“Green Day Concert @ T-Mobile Field, Seattle, WA” by Richard F. Yates (Holy Fool)

Back in May of 1992, a friend of mine opened a little sandwich shop in Longview, Washington. The first night we were open, a local band called “Gus” played on the little six inch stage that we’d built. It was a fun, acoustic type show with people sitting in chairs and everyone having a sweet time…

The next night---the second day that the café was open---a guy came in and asked if his friends’ band could play, a little punk band from Berkley called Green Day. This was pre-Dookie, so the owner of the shop hadn’t heard of the band, but he agreed. With no advertising, the place was PACKED by 8:PM! Word of mouth spreads quickly in a small town.

The band showed up early to get set up, and I was fortunate enough to meet Mike Dirnt and Tre Cool and help them get ready to perform. (They were both very friendly, cool guys!) We hit a bit of a snag with the P.A., as the mics that they had were all balanced XLR, and the sound system we used for the Café was RCA based, but we found an old 4-track recorder with the proper input that we ran their lines into, then out to the stereo equipment for the vocals.

Here’s my one souvenir from that show, the CD that the band signed for me!

[Mike Dirnt wrote, “Thanx for the sound my man.” And Tre Cool signed, “Tre Rules,” which is certainly true!]

[Billie Joe signed inside the front page of my CD. He wrote, “Thanks for the Café for the night,” but I didn’t get to talk to him much…]

No joke, that night Billie Joe sang into a microphone that was duct-taped to a mop handle, which was held up by a milkcrate! AND it was still one of the best shows that I’ve seen…until Monday, when I saw them again 29 years later!!! I remember thinking that if the band ever got near the radio that they’d become superstars…

Fast forward to 6 Sept. 2021…

Four bands scheduled to play in Seattle, Washington, for the HELLA MEGA TOUR: The Interrupters, Weezer, Fall Out Boy, and Green Day!

First band was The Interrupters! They were a fun, ska-punk band. Enjoyable! Mariah and I will certainly be looking for some of their tunes in the near future.

Next up was Weezer, and I’m guessing most people already know them! They were quite good. The energy level built throughout their set until I ALMOST forgot that I was sitting around a whole bunch of people!

After Weezer came Fall Out Boy, and their set was BIG, BOLD, and FLASHY with projections and pyrotechnics and all that. I’m not a huge fan of the band, but my older daughter, Frankie, is and she loved it! She FREAKED the entire time and screamed herself hoarse! I might not have known most of the songs, but I appreciate the energy that they put into their performance!

FINALLY, the headliners, who blew everything else away!

I’ve been a fan for decades, and I could sing along with almost every song they played… There were lights and synchronized videos and multiple screens and fireworks and just about everything you could get in a giant, stadium concert. It was incredible… (I usually prefer smaller shows where you can hit the band with a beer from your seat, if you want to.) But we all loved the show!!! If Green Day comes to your town, definitely check out the show!

The band has come a long way since the night that they tore it up in a strange little café in Longview, Washington, but one thing has stayed consistent, they know how to perform!

Thanks for stopping by!!!

---Richard F. Yates
(Primitive Thoughtician and Holy Fool)

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