made their most important record to show it.


Shenanigan Review
Billboard.com
Up To No Good

Green Day offers a treat to fans and completists this week with the Reprise rarities album "Shenanigans." The 15-track set compiles lesser-heard recordings from the post-"Dookie" phase of the California punk trio's career. The album follows on the heels of last year's greatest-hits set "International Superhits" and includes the unreleased tunes "DUI" and "Ha Ha You're Dead."

B-sides such as "Rotting," "Don't Wanna Fall in Love," "You Lied," and "Scumbag" are joined by "Espionage," which graced the 1999 Warner Bros. soundtrack to "Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me." Also on "Shenanigans" will be covers of songs by the Kinks ("Tired of Waiting for You") and the Ramones ("Outsider"). The latter cut will appear on a Rob Zombie-organized Ramones tribute due this summer from Columbia.

Green Day will be on tour in Europe through late July, after which the band plans to begin work on its next studio album.


Shenanigan Review
Clevelandscene.com
Read the review here...


International Superhits Press Release
August 1, 2001

SINGLES COLLECTION TO FEATURE TWO NEW TRACKS; DVD CONTAINING ALL THE BAND'S VIDEOS ALSO ON TAP; HBO 'REVERB' PERFORMANCE SET TO DEBUT WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 15 Since the 1989 release of their 1000 Hours EP, BILLIE JOE ARMSTRONG, TRE COOL and MIKE DIRNT have been known for their own brand of punk rock with soaring pop hooks and probing lyrics about people whose lives have gone off the rails but whom still manage to hold on. This fall GREEN DAY will release INTERNATIONAL SUPERHITS (Reprise), a collection featuring 19 of the band's most popular tracks. This retrospective album will also feature two brand new songs that are set to be recorded in Oakland in early September with producer Jerry Finn. In addition, the 21-track album which charts the group's evolution will be accompanied by a DVD featuring all of the band's music videos (exact date TBA). Beginning with the breakthrough debut single "Longview," the songs on INTERNATIONAL SUPERHITS will represent each of the band's multi-platinum or platinum Reprise albums: 1994's DOOKIE, 1995's INSOMNIAC, 1997's NIMROD and 2000's WARNING. Other songs appearing on SUPERHITS include "Basketcase," "Brain Stew," "Time Of Your Life" and "Minority"-all of which have defined the modern rock radio era. Writing about a show earlier this year, Michael D. Clark of the Houston Chronicle noted in his live review (January 15): "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." Meanwhile, highlights of GREEN DAY's June 26 Asbury Park concert--part of their in-progress concert leg--can be seen on HBO's "Reverb,"debuting Wednesday, August 15 at 8:00 PM. In other news, GREEN DAY will head overseas for a European tour which kicks off August 16 in Switzerland. Current tour dates are as follows: Date City Venue Thurs 8/16 Arrenes, Switzerland Rock Oz Arena Sat 8/18 Erfurt, Germany Highfield Festival Sun 8/19 Cologne, Germany Bizarre Festival Tues 8/21 Berlin, Germany Columbia-halle Wed 8/22 Hamburg, Germany Grosse Freiheit Fri 8/24 Reading, UK Reading Festival Sat 8/25 Leeds, UK Leeds Festival Sun 8/26 Glasgow, UK Glasgow Green Festival.


Live Review
The Denver Post
July 30, 2001

Green Day Gives Fans Their Due East Bay Punkers Delight Fillmore Venue Crowd Delight

