Green Day – Bullet in a Bible

By paul

I don’t think anyone needs the potted history on Green Day. They’ve gone from small-time So-Cal to the biggest indie band in the world to probably the biggest band in the world full stop (at the minute anyway…) From pop-punk classics that featured on ‘Dookie’ to bona-fide pop classics on their latest release, even big-budget videos have become common-place with the Berkeley trio. Sam Bayer, who is in the directors chair on this release, was behind ‘American Idiot’ and ‘When September Ends’ – both songs which, incidentally, charted.

‘Bullet in a Bible’ was recorded and filmed at the band’s two Milton keynes shows last year, with god knows how many thousands of people baying for a piece of Billie Joe and company. This DVD is as glossy as they come; jerky camera angles capture the sense of excitement well and of course the sound is crisp and clear. All the ‘hits’ are here too – focusing mainly on the latter songs that have re-invigorated the band on a worldwide scale. ‘American Idiot’ is energetic and powerful and the nine-minute ‘Jesus of Suburbia’ medley possibly better live than on record.

After opening with five new songs, the band come into their own with a blast from the past, whittling through ‘Longview’, ‘Hitchin a Ride’ and ‘Basket Case’ with a backing vocal of 50,000 people. Sometimes it has to be heard to be believed just how rabid Green Day fans can be – the inevitable rousing ‘Good Riddance (Time of Your Life)’ sounds magnificent. And for all the entertainment and energy the band put in, you can’t help but be impressed. If you’ve never seen them before, be prepared to be wowed. Green Day have honed their live show – and it really is a show – and made it a special event to savour.

BUT – and there is a big but, if you’ve seen Green Day since the turn of this century, you will have seen this very performance (save for the setlist, obviously). Billie-Joe, ever the entertaining frontman, does and says the same things he did when I saw the band in 2000/1. There are too many ‘waaaaay ohhhs’ and he tries far too hard to whip the crowd into a frenzied mess. He simply doesn’t need to do it; it’s not like the band haven’t caused a stir the second they walk on stage anyway. As a result, songs drag on at times for nearly 10 minutes and come across as plodding and disjointed. Of course anyone who has seen the band will expect this – so fast forward the boring bits and enjoy the more rockin’ parts of this DVD. There are some tidy interviews and extra features too, but buy this for the live set. You may need to skip bits, but Green Day really are value for money and a lot of fun.

www.greenday.com
reprise records

Paul

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