Green Day Aug. 2010 I splurged for the good tickets right up front.
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Tag Archives: Green Day
Throwback Thursday! The Perfect Day Is A Green Day
(4/6/13) The day began like any other. I woke up, got out of bed, dragged a comb across my head. My work day was uneventful and without stress. At the end of it I was looking forward to seeing my favorite band with my fifteen year old son who has become a fan himself. As soon as I walked in the door he was eager to go in hopes of procuring a good spot to stand near the stage.
Being an adult male on the wrong side of forty, my desire to stand in line for hours before concerts is several years in the rear view mirror. Being an adult however, I used my super ninja Dad skills to plan when we would get there, where we would park, and which entrance we would use to minimize our wait time and any discomfort I might experience. Unfortunately the universe had gotten wind of my plans and locked the entrance to the arena I had planned to use. My son and I were forced to wait outdoors in the cold for forty minutes without coats. Ugh. Not a good start.
When we did get inside we were pleasantly surprised to weasel our way into a nice spot only fifteen to twenty feet from the stage. After an opening act that appeared to sleep walk through their set list, the arena and it’s 10,000 temporary denizens became quiet. That was when I had two distinctly ‘old man thoughts’ which I’m now embarrassed to admit. First I thought, ‘After three hours on my feet my back is going to be aching.’ Then very quickly I also thought ‘I’m going to regret not having earplugs.’ After a brief intermission following the opening act our headliner Green Day stormed onto the stage in an explosion of light and sound and my crazy old man thoughts were completely forgotten.
Green Day has been my favorite band since the early 90’s. This was my fifth time seeing them live. The tour had been delayed by three months while front-man Billie Joe Armstrong was in rehab. Billie Joe took the stage like a man making up for lost time and I’ve never seen their show better. Make no mistake, it is a show. Green Day does not play concerts. They put on shows.
With the frenetic energy of a Tazmanian Devil on Red Bull, Billie Joe seemed to feed off the crowd and the crowd seemed to be drawing energy from Billie Joe. From the first note he seemed to delight in orchestrating the crowd with hand gestures and exhortations. Billie Joe, Mike Dirnt, and Tre Cool seemed to enjoy our participation as much as we did theirs. It wasn’t as if they were playing music for us so much as they were playing it with us and us with them. From bringing audience members up on stage to sing or play instruments to sitting down and letting their 10,000 back up singers finish a song, the night felt like one big party none of us wanted to leave.
It wasn’t just great music either. Green Day puts on a spectacle that goes beyond the mere playing of music. There are enough strobes to wake a coma patient. There’s the zany, costume and kazoo-laden performance of their campy song King for a Day. Then there was Billie Joe first assaulting his eager audience with water from fire department grade hoses. The next weapon in his arsenal was a device that shot streamers of toilet paper far into the crowd. Lastly, when he ran out of Cottonelle, he pulled out the big gun, literally, firing t-shirts all over the arena at all-too-willing targets.
It was a two hour and twenty minute performance that took my breath away. It also took the breath away of bassist Mike Dirnt who could be seen catching his breath between songs during the encore. While he was catching his breath he was also putting his fist to his heart and mouthing Thank you to audience members repeatedly. We expressed our gratitude to the band with our cheers which were as sincere as their thanks.
As my son and I drove home with our ears still buzzing we talked happily about all of our favorite songs and parts of the show. As I listened to my son I began to reminisce. I realized that I had gone to see my first Green Day show before my son was born and now we went together. Talk about the circle of life! It brought a happy, little tear to my eye. When I got home I was still too mentally wired from the show to sleep so I grabbed my Kindle, a glass of red wine and, courtesy of Mrs. Phil, the most delicious chocolate cupcake I’ve ever had and I put my feet up and reclined, reading myself to sleep with a smile on my face. The perfect end to a perfect day. A Green Day.
As always, if you enjoy what you read please hit the Facebook ‘Like’ or Share button and by all means, leave comments if you like. What was your favorite concert ever?