It's a good thing that Bay Area punk band Green Day didn't participate in this year's Vans Warped Tour. Because the best way to see the trio from Berkeley, Calif., is up close in a small venue with great acoustics - not in some huge stadium with poor sound quality where you'd need binoculars to catch the band's antics. Friday night at the Fillmore Auditorium, Green Day showed that punk rock isn't just for teenagers or fresh-out-of-college twentysomethings. On the contrary, all three members - guitarist and lead vocalist Billie Joe Armstrong, bass player Mike Dirnt and drummer Tre Cool cq - will all turn 30 next year. But age (and new wives and kids) haven't toned down the East Bay punkers one bit. It may have forced the band to push their music beyond the simple three-chord punk they played back in the early 1990s, but it hasn't dulled their edge. The band is currently in the middle of a 26-city U.S. tour for its latest release, "Warning." Green Day quickly kicked off its show with the song "Nice Guys Finish Last," from their CD, "Nimrod." For a band that has been unfairly saddled with the criticisms of being too pop for Green Day easily showed its loyalty to the genre with two bouncy, high-energy songs from "Warning," "Castaway" and "Church On Sunday." Green Day then slowed things down with the song "Longview," from their 1994 breakout release, "Dookie." But the wisdom that comes with age was easily apparent when Green Day, while performing a cover of the song "Knowledge" by fellow Bay Area punk band Operation Ivy, thrilled the crowd by selecting three "replacements." It was Green Day's version of the ABC television show, "Making the Band," except that the chosen replacement band actually had to know how to play instruments and got to learn how to stage-dive into a crowd. And with wisdom comes an appreciation for performing. Immediately after teaching the replacement band how to play the rest of "Knowledge," Green Day swung into a rousing, fun-loving performance of "King for a Day."Armstrong, who co-wrote the single "Unforgiven" for the Go-Gos' latest CD, wore a crown as he performed and was backed up by a trombone player and a trumpet player who wore a bumble bee costume. Green Day didn't disappoint its fans and presented a set list that went as far back as the song "2000 Light Years Away," from their 1992 release,"Kerplunk." However, the group's two-hour set didn't include fan-favorites like "Going to Pasalacqua" and "J.A.R," from the sound track to the film, "Angus." The band's encore kicked off with Armstrong taking the stage alone for the ballad "Time of Your Life (Good Riddance)." Dirnt and Tr351 Cool then joined Armstrong on stage for the title track from "Warning."OK, so maybe Green Day is still young enough to go wild with the best of them. After the group played its megahit, "When I Come Around," the band's true punk colors showed through: Tr351 Cool trashed his drum set while Dirnt chucked his bass into a pile of battered drum parts left by his bandmate. Armstrong simply turned his back to the crowd, pulled up close to a speaker, and strummed his guitar as feedback reverberated throughout the auditorium. A makeshift drum set was then put together for Te351 Cool, a new bass was given to Dirnt, and the band ended the night with the song "Macy's Day Parade." Australian rockabilly band The Living End opened for Green Day with an energetic set that was highlighted by bass player Scott Owen standing on top of his upright bass while still playing his instrument.


Live Review
Salt Lake Tribune
July 30, 2001

Green Day Up To Its Usual Tricks

Green Day, the band that in the early '90s put punk on the pop charts, and the kids who love them converged at Salt Lake City's most fragrant venue, Salt air, for a two-hour show filled with the band's hits and typical stage antics. Lead singer Billie Joe Armstrong's kinetic energy could power a large city, and his effect on a sea of adoring fans is ridiculous. He brings to the show myriad tics, vocal styles, jerks and a bizarre game of "Simon Says." A few simple fist thrusts in the air got the crowd chanting "hey, hey, hey," one wave of his arm and a wave of arms moving side to side took over the arena. "Hey, that's my mom," Armstrong said, pointing to a waving woman in the balcony to the right of the stage. The crowd gave a hearty cheer to the saintly woman who somehow raised the obviously attention-deficit punk idol they worship. The evening was a speedy collage of the band's hits: "Longview," from the 1994 breakthrough album "Dookie," was an early offering. Drummer Tre Cool stepped out from his kit to strum his simple, hidden track from "Dookie,""All By Myself." Armstrong then announced they were going to start a rock band on stage and asked the audience for participants to play the drums,bass and guitar. "Can you play three chords?" Armstrong asked a potential guitarist. Three lucky young men backed Armstrong for a couple of minutes,then stage-dove back into the crowd.


