You'll find no hollow lies here! Hello! After a long hiatus that I have absolutely no excuse for, here's a movie review!
Today I watched Bullet in a Bible for the first time in at least four years. It’s a live DVD of Green Day performing two shows at Milton Keynes during the summer of 2005. I guess it’s good that I can say I’m not disgusted with myself for liking it so much when I was thirteen, but I definitely have a fresh and less biased perspective on the whole event now that I’m concerned with more than how attractive I find the various members of the band.
For one, I am still impressed, perhaps even more so now that I have more actual serious performance experience under my belt, with the sheer magnitude of the show Green Day put on in that stadium. Even now, the bangs of banners crashing down and the roar of beautifully-timed and properly built-up pyrotechnics made me jump with startled delight. No matter what else any given music critic may have to say about him, Billie Joe Armstrong is an incredible performance. That’s a typo, I meant to type ‘performer.’ But now that I think about it I think it could be conceded that the guitarist and lead singer is a kind of show in of himself. There isn’t a single recorded moment where he seems to have any resentment for the crowd or the gig, or that he is getting tired from running the full length of the immense stage for the umpteenth time, or that his demeanor is a facade that might slip when he has his back turned to 30,000 of his adoring, screaming fans. If he deserves credit for nothing else, he gets a very respectful tip of the hat from me for that.
The rest of the band can’t be ignored, though. I think there is a good balance of limelight for everyone, even the guys whose names don’t show up on the inside flap of album booklets. The main focus is on Billie Joe, but during solos like the intro to “Longview” centerstage is graciously turned over for Mike to deliver the all-too-familiar bass line. I mean, Armstrong’s the front man for a reason. But credit was given where credit was due, and I think that’s important and undervalued in music.
After setting up that cute little segue, I’ll devote this whole paragraph to Jason White and how brilliant he is. Not until now did I realize how few of the songs Billie actually plays guitar on, and that number dwindles further if you’re only counting when he plays the whole number. However, I don’t think that’s a negative reflection on his talent or priorities (he delivers a fast-paced and technically complex solo during ‘Minority’ at least). During one of his brief coherent statements spliced in between clips of the gig, he stated that when a band is playing a stadium show to a crowd of that magnitude, you don’t want to create intimacy. You have to create an event. In order to do that, you have to run back and forth across the stage and dance like a maniac, and all of that just can’t be done if you’re also occupied with being lead guitarist. This is where Jason White steps in. Whenever Billie can’t (or just doesn't) play lead, Jason fills in seamlessly. He’s good. He’s the dependable backbone to the haphazard face that Billie puts on the show. There always has to be music playing to keep the show moving. Green Day seems to have found the perfect medium to keep the entertainment and musical levels of their concerts up to par.
Something that really impressed me about their little musical unit is that everyone knows their place. That may just have something to do with playing with the same guys for over sixteen years, but since I’ve been in college I’ve learned the hard way that more often than not, less is more in a band. No one sounds like they’re trying to upstage each other. Jason White can still be heard when he’s not covering Billie’s ass, but he’s just enough to make their sound full, not like it’s a competition. During ‘Wake Me Up When September Ends’ he only plays one or two notes a measure. But it’s enough to give any attentive listener chills. He adds a whole other layer to the sound with just a few notes. No one tries to overstep their ensemble boundaries. That’s admirable. It’s quality and intuition, not quantity and bravado that make or break a talented musician, especially in an ensemble setting. Tre and Mike both have solos and they perform them perfectly. Mostly the songs sound just like they do on the records, but honestly, if I went to a show I wouldn’t want the band to dick around with the music I actually paid to hear too much. It’s about how the material is presented, and during their American Idiot tour, Green Day had a formula that worked out just fine. There’s no overarching ego in the group. Armstrong does play God a little with the crowd, but in a position like his, who wouldn’t?
