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Review
Wembley Arena 17th July 2002 When Tré first emerged from the dressing room he was wearing red tartan plus fours, a camel hair coat and a pith helmet. He obviously realised his fashion error as he went back to swap the pith helmet for a turban! By the time he got onstage he'd completely changed with no headgear, a Green Day t-shirt and regular black trousers. The shenanigans kicked off before the band even came on, where else would you see a giant pink and white rabbit down a can of beer whilst listening to "YMCA" ? Green Day hit the stage and launched straight into "Maria"; after the first two lines of the song there was an explosion of huge fiery columns either side of the stage. The pyrotechnics exploded the stage at appropriate moments throughout the night, Billie Joe getting dangerously close to setting his foot on fire whilst balancing on one leg over a giant bunsen burner. The set list was around 20 songs, from "2000 Light Years Away" through a selection from "Dookie", "Insomniac", "Nimrod" and "Warning", plus a rendition of Lulu's "Shout" which Billie Joe sung in a James Brown style from beneath his kings cloak. A whole band was formed for "Knowledge" and the guitarist was given the Squier Strat that Billie had played on condition that he stagedived. It's a long way from the Wembley stage to the standing area, which concerned Security, but he made it to collect his reward! Jason White was onstage throughout, playing second guitar and taking over when Billie Joe went walkabout. The horn section changed outfits from Mariachi band to a bee and a chicken whilst Billie Joe paraded around in his "King for a Day" crown. The band played with great enthusiasm, Billie Joe showing off now and again with tricks like playing guitar behind his head whilst standing on one foot. Mike set fire to his bass and Tré trashed his drum kit. The crowd was entertained throughout by the usual audience participation 'Heeyyy...oh' and generally doing anything Billie Joe told them whilst being sprayed with the supersoaker, bottles of water and a couple of bottles of beer. What more could you ask for?
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