Laura Kattilakoski
Staff Writer

Green Day performed at the Superpages.com Center in Dallas on Thursday, August 26. The concert opened with a short performance by AFI, with Green Day taking the stage at 8 p.m.
Green Day started the concert off with a bang – literally. The first four or five songs were from their newest album, 21st Century Breakdown. The sound of explosions filled the air and flashing lights illuminated the audience in the approaching darkness, immediately pulling the crowd into the performance.
Lead singer Billie Joe Armstrong, drummer Tré Cool and bassist Mike Dirnt were enthusiastic about their music, and it showed. There was a lot of jumping and running around the stage, along with flashing lights and dramatic backgrounds. Two huge screens allowed for audiences sitting on the lawn to see the action, as well.
“I don’t know what I was expecting, but Billie Joe took over the stage and it was a lot of fun,” sophomore Alex Smith said.
Toward the middle of the concert, the band played songs from their older albums as well as covers. A group of about 40 fans were allowed on stage while “1000 Lightyears” was performed – Coppell High School sophomore Maggie Boreham was one of these lucky people.
“They asked for about twenty people to get on stage, and the guys in front of me just threw me up there,” Boreham said. “I’ve been to one of their concerts before, but I was farther away and it was totally different this time.”
Security guards had to aid in getting the fans off stage when the song was done. Many of the teens took pictures of themselves on stage standing next to Armstrong.
Later, favorites such as “Minority” and “21 Guns” were also performed.
The concert closed with the acoustic versions of “Jesus of Suburbia” and “Time of Your Life”. Overall, it lasted an impressive three hours. Some audience members lost their voices from cheering, but Green Day was still going strong up until the very last song.
Even though Green Day has a predominantly teenage audience, teenagers were far from being the only attendees. Much older people, some of whom were probably in their forties, rocked out to the music, and some families even brought their young children.
Parts of the concert were a little risqué, and there was a lot of cursing. However, most of the parents were not concerned for their children. Matt Hall, who attended the concert with his daughter Rachel Hall, was one such parent.
“Some parts were appropriate, some were not. It was no worse than other things that this age group has been exposed to. Their music does have a good message,” Hall said.
It was probably a little too far for young children and even some teens thought it was a bit over the top.
“Well, it depends on what you’ve seen before,” Smith said. “Don’t go with your parents, though!”