holy shiz and a half!!!
These past few days have single handedly been the best of my life. I went to see my favourite band in the entire world twice in two days and I got picked to sing with them on stage. I still can't really comprehend that it has happened, but here is my recap from the Belfast show...yes, I know it's long.
I met up with Darren in Busárus in Dublin and we caught the 3pm bus up to Belfast, the day before the show. The entire journey pretty much consisted of Green Day conversations. I’d say the people in front of us were sick to death of them by the end of it!
When we arrived and checked in at the hotel, we met up with Leanne, Laura and her friend Erin down in the Victoria square thingy (which I thought was the Odyssey from my hotel room) and had some dinner….McDonalds. This would be my last meal for the next 3 days.
The next morning, Darren and I arrived at the Odyssey at 7.45am…the morning of the first Green Day show!! Trina had been there since 6.30 and there was only two other girls waiting outside before us. We sort of knew already that, having arrived so early, we would be sure to get a spot up along the catwalk. Although I felt more uptight rather than excited for some reason. I guess I had been waiting so long for it to happen, that I was actually getting worked up about it and wanted to make sure that everything worked out according to plan. I didn’t bring much with me, just my phone, some money, my camera, jacket and scarf etc. and my A3 sign with the words “I can sing Longview!” scrawled across it.
It was an extremely cold morning; I really didn’t know how I would last 11 hours waiting in that queue. My feet were completely frozen even though I was wearing two pairs of socks! (Note to self, don’t wear Converse to gigs ever again) I had at least 4 layers on, none of which seemed to be keeping me warm.
At about 8, Melanie arrived and we all sat down outside the front entrance. Luckily there was a porch over the front doors so we were somewhat sheltered. There was also a mall beside the arena that had a few cafés and restaurants so we took it in turns to go and get teas or coffees or use the loo. (It was an amazing little place, really. They had International Superhits on repeat for the entire day)
At one point, after arriving back in the queue from the bathroom, Darren and I bumped into J’net and Tony. (Two of the nicest people I have ever met) Tony had my heart racing when he said he didn’t have a ticket and just decided on a whim to come over to the Ireland shows. But thankfully, he managed to buy one off someone else in the queue. I actually think they were from the forum! Mad!
So we all waited some more and then Laura and her friends came up to join us. (Lovely people also!) Gradually, more people arrived and we were starting to look like an actual queue for a Green Day concert. Except for the fact that most other people around us were only singing and humming along to the obvious choice songs. But regardless, we still got to hear Green Day!
At around 2.30, security guards started to piece together the metal barriers which would cage us into one long line in front of the building. This would mean being shifted out into the cold, away from our precious shelter. Trina and I managed to squeeze into the very front, so we would be the first people let out when the doors opened. Everyone was pushing, trying to get in closer to the railing. This was when I started to feel pissed off. It was freezing and raining on and off and I knew we weren’t going to be let out of there for another 4 hours. It got so bad, that at one point, I was like “I really don’t want to be here.”
But eventually, the doors opened at 6.30 and after 11 hours of queuing, we were finally allowed inside. Despite the warnings given by various security guards to walk, everyone ran towards the stage. I grabbed the barrier on the right hand side of the catwalk. I took one big sigh of relief…finally. We were inside, at the front. Trina, Darren, Melanie and J’net were all right there around me, it was amazing.
Prima Donna were surprisingly good, despite my preconceptions that they were rubbish. They put on a good show and got the crowd warmed up. Then the bunny came out and did his thing. I knew that Green Day would be coming out shortly and I started to get so excited. Then I started to feel really nervous and uptight, because I knew it would be the first time I had seen them since January 31st 2005.
As the song “Do You Remember Rock and Roll Radio” faded away, I thought I was going to throw up. The lights dimmed and the arena suddenly erupted with screams and cheers. Song of the Century echoed throughout the PA and when the thundering introduction for 21st Century Breakdown rose, I couldn’t do anything apart from burst into tears. This was the moment I had been waiting for, my favourite band in the entire world were about to walk out in front of me and I couldn’t have been happier. (I’m welling up even thinking about it now!)
