Sitting among the thousands at the Olympic Auditorium were a ten year old boy, his friend, and his mom. It seems the boy was awarded cash for getting As in school and, in turn, purchased three tickets to Green Day's second Southern California show. He insisted that his mom bring him to this ancient boxing auditorium in a gritty neighborhood south of downtown Los Angeles, on a school night, to see his favorite band. When the lights dim and the Berkeley band begins it 50 minutes of punk and adrenaline, the boys rush to the balcony railing and are instantly overcome by the epileptic frenzy that has plagued every kid saved by rock 'n' roll from day one. Surrounding them are an assortment of music fans: older (30-ish!) couples casually digging the roar, snacking on popcorn and beer; frat bros acting out mosh-pit glory, and burners in Skynyrd T-shirts doing their best air-guitar. Yes, punk rock has reached the masses.
So let's dispense with all this talk about what punk rock once was, how it once shocked the mainstream with its amorality, its anarchical agenda, and its apocalyptic, physical aggression. That was then. Now we get Green Day's punk-lite, where the simple-loud-fast mantra still rules, but with only a fraction of the menace. With a call-and-response hand waving (the punk-meets-arena rock means of generating audience participation), Green Day repeatedly hit upon the generic youthful woes of boredom and hatred for authority and conformity.
Over-caffeinated lead singer Billie Joe's simulations of acting hyper prompted the same passionated response as "We love you, Los Angeles!" might have at a Cheap Trick concert fifteen years ago. As a unit, the band is ultra-tight and display an impressive ability to extract the most out of three chords in three minutes--there's a reason why Longview, Basket Case and the newer Geek Stink Breath are so catchy. Add a little well-honed anger to the mix and it makes for the perfect combination. Sure it's one dimensional, and there may not be enough to Green Day's formulaic approach to keep those desparate audiences interested for the long haul, but for now, its no wonder they rule the roost.