10 Things I Irrationally Love
If you haven’t seen it, the lists of things that one irrationally loves or hates meme has been making the rounds of the blogosphere. I figured I had to chip in my two cents. I know most are doing 21 things, but I can’t even imagine what someone’s mental health must be if they actually have 21 things they irrationally love and 21 that they irrationally hate. Can you imagine the constant mood swings they must have? There isn’t enough Lithium in the world for that. So here are my 10 things I irrationally love:
10. My hot tub: I have one up at a little family summer cottage. It kills me that I can’t have one at my regular home. I only get to use my hot tub about 5 months out of the year. When I’m there on summer weekends I get up and have my morning coffee in it. I usually take a mid-day soak and in the evening I sit in it with a glass of wine. Is that too much? I probably look all pruney all summer.
9. My Kindle: I purchased my first Kindle in 2007 in the first week that they were available. I paid $400 for it and I think it was worth every cent. Even though I’ve moved on to the color screen Kindle Fire, I still keep that original Kindle in a drawer tucked away safely as if it is a precious relic. I love Kindle’s so much that on several occasions when I’ve been in a store and passed shoppers looking at Kindle’s I’ve stopped to answer questions that I overheard. Once I interrupted a store employee because he was not knowledgeable enough in response to a customer question.
8. Solving TV and movie mysteries: Don’t sit next to me during your favorite suspense show or murder mystery movie. I’m the guy that will lean over seven minutes in and whisper in your ear, “It’s the wife. The wife really did it because…” I’m surprisingly good at it. I’m good to the point that I don’t always fully enjoy a show or movie because I get frustrated that the character isn’t figuring it out as quickly as me.
7. Cheez-Its: Yes, the small, square, orange crackers. I love them irrationally and in all their flavors. Unfortunately I recently read something that may have said that the stuff they use to make them orange is the equivalent of rat poison and may cause cancer. That being said, I’ve significantly reduced my Cheez-It intake. I may love Cheez-Its, but I love me more.
6. Table tennis/ping pong: In my life I have been better at ping-pong than I have been at anything else. Yeah, I had a special case to carry my paddle in. There isn’t many feelings as satisfying as feeling as if you have complete mastery of a particular skill. I’m not as good as I once was, but once I’m as good as I ever was.
5. A mosh pit: I don’t mean a mosh pit where people are flailing their arms and injuring each other. I just want to be packed in with a bunch of people jumping in time to the music and passing crowd surfers over your head. You can just feel the energy and electricity of the crowd. My next one is related to this…
4. Green Day: The pop-punk legendary band that I’ve seen several times and have followed for over 20 years now. Even if you’re not a fan of their music I think you’d enjoy their show. They aren’t just young kids playing loud and swearing onstage any more. They’ve matured into consummate showmen that know how to put on a professional show that entertains. Here is a picture I took at their concert in my town last April 1:
3. Technology: I love new devices and apps. I’m an android guy in an iPhone world. If it’s new, shiny and electronic I want it.
2. Blogging: Nope, I’m not kidding. I love creating blog posts and getting comments from other bloggers. I also love reading blogs so that I get to see a genuine slice of another persons world. I’ve learned a lot about other countries and cultures through blogging. That’s why The Phil Factor turns 9 next week.
1. Me: That’s right. I irrationally love myself. I think my writing is better than others probably do. When I look in the mirror I’m sure I see myself as taller and better looking than others do. I can’t understand why more people don’t recognize my brilliance in all things. You know what though? If there’s one thing in this world you should have irrational, unconditional love for it should be yourself. HA! See what I did there? I was going all funny and cute with the post and then I took a right turn onto life lesson lane. It’s no wonder I love myself. I’m awesome. And so are you.