Tre suddenly bolted out from nowhere and zoomed down along the catwalk. Billie Joe and Mike followed shortly. I couldn’t believe it, they were right there. Right in front of my eyes. Three people who have never failed to make me happy in the past 8 years. It was a feeling that I will never be able to describe. There was a moment during 21st Century Breakdown when Billie Joe came over to our section of the catwalk and looked right at me. I thought “Wow, I can’t believe that actually happened.” It was incredible.
They played the usual setlist that would be expected. Know Your Enemy, The Static Age, Holiday, Before The Lobotomy, etc. (and I nearly had heart failure during Holiday when what sounded like two loud gun shots were fired out during “Bang, bang goes the president gas man) at one point, Billie Joe said “How many old school Green Day fans are here?” And then strummed a few chords. I wondered what he was up to when all of a sudden, “Stranded…lost inside myself.” I went absolutely berserk. I couldn’t believe it! Armatage Shanks!! That’s one of my favourite songs from Insomniac! Pretty much everyone around us didn’t know what he was singing and I think that’s why he only sang part of it. He got as far as “Elected the rejected…” and then stopped. Naturally I continued with “I perfect the science of the idiot!!!!” but alas, he broke into Welcome To Paradise (I think! Either that or When I Come Around)
During Jaded, I started to get nervous. I knew that next song would be Longview, so I gave my bag to J’net and my camera to Trina (I asked her to film it if I got picked) Jaded seemed to last for about 5 seconds, then Mike was down on the catwalk introducing Longview. I pulled out my sign and held it over the barrier, listening out for those words. “Now….who knows the words to this song?” As soon as Billie Joe appeared, I screamed his name and held up my sign. At first, he sort of looked over but then walked away again. I thought “Shit, I’m not going to get picked now, he’s gone over there.” Luckily, Mike was walking towards us and I got his attention with my sign. He laughed and called Billie Joe back over, pointing at me. “Do you swear you know it? Swear to God?” I couldn’t actually believe that he was saying this to ME!!
“Alright, get your ass up here!!” He shouted, as his tank like security guard hoisted me over the barrier. At this point, my mind was on autopilot. I wasn’t nervous at all; it felt like I wasn’t thinking. The only thing I remember about walking up to the stage, was when Billie Joe smiled at me and said “Hi!” I don’t really know what came over me, but I sort of ran at him and gave him the biggest hug. Luckily it was reciprocated, as he said “Oh, ok!” hugging me back.
I can’t remember what he even said to me before I took the mic, but it was probably something along the lines of “Are you ready? Sit around and watch the tube.” After watching the video, I noticed that I even did the 1,2,3,4 count with him. (major criiiinge!) And then I took off. One thought I did have, was that my voice wasn’t loud enough to hear over the drums and bass. So I sort of had to shout the lyrics, rather than sing them. This was kind of a bummer, seeing as how it didn’t sound the best.
I did a bit of everything really, running around the stage, stranding on the speakers, running up towards Tre, etc. After the first verse, I was convinced that he would pick someone else, but when I looked over he just mouthed the next few lines….so I kept going! At one point, he was down on the catwalk so I decided to join him. Unfortunately, when he came up beside me to sing I allegedly hogged the mic and kept it at my mouth, rather than share it with him (I have no memory of this, but I’ve been told that’s what happened!)
I decided to go for a bit of a cheesy line to see what the reaction would be. “C’mon Belfast!!!! Hey, hey, hey, hey!” But it was amazing, because everyone cheered and sang back. I glanced over my shoulder at Billie Joe for a prompt to sing the last verse. He held his hand up to his ear like a telephone so I knew that was a signal to keep going again. So I sang the last verse and ran over to Mike during the last few words. He just made this awesome face at me, like his signature stage pose. Then I ran up to Tre and he was smiling at me and as someone else said before, made a real “Yeah!!!!” expression.
