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 Saves the Day Smaller punk acts never seem to have the power in the Marcus. Big arenas aren't made for punk/emo bands! The space was limited by all the crap that was on stage for the 2 headliners, so the band didn't have much room to move around, but that didn't stop them from trying to rock out. Only about half the place stood up for them, and me and my girlfriend were two of them. They played mostly songs from their latest release, "Stay What You Are." Chris Conley's vocals weren't very loud at all, and that detracted from the whole thing, because lyrics are certainly the band's strong point. Highlights included the haunting (pun intended) "As Your Ghost Takes Flight" and the band's lone single "At Your Funeral." Set List (in no order) As Your Ghost Takes Flight Certain Tradgedy Cars & Calories See You All Star Me Nightengale All I'm Losing Is Me At Your Funeral Freakish Firefly My Sweet Fracture Green Day In short, Green Day should've gone on last. It seemed that Billie Joe knew this all along and spent the whole tour proving to the kids that this was case. The band constantly jammed during songs while Armstrong demanded the crowd's attention by getting them to say "Hey-o!" and other such chants... which got old after a while, but showed that he was trying until the very end. I found the set list quite boring, as they were mostly songs from International Superhits. In other words, all of their singles. On the one hand, it goes to show just how popular a band is when they can play a whole 75 minute show of hits. But on the other, I can bet their were many people in the near sold-out crowd wanting to hear other selections. The only songs that weren't singles were "King For a Day," where Billie Joe came out in his familiar crown and was covered in a shawl at the end of the song. Other non-singles incuded two old-school numbers, "2000 Light Years Away" and "1000 Hours," the latter of which lead singer and guitarist Armstrong forgot the lyrics to. The biggest surprise of the night for them was their rocking cover of the Isley Brothers' classic "Shout." It was complete with a kick line comprised of the bassist Mike Dirnt and the two horn players. The crowd sang along to the whole thing. Green Day also covered the band Operation Ivy, which was mostly lost on the crowd, except for the fact the Billie Joe called kids up to play guitar, bass, and drums. The song was quite simple from what I saw, but the guitarist was rewarded by getting to keep the axe. Lucky bastard. All in all it was quite a show that could've only been made better had they played other songs from their albums, particularly from Nimrod which got ignored almost totally. Set list (again, in no order) Maria Longview Welcome to Paradise Hitchin A Ride Brain Stew/Jaded King For A Day Shout 2000 Light Years Away 1000 Hours Op. Ivy cover Basket Case When I Come Around She Minority Waiting Time of Your Life Blink 182 When put up against Green Day's show, Blink didn't stand a chance. It was too much to top. Now, I've read other reviews that said Blink was lethargic and didn't care. I don't think that was the case. They were very energetic. I just think they were fighting a losing battle. They had a cool light show and pyro just like Green Day, but the showmanship of Billie Joe Armstrong was just better than Tom and Mark from Blink 182. They told a dirty jokes and said bad words just like they have been doing all their lives. There were some genuinely funny moments in the set, like after they played the 40 second "Happy Holidays, You Bastard," bassist Mark Hoppus said when it was done, "Hey kids! If you liked that one you'll love this next one!" They then proceeded to play the song again, only faster this time and with messed up lyrics. Blink also played other joke songs such as the apalling (and hilarious) "When You Fucked Grandpa" and "Family Values," a rendition of George Carlin's Dirty Words. Both were very welcoming considering how toned down last year's show was. Other than that, Blink's set was mostly their hit songs from Enema of the State and Take Off Your Pants and Jacket. But unlike Green Day, they played non-singles too. Highlights of those were "Dysentery Gary" and "Carousel." A rare, teder moment came near the end when it was just Tom DeLonge and his acoustic guitar, where he sang what I call "Can't Forgive, Can't Forget" (it doesnt have an official name as far as I know). It's one of the best songs they've ever written. A lot of people said that a redeeming factor of the show was Travis Barker's drum solo, where his platform was raised and the flipped upisde down and all around a la Tommy Lee. Now, it was just awesome seeing that, but since I knew it was coming (it had been talked about since the beginning of the tour) it just wasn't that much of a surprise to me. So, it was a great show, better than last year's, but not nearly as good as Green Day. Set List (you know the drill) Anthem Pt 2 The Rock Show Going Away To College Please Take Me Home First Date Stay Together for the Kids Family Values When You Fucked Grandpa can't Forgive, Can't Forget Dysentery Gary All The Smal Things What's My Age Again Reckless Abandon/Travis' drum solo Happy Holidays, You Bastard carousel Adam's Song Dumpweed Don't Leave Me Dammit All in all, it was a great show. For my 40 bucks a ticket, I don't know if the seats were worth that much. But you can blame $9 or so on Ticketmaster's rape charges. I don't think I'll stop seeing any of the three bands for some time to come. Bottom Line Grades: Saves The Day: C+ Green Day: A- Blink 182: B
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