TVD Live Shots: Green Day with Catfish and the Bottlemen at Oakland Coliseum, 8/5

There’s nothing quite like a hometown Green Day show. The fans, young and old, line up early and sprint for the barricade as soon as the doors open in order to secure their coveted spot up front. The much-anticipated Saturday night show at the Oakland Coliseum was no different … just on a much, much grander scale.

Catfish and the Bottlemen kicked things off with a brief but powerful set. The eager crowd really had no need for warming up … every insignificant development on or around the stage was met with cheers … so CATB served minimally as a necessary distraction, but more importantly put on a great show.

When Queen’s “Bohemian Rhapsody” started blasting over the P.A., everyone in the stadium knew what was up and enthusiastically sang along, no doubt hoping to become a participant in the next viral Facebook video. But Drunk Bunny’s antics where he (she?) threw bunny dolls into the crowd as the crowd chanted “Hey Ho, Let’s Go” along to the Ramones “Blitzkrieg Bop” whipped things into a frenzy as the general admission floor compressed toward the stage.

And then … boom! The curtain covering Tre’s riser dropped, the band was onstage and the show was on! Billy Joe and Mike made maximum use of the ample stage with Billy frequenting the end of the extension to incite the fans positioned at the end (as if that was necessary). Blasts of pryro ushered in “Bang Bang,” providing some eye candy for the folks in the stadium seats who were most likely getting their view from the massive video screens mounted on each side of the stage.

While this was an arena show, that didn’t mean the fans were left out. On three separate occasions, kids were pulled from the crowd to participate. The word is out these days and the fans come prepared with signs to catch Bill Joe’s attention. And as Maddie demonstrated during Green Day’s cover of Operation Ivy’s “Knowledge,” they also come having practiced their guitar licks! Young Maddie rocked “Knowledge” like she was a member of the band and was subsequently rewarded with a guitar to take home. Not a bad souvenir.

While the setlist covered a healthy dose of their latest release Revolution Radio and American Idiot, it still managed to go deep into the back catalog including an epic rendition of “2000 Light Years Away” from the 1991 Lookout Records release, Kerplunk! Interestingly, the 2½ hour set entirely eschewed the ¡Uno!/¡Dos!/¡Tré! trilogy, presumably due to the particularly rough time in the band’s history that those albums represent.

The 2½ hour opus wrapped with a pair of encores that ended with Billy Joe, an acoustic guitar and a ton of fireworks. Welcome home Green Day!

Green Day

CATFISH AND THE BOTTLEMEN

Catfish and the Bottlemen

GREEN DAY SETLIST
Know Your Enemy
Bang Bang
Revolution Radio
Holiday
Letterbomb
Boulevard of Broken Dreams
Longview
Youngblood
2000 Light Years Away
Hitchin’ a Ride
When I Come Around
Welcome to Paradise
Minority
Are We the Waiting
St. Jimmy
Knowledge (Operation Ivy cover)
Basket Case
She
King for a Day
Bump N’ Grind / Shout / Always Look on the Bright Side of Life / (I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction / Hey Jude
Still Breathing
Forever Now