As the song ended, Billie Joe walked over and noticed the red sun glasses I had in my pocket. He grabbed them out and put them on, prancing around the stage for the last moment. I don’t know why, but I decided to start playing air guitar for some reason. (it actually looks so hilariously silly) Then Tre tapped me on the shoulder with his drumsticks and told me to jump off the steps, so I landed in time with the very last beat.
Billie Joe walked over and put the sun glasses on my head and took the mic away. He smiled and said “You wouldn’t even let me sing my own damn song!” I was totally deaf at that point and didn’t have a clue what he said. I was like “What??” and he just laughed. Then he said “How about that?” And everyone cheered. I couldn’t believe I had just sung the entire song.
Then he said to me “Are you ready to stage dive?” I knew that if I got picked, there would be a chance that I’d have to do this, but seeing as how it hadn’t happened to many girls on this tour, I really didn’t think he’d ask me. I was like “Ummm, yeah” in the most evasive way possible. He sensed this and said “Is that ok?” And I was like “Eh, yeah ok” because I knew deep down I really did want to do it. He said “Jump on your back. Like, turn around in the air.” I said “My back??!” and he was like “Yeah, they’ll catch you!” I looked down at the end of the catwalk and sure enough, everyone held up their arms. I thought “fuck it” and I just ran. I somehow managed to twist around in the air and landed on my back on top of the audience. It was the craziest thing ever.
He waited until I had been let down to start playing Basket Case. Unfortunately I lost my place at the barrier, but it was totally worth it. To be honest, I really didn’t pay much attention to Basket Case or whatever song came on after, because I was just in this daze thinking “How the hell did this happen?!” Everyone was so nice and kept saying “Well done! That was brilliant!” Some people even shook my hand. I know I didn’t sing the song terribly well, but it was still such an amazing experience and I must have done something right if he allowed me to sing the entire thing!
The next few songs were such a blur, I really wanted to be at the front for King For A Day and Shout, but I couldn’t see much from where I was standing. I just loved hearing Billie Joe scream “KING FOR A DAAAAAYY!” They all came out decked in their various costumes. I couldn’t see much but it sounded brilliant. Although I did manage to see Tre in the distance with his yellow glasses and red bra. Then Billie Joe said “I didn’t know Brittney Spears was such a good drummer!”
I can’t remember which song prompted the explosion of confetti, but I have a feeling it was Minority. The entire arena was filled with it! I made sure to grab some as a keepsake. It reminded me so much of the American Idiot tour when I was scrambling around the place looking for some.
I couldn’t help but shed a few tears during 21 Guns as well, it just sounded so emotional. A lot of people around me were holding up their lighters and waving their arms around slowly. It almost felt like a sort of unity, with everyone just coming together.
After the breath taking performances of American Idiot and Jesus Of Suburbia, Billie Joe came back out and serenaded us all with Last Night On Earth. I was surprised at how many people didn’t know the words to this song; they were all standing around looking blank. Good Riddance was also a bit of a tear jerker, because I knew it was the last song. But at least I still had another show the next day.
Everything was just so spectacular. From the setlist, to the lights, to the explosions, to the sound, it was just the most amazing thing ever. Afterwards, I made my way back towards the front to meet the others. I had so many people coming up to me congratulating me for getting on stage. I was so chuffed!! Really didn’t think people would do that.
Darren, Melanie and I went around the back to chance our arm meeting the band afterwards. There was about 20 other people there waiting as well. After about 15 minutes, the lads from Prima Donna appeared and signed autographs for people. (One person gave the singer Bullet in a Bible to sign which was quite strange) They were all so nice, especially Kevin. However, we didn’t wait around long enough for Green Day because we knew they probably wouldn’t come out for another good while and we had to back to Dublin very early the next morning so we just went back to the hotel. Needless to say, I only got two hours sleep that night because I was slowly starting to realise that I had sung on stage with the 3 people who consistently make me happy :)
The rest of the pictures are on my various sites like bebo/facebook/myspace, etc.