Live Review
Las Vegas Journal
Green Day Drummer Spews His Madness

Since Green Day and The Offspring are playing in Las Vegas this week, it seems natural to analyze the impact these two punk bands have had on the last decade of pop-punk music. But Green Day drummer Tre Cool, 27, bends his mind around a beer and talks instead about anything but music. His interview goes like this. Neon: How's it going? Cool: (Burp). You know, drinking beer and waiting to talk to Las Vegas. ... We're on a ripping, raging tour, and I'm just being real and having a good time. Neon: A lot of music writers call you a "nut job." One guy actually wrote that about you in his story. Cool: What the (expletive) does he know? I'm better. I've been cured. I've had a lobotomy. (Everything's) good. I got this weird twitch from touring. Neon: Where's the twitch? In your eye? Cool: No, down low. I'm a little sketched out because of that piece of my brain is gone. Neon: Why'd you get a lobotomy? Cool: I heard you could get a good buzz from a lobotomy. (He wouldn't answer several music questions, so I return to Cool's preferred subject.) Neon: Is it true that Mike Dirnt, the bassist, defecated on Juliette Binoche's balcony the night she won an Oscar for "English Patient?" Cool: No one knows who did it. It's a secret. ... She tried to get us kicked out, but she didn't succeed. (At another hotel), I threw the TV out of a six-story window onto Sunset Boulevard, and the police were looking for us, and they found us, and they threw us out. Then we went to(another hotel), threw the TV out of the window, and we got kicked out. It was like 5 in the morning, and we had to get up at 6 to shoot the "Time of Your Life" video. We chipped (singer-guitarist Billie Joe Armstrong's) teeth with the TV. (So at a third hotel), I went to the manager and I said ... "I just need some sleep. I promise not to throw the TV out." Neon: Did you throw the TV out? Cool: No. ... Billy put a tree in our hotel room once. ... He's my man. I get all the credit for being crazy, but I think he's the lunatic. ... I'm normal. Now, I've gotta go (defecate) in a bag and set it on fire at the front desk. Neon: How many drums have you set on fire? Cool: Four at a time. How many times did we play the Warped Tour? Two months? That's 60, times four. Neon: How much money does that cost? (At least one retailer lists the Slingerland Tre Cool Signature Drum Set at $400.) Cool: I'm not gonna tell you. It's a lot. I play Slingerland. You know, the ones Buddy Rich played, Max Roach and Tre Cool play, all the best drummers ever. Neon: It's a good thing the whole band's crazy, or else you'd break up. Cool: I don't get bands that break up. We might do that. We might say it's our last record (just for the hype), like the Ramones (did). ... Where are we playing? Neon: The new Cox Pavilion. Cool: Cox. Ha. That's perfect. We played the Hershey Center the other day. The Living End opens for Green Day at 8 p.m. Wednesday at the Cox Pavilion, East Tropicana Avenue and Swenson Street. Tickets are $27 at the box office and through Tickets.com, or charge by phone at (888) 464-2468.


Live Review
San Diego Union Tribune
July 24, 2001

A Great Day For Punk, It May Not Be Easy Being Green But it Sure is Fun

Water guns the size of AK-47s. A burning drum set. Teen-agers who can play your tunes better than you can. Green Day front man Billie Joe Armstrong had a manic energy that infected the Coors Amphitheatre crowd, which included everyone from chaperoned 8-year-olds to teen-agers with hair and eyebrows dyed fluorescent green. When Armstrong wasn't leading the 8,000-plus audience Sunday on a punk-rock roller coaster, he was hamming it up with the help of some pretty cool toys. One of which included a trumpeter donning a bumblebee costume.But in no way did Berkeley-based Armstrong, bassist Mike Dirnt and drummer Tr351 Cool need tricks to win over the crowd. After a tight, powerful opening set -- which included "Nice Guys Finish Last," "Castaway," "Church on Sunday," "Longview," "Welcome to Paradise" and "Hitchin' a Ride" -- the fans were smitten. Especially with Armstrong, 28, whose paternal concerns (he is a father of two, after all) and sensitive-guy lyrics (he is a published member of Poetry.com) came shining through. "There's a big hole in the front here," he said early on. "I think some of you should come and fill it. Let's all take care of each other tonight,OK? If someone wants out (of the pit),out of there. This isn't a football game. It's a punk-rock show." Taking care of his audience included super-from enormous squirt guns. When the aquatic ammunition was out of reach, his goofball antics involved flicking liters of Evian at the crowd. The show was proof that Green Day is not to be pigeonholed with other SoCal punk bands, like The Offspring and blink-182. The members of Green Day, who have been together since high school and to buy alcohol legally, aren't afraid to stretch their musical muscles. They take punk songs, short and speedy in nature, and elongate them withtight bass and sax solos. Even Armstrong's voice is stronger and more mature than in recent years. How can anyone yell and sound that good? Plus, you can tell they've been hitting old Dylan albums, especially when Armstrong broke out the 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. When taking requests, he talked to the crowd as if it were riding shotgun in his car: "So," he said, pointing to someone in the crowd, "what song do you want to hear now?" For their $19.91, the audience got such old-school jams as "Disappearing Boy" and "2000 Light Years Away" (the first performance of the latter song six months into the "Warning" tour) before launching into Ozzy Osborne's "Crazy Train" and Lynyrd Skynyrd's "Sweet Home Alabama." The best part of the show, hands down, came when Green Day created a band using random fans from the mosh pit. It took a few drummer auditions and a quick bass lesson, but they founded Green Day The stand-in guitarist, elated, hugged Armstrong immediately. Armstrong hugged back, then slipped him the tongue. "I know them all," the boy panted in reply, his eyes glazed over. Billie Joe's saliva is all over my mouth, he's thinking. It doesn't get more punk rock than this. "Well, why don't you play me something and maybe I'll sing along!" The three boys complied, playing their idols' songs before diving back into the pit via drumrolls. Lighters and swaying bodies signaled encore time, which included "Good Riddance" (Time of Your Life). "I'm not going anywhere," Armstrong said before launching into "Warning" and "When I Come Around." "You guys are the best show!" With that, Cool lighted his drum set on fire and Dirnt banged his bass into everything -- the stage floor, the amps, anything that wouldn't cave in. The band closed with "Macy's Day Parade," a ballad of change and hope,and proof that, like a fine wine, Green Day gets better with age. Plus, they've got cool toys and horn players who linger, playing the "Star Spangled Banner" amid smoke and ash.Talk about punk freakin' rock.


