Accidentally I saw their live set at a festival back in 2005 (don't know why it was so late...life sometimes goes the strangest ways) and was completely blown away. I still get goosebumps just thinking about it now....
Anyway, after the incredible foreverness of 4 years they now returned with a new album...finally. I always kinda doubted they could step out of this large shadow that is 'American Idiot'. A local radio station called EinsLive now did a promo gig for free to promote (obviously) their newest effort *21st Century Breakdown*. The problem with that was you could only win those tickets....and I never do.
...loads of confusion was also added when greenday.com first announced they would give away 100 tickets at the door on a 'first come, first serve' basis and deleted it again. As the gig was supposed to be on a saturday & i had an off-day anyway i decided to give the whole thing a try....oh, and i did enter about 20 competitions - with NO fvcking luck 
Thinking about the fact it was a saturday plus all the fuzz about GD that is going on i decided to get to the venue a little earlier.....they were supposed to play in a little charming theatre called 'Gloria' with velvet walls & stuff first but the venue was changed on short notice into e-werk, a bit outside of the town center of cologne. Instead of the pristine 500 people we were now talking about 2000 people that fit into this place...at least that was what i was hoping. When i arrived there, there were only about 10 people - 2 of which where looking for tickets as well. Security was endeavoured as ever - being busy to tell us the ticket rumour was false & advising us to better leave without us even asking them. Anyway, the sun was shining and i choose to try my luck. You can't win until you're not afraid to lose, righty? 
Time was runing incredibly slow and only a few people where coming. Entry was supposed to be at 7:30pm, by 7 about only 50 fans did arrive 
Luckily across the street there was a Wendler gig (nooo, you really don't need to know him - i didn't as well until this evening). His fans are amazing - I tell you. We - the poor ticketless who were forced to wait outside the waiting courtyard - had a good laugh I tell you. White seems to be the hippest color with them - best combined with a ed hardy shirt & reeeeaaally cool fake tan. Yep - great scenario over hours. They delivered us with every prejudice you could have. Thanks to that I met a really sweet girl with her boyfriend who turned out to be pure luck further down the affair (not only because of the free booze
) Turns out she worked @e-werk and was hoping to sneak in unseen. She was nice enough to introduce me as here sister - so, we had a plan for the evening 
Unfortunately security was run by a non-local team, so we just had to wait and see. The closer it was time for entrance the more hope to get in we had lost the more booze we drank 
The whole day I was so overly excited that i didn't eat anything - can only recommend this *joke* Erm, so the clock turned 7:25. 5min till entry. The weather was nice enough throughout the day, except the rain that started at like 6:30. We were trenched by then and almost crying our hearts out by the thought this all should have been for nothing. Getting in was just not in sight for us. Like 10min before the official door opening we sneaked to the back doors - our last hope for the day. Either that would work or it just shouldn't have been it. Not even a minute after we came there our magic door suddenly opened (we really really didn't expected this, I swear) and this lovely guy lets us in. Oh man, we really couldn't believe our luck - all of a sudden, you're in the production office backstage, passing by the band and entering the venue - as the very first people. That was the most surreal thing since a very long time happening to me. First thing was getting to the bar - it was only then, that we realised that Green Day were sitting backstage, talking and stuff - whatever. 
We chose a nice place , front row, a bit to the left when the others were let in as well. The stage was a bit pushed into the middle, so the whole venue appeared smaller. Press would later state that 750people were let in. So - still pretty intimate, don't ya think?There was no support act, audience was pretty relaxed and age-wise goodly mixed. At 9pm the waiting finally was over. The excitement was just sky high.....and Green Day entered the stage. It was sooo good. The energy by both, the fans and the band, was just breathtaking. From the first second on we blew it off. Didn't get to see anything of the band for the first 3 songs because of those bloody photographers
- they had quiet some fights among themselves Anyway, before getting in the details, here's the setlist:- 21st Century Breakdown
- Know Your Enemy
- East Jesus Nowhere
- Before the Lobotomy
- Last of the American Girls
- Murder City
- ¿Viva La Gloria? (Little Girl)
- 21 Guns
- American Eulogy
- See the Light
- American Idiot
- Jesus Of Suburbia
- Longview
- She
- Basket Case
- King For A Day
- Shout (Lulu cover)
- Minority
They started of with new songs - personally for me they were totally new, never heard before. Except for Know Your Enemy - their single, which I wasn't too keen about. By that time only thu - now, knowing the album, I think it fits just perfect. And as for the live show - I kinda knew it would work. It's just a nice song to scream and jump along - nothing wrong with it 
Hearing completly new songs live for the first time is always kinda hard if you ask me. If they don't crack right away a show can turn in boringness pretty quick. Didn't happen with GD btw. Admittedly I have to say thu that I wasn't fully convinced of the new stuff by the end of the evening. Only Viva La Gloria got stuck in my head - days later it turns out it's my fave of the record anyway 
. Well, that shouldn't sound any negative at all - I'm just soooo, sooo, sooo happy with that album right now (it turned out so much better than I expected in my deepest dreams).The second half was only about the 'classics' - American Idiot, Basket Case...the obvious. The also did some nice cover songs like Shout which heatened the audience even more. During one song (Before The Lobotomy) Billy even got a fan onstage to let him sing with him. See the youtube video here:
They played for 90min - some really great 90min. Haven't been that crushed and sweatened for quiet some time now . Although GD aren't considered real punk I just herewith call them punk rock - and that was some bloody great punk rock show. Just as I love it. Can't wait for the autumn, when I will see them again....and hopefully next summer
They were Green Day and they're fucking back!!!!!