These past few days have single handedly been the best of my life. I went to see my favourite band in the entire world twice in two days and I got picked to sing with them on stage. I still can't really comprehend that it has happened, but here is my recap from the Belfast show...yes, I know it's long.
I met up with Darren in Busárus in Dublin and we caught the 3pm bus up to Belfast, the day before the show. The entire journey pretty much consisted of Green Day conversations. I’d say the people in front of us were sick to death of them by the end of it!
When we arrived and checked in at the hotel, we met up with Leanne, Laura and her friend Erin down in the Victoria square thingy (which I thought was the Odyssey from my hotel room) and had some dinner….McDonalds. This would be my last meal for the next 3 days.
The next morning, Darren and I arrived at the Odyssey at 7.45am…the morning of the first Green Day show!! Trina had been there since 6.30 and there was only two other girls waiting outside before us. We sort of knew already that, having arrived so early, we would be sure to get a spot up along the catwalk. Although I felt more uptight rather than excited for some reason. I guess I had been waiting so long for it to happen, that I was actually getting worked up about it and wanted to make sure that everything worked out according to plan. I didn’t bring much with me, just my phone, some money, my camera, jacket and scarf etc. and my A3 sign with the words “I can sing Longview!” scrawled across it.
It was an extremely cold morning; I really didn’t know how I would last 11 hours waiting in that queue. My feet were completely frozen even though I was wearing two pairs of socks! (Note to self, don’t wear Converse to gigs ever again) I had at least 4 layers on, none of which seemed to be keeping me warm.
At about 8, Melanie arrived and we all sat down outside the front entrance. Luckily there was a porch over the front doors so we were somewhat sheltered. There was also a mall beside the arena that had a few cafés and restaurants so we took it in turns to go and get teas or coffees or use the loo. (It was an amazing little place, really. They had International Superhits on repeat for the entire day)
At one point, after arriving back in the queue from the bathroom, Darren and I bumped into J’net and Tony. (Two of the nicest people I have ever met) Tony had my heart racing when he said he didn’t have a ticket and just decided on a whim to come over to the Ireland shows. But thankfully, he managed to buy one off someone else in the queue. I actually think they were from the forum! Mad!
So we all waited some more and then Laura and her friends came up to join us. (Lovely people also!) Gradually, more people arrived and we were starting to look like an actual queue for a Green Day concert. Except for the fact that most other people around us were only singing and humming along to the obvious choice songs. But regardless, we still got to hear Green Day!
At around 2.30, security guards started to piece together the metal barriers which would cage us into one long line in front of the building. This would mean being shifted out into the cold, away from our precious shelter. Trina and I managed to squeeze into the very front, so we would be the first people let out when the doors opened. Everyone was pushing, trying to get in closer to the railing. This was when I started to feel pissed off. It was freezing and raining on and off and I knew we weren’t going to be let out of there for another 4 hours. It got so bad, that at one point, I was like “I really don’t want to be here.”
But eventually, the doors opened at 6.30 and after 11 hours of queuing, we were finally allowed inside. Despite the warnings given by various security guards to walk, everyone ran towards the stage. I grabbed the barrier on the right hand side of the catwalk. I took one big sigh of relief…finally. We were inside, at the front. Trina, Darren, Melanie and J’net were all right there around me, it was amazing.
Prima Donna were surprisingly good, despite my preconceptions that they were rubbish. They put on a good show and got the crowd warmed up. Then the bunny came out and did his thing. I knew that Green Day would be coming out shortly and I started to get so excited. Then I started to feel really nervous and uptight, because I knew it would be the first time I had seen them since January 31st 2005.
As the song “Do You Remember Rock and Roll Radio” faded away, I thought I was going to throw up. The lights dimmed and the arena suddenly erupted with screams and cheers. Song of the Century echoed throughout the PA and when the thundering introduction for 21st Century Breakdown rose, I couldn’t do anything apart from burst into tears. This was the moment I had been waiting for, my favourite band in the entire world were about to walk out in front of me and I couldn’t have been happier. (I’m welling up even thinking about it now!)
