Green Day

Some bands can make you feel quite old! No I don't mean that in a bad way, but as a late 20s bloke I loved "Dookie" when it broke through in the UK in 1994, and I bought the next two albums on the back of that album. I can remember seeing "Basket Case" on Top of the Pops and thinking that this band would be a great band to see live. However it was not until 2009 that I finally go top see the band play live.

The "American Idiot" album is one of my favourite all time albums. Big sound, big anthems, basically big everything. There is no doubt that Green Day were on of few bands that came out of Live 8 with an enhanced reputation on the back of a blistering performance in Berlin.

As much as Green Day are the masters of a 3 minute thrash melodic frenzy they also have the ability to take things down a notch or two and "Time Of Your Life" is a brilliant song and had been the band's closing signature tune until recently.

I always think that the best gigs are not necessarily those where the band plays note perfect replicating the record as that kind of takes away something of what live music is all about. I have now seen Green Day twice. In 2009 I saw them at the London O2 Arena and then in 2013 I saw them at The Emirates Stadium in London. Both gigs were stunning, and I give the most recent gig the nod partly due to the fact I was down on the pitch rather than up in the gods as I was at the O2. The band give a live show their all and the 2 and a half hours at The Emirates was brilliant. Yes it was a warm sunny Saturday in June with cold alcoholic refreshment in good supply, but that aside it was a brilliant gig.

It appears that the band's recent trilogy has come in for criticism and that the band's popularity is on the wane? I can't really answer that except to say I think its a great set of albums and the tracks stand up with the older material. I am sure that the disappointing sales figures might give some credence to that argument, but there is no doubt that as a live entity there are few bands around who can do it as well as Green Day and I suggest that those who are writing this band off might yet have to eat their words...