Live Review
Ventura County Star
July 20, 2001

Green Day Comes Around to Santa Barbara

Everything is green for Green Day, especially at the bank where these bazillion-selling pop-punk pranksters probably have their own personal tellers. The Berkeley-based trio, on tour to support its new "Warning" CD, play tonight at the tree-lined Santa Barbara County Bowl with Living End opening. The group was formed back in 1983 when a couple of 11-year-olds, Billie Joe Armstrong and Mike Dirnt, decided they wanted to play guitar and become rock stars. Billie Joe is still the lead guitar player, Dirnt took up the bass and Tre Cool hits those drums. Dirnt explained the specialization of labor, Green Day-style, during a recent interview, and why becoming the bass player was a good career move. "I was a lousy lead guitarist but I was a good rhythm guitarist, so I decided to play bass," he said. Because there's only one bass player in a band, he figured, his job security would be high. Also with just three members, it's easier to split the dough at the end of the night. And there are other advantages, according to Dirnt. "Well, as a trio, it's easier to get everyone to band practice. The worst thing is that band practice is probably going to happen every time. We have a good work ethic and this is what we do best and we take what we do very seriously, so we kind of focus our energy on what we do best." After a couple of albums on their hometown punk label Lookout!, the band signed to Reprise in 1993, one of Warner Bros. many aliases, and also Frank Sinatra's label. It worked. They did it their way and the first two Green Day albums, "Dookie" and "Insomniac," have sold more than 14 million units so far. The songs are usually short, sort of whiny but melodic --imagine Eddie Haskell if he could carry a tune. "Our music has grown just like people grow," Dirnt said. "We challenge ourselves. We play damn fine rock 'n' roll." After bursting upon the scene as the Next Big Thing, Green Day played the cool gigs, including Lollapalooza and Woodstock in 1994 which was considerably less groovy than the original festival in 1969. "It was fun but I think we went in there as tired as everyone else was, and it was total chaos. We were everybody's release of anger and anxiety, and it ended in a brawl onstage." Expanding their horizons far beyond being just another cool American band,Green Day has toured the world several times and, in fact, are headed back to Europe after a few more weeks stateside. So the Green Day biz is happening and the S.B. show is close to selling out. "Our fans run the gamut from 6 year olds to 60 year olds, and even a couple of chicks -- actually lots of them. You'd be surprised. I'd say the people that come to our show all share a common bond and that would be the love for good music. Whether or not they just want the escape, or whether they connect with the music lyrically or whatever, we're all there for kind of the same reason." It's going to be decision time tonight for music fans: Green Day in S.B., the Offspring at the Ventura Theatre. Hmmm. Dirnt appreciated the apparent dichotomy. "The Offspring are playing 30 miles away? Hey you know, if you're an Offspring fan, go see the Offspring, what can I say? Personally, I know what show I'd rather be at. The funny thing is, I'll probably never see either of those bands." Despite the fact that Dirnt's secret to surviving on the road -- "alcoholand cigarettes" -- probably won't be getting Dr. Weil's blessing, he appears to be one happy bass player. "The best thing about all this, I guess, is that I get to let my emotions out through my bass, through our music. The worst thing is I have to explain it and some people actually think we give a (damn) about any of this."