Tre suddenly bolted out from nowhere and zoomed down along the catwalk. Billie Joe and Mike followed shortly. I couldn’t believe it, they were right there. Right in front of my eyes. Three people who have never failed to make me happy in the past 8 years. It was a feeling that I will never be able to describe. There was a moment during 21st Century Breakdown when Billie Joe came over to our section of the catwalk and looked right at me. I thought “Wow, I can’t believe that actually happened.” It was incredible.
They played the usual setlist that would be expected. Know Your Enemy, The Static Age, Holiday, Before The Lobotomy, etc. (and I nearly had heart failure during Holiday when what sounded like two loud gun shots were fired out during “Bang, bang goes the president gas man) at one point, Billie Joe said “How many old school Green Day fans are here?” And then strummed a few chords. I wondered what he was up to when all of a sudden, “Stranded…lost inside myself.” I went absolutely berserk. I couldn’t believe it! Armatage Shanks!! That’s one of my favourite songs from Insomniac! Pretty much everyone around us didn’t know what he was singing and I think that’s why he only sang part of it. He got as far as “Elected the rejected…” and then stopped. Naturally I continued with “I perfect the science of the idiot!!!!” but alas, he broke into Welcome To Paradise (I think! Either that or When I Come Around)
During Jaded, I started to get nervous. I knew that next song would be Longview, so I gave my bag to J’net and my camera to Trina (I asked her to film it if I got picked) Jaded seemed to last for about 5 seconds, then Mike was down on the catwalk introducing Longview. I pulled out my sign and held it over the barrier, listening out for those words. “Now….who knows the words to this song?” As soon as Billie Joe appeared, I screamed his name and held up my sign. At first, he sort of looked over but then walked away again. I thought “Shit, I’m not going to get picked now, he’s gone over there.” Luckily, Mike was walking towards us and I got his attention with my sign. He laughed and called Billie Joe back over, pointing at me. “Do you swear you know it? Swear to God?” I couldn’t actually believe that he was saying this to ME!!
“Alright, get your ass up here!!” He shouted, as his tank like security guard hoisted me over the barrier. At this point, my mind was on autopilot. I wasn’t nervous at all; it felt like I wasn’t thinking. The only thing I remember about walking up to the stage, was when Billie Joe smiled at me and said “Hi!” I don’t really know what came over me, but I sort of ran at him and gave him the biggest hug. Luckily it was reciprocated, as he said “Oh, ok!” hugging me back.
I can’t remember what he even said to me before I took the mic, but it was probably something along the lines of “Are you ready? Sit around and watch the tube.” After watching the video, I noticed that I even did the 1,2,3,4 count with him. (major criiiinge!) And then I took off. One thought I did have, was that my voice wasn’t loud enough to hear over the drums and bass. So I sort of had to shout the lyrics, rather than sing them. This was kind of a bummer, seeing as how it didn’t sound the best.
I did a bit of everything really, running around the stage, stranding on the speakers, running up towards Tre, etc. After the first verse, I was convinced that he would pick someone else, but when I looked over he just mouthed the next few lines….so I kept going! At one point, he was down on the catwalk so I decided to join him. Unfortunately, when he came up beside me to sing I allegedly hogged the mic and kept it at my mouth, rather than share it with him (I have no memory of this, but I’ve been told that’s what happened!)
I decided to go for a bit of a cheesy line to see what the reaction would be. “C’mon Belfast!!!! Hey, hey, hey, hey!” But it was amazing, because everyone cheered and sang back. I glanced over my shoulder at Billie Joe for a prompt to sing the last verse. He held his hand up to his ear like a telephone so I knew that was a signal to keep going again. So I sang the last verse and ran over to Mike during the last few words. He just made this awesome face at me, like his signature stage pose. Then I ran up to Tre and he was smiling at me and as someone else said before, made a real “Yeah!!!!” expression.