If the Milton Keynes show created an atmosphere that only translated half of its energy and enthusiasm and power to a DVD format, I still probably would have paid to experience it in person. Six years later, it seems to me that American Idiot was the pique of Green Day’s career. American Idiot was the album that broke me out of my insecure twelve-year-old shell. It taught me about punk rock and self-expression and that it was totally okay, even encouraged, to not wear a Hollister shirt and be ninety-eight pounds like every other girl my age. That album gave me somewhere to go in the chaotic pre-teen drama that every girl suffers to some degree. Although my musical tastes have expanded since eighth grade, and my opinions on music in general are a little more refined, I still believe Green Day created a rock opera with a fiercely beating heart of rock-n-roll at its center that still speaks to me today.
Now on to my negative comments. Bullet in a Bible dissects the actual gig and interlaces it with clips of the band offstage and individual interviews with Billie, Tre, and Mike. This time around, I found these to be a little disappointing. Billie Joe is inarticulate and nervous, and he always seems to be setting up examples to make some greater, grander point that he never can fully shed light on. He is most animated and understandable when he’s describing the formation of Jesus of Suburbia and the emotions that lay behind the song and the record in general. The black-and-white closeups of a stammering mid-thirties rocker does provide some perspective on Armstrong as a human being though, which is nice. There is definitely more to him than the angry little boy who disses those in political offices at every turn. He’s just a guy with a wife and kids and domestic problems like everyone else. But he’s also that godlike rock star. Maybe the reason Green Day has stayed together so long is that they don’t try to combine these too personalities, or give themselves fully over to just one. They’re the kind of guys who at least notice the irony of 30,000 people singing in unison “I wanna be the minority!” even if they choose to overlook it.
Random Observations: This probably should have been examined in the actual body of my review but Mike Dirnt is a spectacular bassist. While Billie introduces the band, Mike plays a sweet little jazzy riff that takes some serious fingerwork over and over and over and over again for at least ten minutes without once missing a beat. That takes real dedication. Maybe that’s why he looks so fierce the whole show. What he does takes a lot of concentration and ignorance of joint pain.
There’s a bit during one of the non-concert clips where Mike has a guitar and is making fun of the song ‘Maps’ by the Yeah Yeah Yeahs. It’s kind of funny. I just felt all indie and prestigious for finally getting what he was on about.
For one, I am still impressed, perhaps even more so now that I have more actual serious performance experience under my belt, with the sheer magnitude of the show Green Day put on in that stadium. Even now, the bangs of banners crashing down and the roar of beautifully-timed and properly built-up pyrotechnics made me jump with startled delight. No matter what else any given music critic may have to say about him, Billie Joe Armstrong is an incredible performance. That’s a typo, I meant to type ‘performer.’ But now that I think about it I think it could be conceded that the guitarist and lead singer is a kind of show in of himself. There isn’t a single recorded moment where he seems to have any resentment for the crowd or the gig, or that he is getting tired from running the full length of the immense stage for the umpteenth time, or that his demeanor is a facade that might slip when he has his back turned to 30,000 of his adoring, screaming fans. If he deserves credit for nothing else, he gets a very respectful tip of the hat from me for that.
The rest of the band can’t be ignored, though. I think there is a good balance of limelight for everyone, even the guys whose names don’t show up on the inside flap of album booklets. The main focus is on Billie Joe, but during solos like the intro to “Longview” centerstage is graciously turned over for Mike to deliver the all-too-familiar bass line. I mean, Armstrong’s the front man for a reason. But credit was given where credit was due, and I think that’s important and undervalued in music.
After setting up that cute little segue, I’ll devote this whole paragraph to Jason White and how brilliant he is. Not until now did I realize how few of the songs Billie actually plays guitar on, and that number dwindles further if you’re only counting when he plays the whole number. However, I don’t think that’s a negative reflection on his talent or priorities (he delivers a fast-paced and technically complex solo during ‘Minority’ at least). During one of his brief coherent statements spliced in between clips of the gig, he stated that when a band is playing a stadium show to a crowd of that magnitude, you don’t want to create intimacy. You have to create an event. In order to do that, you have to run back and forth across the stage and dance like a maniac, and all of that just can’t be done if you’re also occupied with being lead guitarist. This is where Jason White steps in. Whenever Billie can’t (or just doesn't) play lead, Jason fills in seamlessly. He’s good. He’s the dependable backbone to the haphazard face that Billie puts on the show. There always has to be music playing to keep the show moving. Green Day seems to have found the perfect medium to keep the entertainment and musical levels of their concerts up to par.
