I didn't cry at the Green Day concert. I thought I might. It's the first concert I've been to since November 2019, (Letters to Cleo at Union Stage - I had to sign a document on my phone during the concert to finalize my offer for the condo I now own. Very "person in their 40s who still likes to rock" of me.), so I wasn't sure how I'd react to going to the HellaMega tour stop at Nationals Park last night. I didn't cry, but I was emotionally overwhelmed. There is something so powerful about being surrounded by other fans of band or musician you like, and sharing the experience of them playing the songs you love/like/tolerate. There are moments of collective anticipation right before a show starts, and of course, singing along with thousands of your newest friends never gets old. It's an energy that doesn't exist in a lot of other experiences.
This show was supposed to take place last August, but was postponed until this year. It was worth the wait. I've seen both Weezer and Green Day before, so I knew the show would be fun and mostly familiar songs everyone would love to rock out to. The opener, The Interrupters, were good (ska punk - 1998 definitely called and wants my Steve Madden platform sandals back). Fall Out Boy was out due to COVID, but that wasn't terrible for me. My brother went with me and has never seen either band; he had a really fun time.
If you've seen Green Day live recently, you know they play "Bohemian Rhapsody" and "Blitzkrieg Bop" before they start their set. Singing along to "Bohemian Rhapsody" at any concert is fun, but it's even funner when you haven't been to a live show in almost two years. There were a lot of moments like that during both sets, but it was more impactful during Green Day's set, whether it was cell phone flashlights waving or the kid getting to come on stage and play guitar with the band. What I was struck by most was how the lyrics, particularly songs from American Idiot, 21st Century Breakdown, and even "Minority" from Warning, land differently right now. So does the song "Still Breathing" from Revolution Radio. I'm not saying Green Day predicted some of the situations we're in today, but I'm not saying they didn't. I enjoyed the fact that they sang "21 Guns," but will always prefer the version from the musical.
I was going to use a different lyric for today's piece, but decided during the show that I wanted to use this one from "Know Your Enemy" from 21st Century Breakdown and the Broadway cast recording of American Idiot. It stood out for me for a lot of reasons, but I'll let you feel your own feelings about it.
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Stitches: back stitch
Thread palette: DMC 666 (2 strands)
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