As always, if you enjoy #ThePhilFactor please share it. Have a great Tuesday night. ~Phil
Posted in Humor, Uncategorized
Tagged Cheez-Its, Green Day, Kindle, ping-pong, table tennis, The Phil Factor
The Perfect Day is a Green Day
The day began like any other. I woke up, got out of bed, dragged a comb across my head. My work day was uneventful and without stress. At the end of it I was looking forward to seeing my favorite band with my fifteen year old son who has become a fan himself. As soon as I walked in the door he was eager to go in hopes of procuring a good spot to stand near the stage.
Being an adult male on the wrong side of forty, my desire to stand in line for hours before concerts is several years in the rear view mirror. Being an adult however, I used my super ninja Dad skills to plan when we would get there, where we would park, and which entrance we would use to minimize our wait time and any discomfort I might experience. Unfortunately the universe had gotten wind of my plans and locked the entrance to the arena I had planned to use. My son and I were forced to wait outdoors in the cold for forty minutes without coats. Ugh. Not a good start.
When we did get inside we were pleasantly surprised to weasel our way into a nice spot only fifteen to twenty feet from the stage. After an opening act that appeared to sleep walk through their set list, the arena and it’s 10,000 temporary denizens became quiet. That was when I had two distinctly ‘old man thoughts’ which I’m now embarrassed to admit. First I thought, ‘After three hours on my feet my back is going to be aching.’ Then very quickly I also thought ‘I’m going to regret not having earplugs.’ After a brief intermission following the opening act our headliner Green Day stormed onto the stage in an explosion of light and sound and my crazy old man thoughts were completely forgotten.
Green Day has been my favorite band since the early 90’s. This was my fifth time seeing them live. The tour had been delayed by three months while front-man Billie Joe Armstrong was on hiatus. Billie Joe took the stage like a man making up for lost time and I’ve never seen their show better. Make no mistake, it is a show. Green Day does not play concerts. They put on shows.
With the frenetic energy of a Tazmanian Devil on Red Bull, Billie Joe seemed to feed off the crowd and the crowd seemed to be drawing energy from Billie Joe. From the first note he seemed to delight in orchestrating the crowd with hand gestures and exhortations. Billie Joe, Mike Dirnt, and Tre Cool seemed to enjoy our participation as much as we did theirs. It wasn’t as if they were playing music for us so much as they were playing it with us and us with them. From bringing audience members up on stage to sing or play instruments to sitting down and letting their 10,000 back up singers finish a song, the night felt like one big party none of us wanted to leave.
It wasn’t just great music either. Green Day puts on a spectacle that goes beyond the mere playing of music. There are enough strobes to wake a coma patient. There’s the zany, costume and kazoo-laden performance of their campy song King for a Day. Then there was Billie Joe first assaulting his eager audience with water from fire department grade hoses. The next weapon in his arsenal was a device that shot streamers of toilet paper far into the crowd. Lastly, when he ran out of Cottonelle, he pulled out the big gun, literally, firing t-shirts all over the arena at all-too-willing targets.
It was a two hour and twenty minute performance that took my breath away. It also took the breath away of bassist Mike Dirnt who could be seen catching his breath between songs during the encore. While he was catching his breath he was also putting his fist to his heart and mouthing Thank you to audience members repeatedly. We expressed our gratitude to the band with our cheers which were as sincere as their thanks.
As my son and I drove home with our ears still buzzing we talked happily about all of our favorite songs and parts of the show. As I listened to my son I began to reminisce. I realized that I had gone to see my first Green Day show before my son was born and now we went together. Talk about the circle of life! It brought a happy, little tear to my eye. When I got home I was still too mentally wired from the show to sleep so I grabbed my Kindle, a glass of red wine and, courtesy of Mrs. Phil, the most delicious chocolate cupcake I’ve ever had and I put my feet up and reclined, reading myself to sleep with a smile on my face. The perfect end to a perfect day. A Green Day.
As always, if you enjoy what you read please hit the Facebook ‘Like’ or Share button and by all means, leave comments if you like. What was your favorite concert ever?