As the song ended, Billie Joe walked over and noticed the red sun glasses I had in my pocket. He grabbed them out and put them on, prancing around the stage for the last moment. I don’t know why, but I decided to start playing air guitar for some reason. (it actually looks so hilariously silly) Then Tre tapped me on the shoulder with his drumsticks and told me to jump off the steps, so I landed in time with the very last beat.
Billie Joe walked over and put the sun glasses on my head and took the mic away. He smiled and said “You wouldn’t even let me sing my own damn song!” I was totally deaf at that point and didn’t have a clue what he said. I was like “What??” and he just laughed. Then he said “How about that?” And everyone cheered. I couldn’t believe I had just sung the entire song.
Then he said to me “Are you ready to stage dive?” I knew that if I got picked, there would be a chance that I’d have to do this, but seeing as how it hadn’t happened to many girls on this tour, I really didn’t think he’d ask me. I was like “Ummm, yeah” in the most evasive way possible. He sensed this and said “Is that ok?” And I was like “Eh, yeah ok” because I knew deep down I really did want to do it. He said “Jump on your back. Like, turn around in the air.” I said “My back??!” and he was like “Yeah, they’ll catch you!” I looked down at the end of the catwalk and sure enough, everyone held up their arms. I thought “fuck it” and I just ran. I somehow managed to twist around in the air and landed on my back on top of the audience. It was the craziest thing ever.
He waited until I had been let down to start playing Basket Case. Unfortunately I lost my place at the barrier, but it was totally worth it. To be honest, I really didn’t pay much attention to Basket Case or whatever song came on after, because I was just in this daze thinking “How the hell did this happen?!” Everyone was so nice and kept saying “Well done! That was brilliant!” Some people even shook my hand. I know I didn’t sing the song terribly well, but it was still such an amazing experience and I must have done something right if he allowed me to sing the entire thing!
The next few songs were such a blur, I really wanted to be at the front for King For A Day and Shout, but I couldn’t see much from where I was standing. I just loved hearing Billie Joe scream “KING FOR A DAAAAAYY!” They all came out decked in their various costumes. I couldn’t see much but it sounded brilliant. Although I did manage to see Tre in the distance with his yellow glasses and red bra. Then Billie Joe said “I didn’t know Brittney Spears was such a good drummer!”
I can’t remember which song prompted the explosion of confetti, but I have a feeling it was Minority. The entire arena was filled with it! I made sure to grab some as a keepsake. It reminded me so much of the American Idiot tour when I was scrambling around the place looking for some.
I couldn’t help but shed a few tears during 21 Guns as well, it just sounded so emotional. A lot of people around me were holding up their lighters and waving their arms around slowly. It almost felt like a sort of unity, with everyone just coming together.
After the breath taking performances of American Idiot and Jesus Of Suburbia, Billie Joe came back out and serenaded us all with Last Night On Earth. I was surprised at how many people didn’t know the words to this song; they were all standing around looking blank. Good Riddance was also a bit of a tear jerker, because I knew it was the last song. But at least I still had another show the next day.
Everything was just so spectacular. From the setlist, to the lights, to the explosions, to the sound, it was just the most amazing thing ever. Afterwards, I made my way back towards the front to meet the others. I had so many people coming up to me congratulating me for getting on stage. I was so chuffed!! Really didn’t think people would do that.
Darren, Melanie and I went around the back to chance our arm meeting the band afterwards. There was about 20 other people there waiting as well. After about 15 minutes, the lads from Prima Donna appeared and signed autographs for people. (One person gave the singer Bullet in a Bible to sign which was quite strange) They were all so nice, especially Kevin. However, we didn’t wait around long enough for Green Day because we knew they probably wouldn’t come out for another good while and we had to back to Dublin very early the next morning so we just went back to the hotel. Needless to say, I only got two hours sleep that night because I was slowly starting to realise that I had sung on stage with the 3 people who consistently make me happy :)
The rest of the pictures are on my various sites like bebo/facebook/myspace, etc.
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