Something that really impressed me about their little musical unit is that everyone knows their place. That may just have something to do with playing with the same guys for over sixteen years, but since I’ve been in college I’ve learned the hard way that more often than not, less is more in a band. No one sounds like they’re trying to upstage each other. Jason White can still be heard when he’s not covering Billie’s ass, but he’s just enough to make their sound full, not like it’s a competition. During ‘Wake Me Up When September Ends’ he only plays one or two notes a measure. But it’s enough to give any attentive listener chills. He adds a whole other layer to the sound with just a few notes. No one tries to overstep their ensemble boundaries. That’s admirable. It’s quality and intuition, not quantity and bravado that make or break a talented musician, especially in an ensemble setting. Tre and Mike both have solos and they perform them perfectly. Mostly the songs sound just like they do on the records, but honestly, if I went to a show I wouldn’t want the band to dick around with the music I actually paid to hear too much. It’s about how the material is presented, and during their American Idiot tour, Green Day had a formula that worked out just fine. There’s no overarching ego in the group. Armstrong does play God a little with the crowd, but in a position like his, who wouldn’t?
If the Milton Keynes show created an atmosphere that only translated half of its energy and enthusiasm and power to a DVD format, I still probably would have paid to experience it in person. Six years later, it seems to me that American Idiot was the pique of Green Day’s career. American Idiot was the album that broke me out of my insecure twelve-year-old shell. It taught me about punk rock and self-expression and that it was totally okay, even encouraged, to not wear a Hollister shirt and be ninety-eight pounds like every other girl my age. That album gave me somewhere to go in the chaotic pre-teen drama that every girl suffers to some degree. Although my musical tastes have expanded since eighth grade, and my opinions on music in general are a little more refined, I still believe Green Day created a rock opera with a fiercely beating heart of rock-n-roll at its center that still speaks to me today.
Now on to my negative comments. Bullet in a Bible dissects the actual gig and interlaces it with clips of the band offstage and individual interviews with Billie, Tre, and Mike. This time around, I found these to be a little disappointing. Billie Joe is inarticulate and nervous, and he always seems to be setting up examples to make some greater, grander point that he never can fully shed light on. He is most animated and understandable when he’s describing the formation of Jesus of Suburbia and the emotions that lay behind the song and the record in general. The black-and-white closeups of a stammering mid-thirties rocker does provide some perspective on Armstrong as a human being though, which is nice. There is definitely more to him than the angry little boy who disses those in political offices at every turn. He’s just a guy with a wife and kids and domestic problems like everyone else. But he’s also that godlike rock star. Maybe the reason Green Day has stayed together so long is that they don’t try to combine these too personalities, or give themselves fully over to just one. They’re the kind of guys who at least notice the irony of 30,000 people singing in unison “I wanna be the minority!” even if they choose to overlook it.
Random Observations: This probably should have been examined in the actual body of my review but Mike Dirnt is a spectacular bassist. While Billie introduces the band, Mike plays a sweet little jazzy riff that takes some serious fingerwork over and over and over and over again for at least ten minutes without once missing a beat. That takes real dedication. Maybe that’s why he looks so fierce the whole show. What he does takes a lot of concentration and ignorance of joint pain.
There’s a bit during one of the non-concert clips where Mike has a guitar and is making fun of the song ‘Maps’ by the Yeah Yeah Yeahs. It’s kind of funny. I just felt all indie and prestigious for finally getting what he was on about.
Yeahh. There may be a few more reviews of a similar canon in upcoming posts. Just where the creative juices are flowing, I guess.
In other news, my second semester of college ROCKS MY FACE. In the first week alone I've had several hilarious adventures and joined a super secret society! (No, not a cult)
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| LOOKIT MY SHARK HAT. |
Toodz
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