Live Review
Arizona Republic
A New Day is Dawning

It must be hard to play the drums with your hand wrapped in gauze."My hand looks like it went on a barbecue," says Green Day's Tre Cool, on the phone from a hotel room in Pittsburgh. While the drummer won't say how he incurred "severe burns" on the band's current tour, chances are it was from setting his drums on fire, a trick he pulled last year while performing in Phoenix as part of Vans Warped Tour. Fans can expect more such strange antics when his band plays the Mesa Amphitheatre on Tuesday, July 24. While he says the burn hurts "like hell," Cool wouldn't let something as insignificant as bodily injury stop him from performing. He loves it too much. "From the second we step onstage (to) the moment we crawl off, that's what I live for," he says. In fact, Cool, born Frank Edwin Wright III, has been performing since age 11. Cool joined the Bay Area punk band in 1989, shortly after it changed its name from Sweet Children. He was just filling in after the group's second drummer quit, but shortly thereafter he wrote Dominated Love Song and was asked to join permanently. The track found a spot on the band's second album, Kerplunk! The independently released disc sold 50,000 copies, and its success caught the attention of major labels. After signing with Reprise Records, Green Day released Dookie in 1994. Powered by the hit song Longview, a blistering ode to marijuana,masturbation and laziness, the album went on to sell more than 10 million copies and earned the group a Grammy. Green Day's 1997 album, Nimrod, yielded another hit in Good Riddance (Time of Your Life), a heartfelt acoustic number that advised fans to live life to its fullest. This move away from the edgy pop-punk sound signaled the band's inevitable musical maturation, which continues on its latest disc,Warning. Family life also helped the band grow. Cool and bandmate Billy Joe Armstrong are married fathers. While they enjoy the new role, it does add pressures to their hectic lives. As a result, the band is cutting back on its concert schedule, so Tuesday's show may be the last chance fans will have to see Green Day in a while. "I want to perform like crazy, but I can't do (that anymore)," Cool says.


Live Review
Pittsburgh Post Gazette
Green Day Puts Punk Hits on Parade

Green Day may be all grown up now in the studio, giving acoustic guitars an increasingly prominent place in the mix on last year's "Warning" after cutting what our sources tell us is the only graduation theme in punk-rock history, "Good Riddance (Time of Your Life)."But rest assured, the Green Day thrashing through the hits from the stage of the I.C. Light Amphitheatre last night was very much the Green Day fans who came of age with "Dookie" know and love -- impulsive, adrenalized, cartoon punk with hooks to spare as bashed away at with the youthful abandon of teens by three guys pushing 30. At nearly two hours, it could be argued that the set went on a little longer than it could have, allowing for far too many drawn-out interactions with the audience. But it was worth it sitting through the occasional dull spot to get to the hits. From the opening notes of "Nice Guys Finish Last" through "Castaway," a rocked-up "Church On Sunday," "Longview," "Welcome to Paradise," "Hitchin' A Ride" and "Brain Stew," Green Day counted down the '90s punk-rock hit parade, then assembled a band of fans to rock the house on a cover of Operation Ivy's "Knowledge," a crowd-pleasing highlight that may have proved impossible to follow if they hadn't written "Basket Case." But that was next. And they followed it up with "She" (another "Dookie" highlight), "King For A Day" (with ringleader Billie Joe Armstrong parading around in a crown), "Waiting," "Minority," Warning," "Good Riddance" (a Billy Bragg moment with Armstrong alone on electric guitar) and "When I Come Around," the highest-charting Green Day single ever and a fitting closer to the hit parade. At that point, those who saw them torch the drums in '98 at what was then the Coca-Cola Star Lake Amphitheatre and then again at last year's Warped Tour stop had to be feeling at least a tinge of disappointment that Armstrong had already told them that it wasn't gonna happen this time. "Last night, [drummer] Tre [Cool] lit his hand on fire," Armstrong warned them after "Warning." "So we're not gonna be lighting the drums on fire tonight." And then, of course, they torched them anyway, but trashed them first as Mike Dirnt bashed his bass repeatedly against the speaker cabinet and the trumpet player joined the guest trombonist in a smile-inducing romp through "The Star Spangled Banner." It was brilliant, ending with a flaming bass protruding from the drum remains as Green Day took it down a notch or three with "Macy's Day Parade," performed by firelight on acoustic guitars, a change of bass and a drum kit thrown together while the chaos reigned. It proved an oddly tender spectacle. And only Green Day could have pulled it off.