Welcome To Paradise

I'm taking a page out of Michael Tozers book for this one, except the song I have chosen to name this blog about is actually relevant. One of Green Day's classics just fits so perfectly with what I will be talking about here on multiple levels.

Four years ago I saw Green Day at my very first concert, I was very very excited for this, and Green Day had been all I had listened to for probably the two months leading to the concert. It was an amazing day all up and it started my love affair with seeing bands live.

Now last night I saw them again and even though I had not been as into them as much as I had four years ago it was possibly one of the best concerts I've been to and my enjoyment of them probably went up tenfold from what it did four years ago. I still remembered all the words to all the songs that they played (except for the ones from the new album) and I felt like an old school fan among the young'n fans that were there for the two latest albums. I've always remembered Green Day as a really good, crowd pleasing band, but after all the shows I've seen where a band would just play their songs, maybe have a little talk/promo in between and then leave-encore-leave I must've just forgotten what a big scale show like that is like, and Let me tell you, I've missed it.

My concert experience over the past four years probably led to the enjoyment that occurred last night, instead of just and and jumping and singing along I did what I normally do in concerts and moshed my heart out for the entire 3 hour set. There was only five or six other people who understood what moshing was and who would join in with me, but it wouldn't have mattered if it was only me doing it by the end of the thing. But these guys were great and we were all mad chummy by the end of it, I suppose that's just shows how well something like a concert can bring people together, would've liked to have gotten some of their numbers or MSN's or whatever but meh it's all good.

Unfortunately there were some not so great parts of the day, I could've gone without the ten or so hour wait for the doors to open that the people with whom I went insisted on doing, but I still got some fun out of it and they bought the tickets so I had to comply. Possibly the biggest hickup of the night was about halfway through the show where some fucking douchebag of a 40 year old jumps into out circle pit and tries to start a fight with us all because we were stepping on his feet. You're at a concert dip shit you should expect that kind of thing, get over yourself. Also, due to the three hour set list that Green Day played, and the extreme physicality of moshing, I got massively dehydrated and had to leave to get a drink a few times, one of which was poorly times by me as I thought the band had left for at least 2 minutes for the first encore. I was wrong and as soon as I got into the toilets to get a drink I could hear the into to American Idiot start, one of the songs I was waiting for for the whole night. I got back for the second half of it but I was still pretty annoyed at myself.

Best song of the night definitely had to go Wake Me Up When September Ends/Good Riddance. The two closing songs were well intertwined with each other to create an epic theme exit theme. You wouldn't really think these songs to be as climactic as others like Jesus Of Suburbia, but hearing 18 000 fans sing along is something that would send shivers up anybodies spine and will definitely be something that I wont forget.

Most enjoyable song for me was Brain Stew. Anyone who knows it would know how heavy and beefy it is all the way though and anyone who knows me would know how much I love that kind of stuff. This song was right in the middle of the show, just after someone had vomited in the middle of our circle pit, yes someone seriously vomited. This didn't deter me and one very enthusiastic chick from having a mosh-off of shorts. She would do her moves and then I would do mine, I'm not sure who won but I don't really care because it was fucking fun, despite the horrible smell and slippery floor.

Oh also, one of the six guys I was moshing with was Iron Jay from the Australian Wrestling Federation (AWF) and the I&J fish commercials. I just think that is pretty cool, to be moshing with somewhat celebrities. I would've gotten a picture and TwitPic-ed it but my phone fucking broke again before I got the chance so I couldn't get any pictures of anything.

I suppose that's it for this blog, a lot longer then my usual, but it's a lot nicer and happier then my other ones so it's all good.