Photo Credit: Allen Halas
Green Day
While the rumble of thousands of Harley-Davidson motorcycles have brought up the collective decibel level of Milwaukee throughout the week, on Friday night, those rumbles became roars at Veterans Park. The first of two nights of the Harley Homecoming music festival featured a solid lineup consisting of Milwaukee’s own Abby Jeanne, Oshkosh by-way-of Cleveland pop punk superstar KennyHoopla, The Cult (who replaced Social Distortion) and headliners Green Day. On the same grounds that hosted backflipping motocross riders and a day full of entertainment, nothing was going to top the spectacle that the night’s headliners would bring to the stage.
Over the course of two hours, the pop punk veterans would unleash a set that served as a greatest hits compilation come to life. Prefaced by a dancing bunny character that would lead crowd singalongs of Queen’s “Bohemian Rhapsody” and The Ramones “Blitzkrieg Bop,” Green Day walked onstage to a hot crowd that were ready for what was only the band’s second Milwaukee appearance in the past 20 years. They certainly made up for lost time, wasting no time to play material from American Idiot, led by the title track. Big singles would be strung together throughout the night, but there was a moment of rarity early on, as the band unleashed “The Grouch,” an album cut from 1997’s Nimrod that hasn’t seen a live rendition in over a decade.
With more than 35 years of playing to crowds, frontman Billie Joe Armstrong knows a thing or two about how to get a group of people going. Songs that were once anchored on brevity and youthful angst were given some time to breathe on Friday night, with Armstrong leading more than his fair share of call-and-response chants, getting fists pumping and hands clapping. When there was no time for that, the bang of some well-placed pyrotechnics would do the trick. Every song felt important to the overall show, and all delivered at a pace that allowed for little downtime without an instrument being played. The set was simply a well-oiled machine at this point with nothing in sight to derail the band.
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A number of special moments were also interspersed through the discography-spanning set. A young fan was brought onstage to sing the bridge of “Know Your Enemy,” while another would later get a brief guitar lesson from Armstrong during an interpreted cover of Operation Ivy’s “Knowledge.” During “Waiting,” a couple were brought out for what turned out to be an on-stage proposal. The bride-to-be of course said yes, and then kissed both her new fiancé and Armstrong on the cheek, prompting a quip from the frontman that would transition into “Stuck With Me.” The band were sharp, and their wits were sharper when the situation called for it. Armstrong seemed unable to contain himself at times, repeatedly bringing his mic stand out to the catwalk of the Harley Homecoming stage, only for a roadie to have to keep pulling it back when the mic would feedback from the front monitors. A minor issue that seemed like a game between frontman and crew at times.
Photo Credit: Allen Halas
Green Day
If there was any sign of age from the band, it was merely only in some material selections that the '90s punk scene would have initially torn apart. A cover of “Rock And Roll All Nite” by KISS would find its way into the show, as well as a tease of “Crazy Train” by Ozzy Osbourne. Towards the end of the set, “King For A Day” would lead into “Shout” by the Isley Brothers, and an intro for touring saxophonist Jason Freese would also feature just a little bit of “Tequila” by The Champs. One could argue that some of that showmanship wasn’t necessary to fill two hours, but every integrated song worked with the Milwaukee crowd, and it was undeniably fun to see what the band would throw in next.
There was never any question of Green Day’s headliner status, even amongst the biker crowd. On Friday night, the band showed why they are still one of the most revered names in punk rock, and that they could do just about whatever they wanted and make it successful.
