Billie Joe Armstrong, of Green Day, performs at the Fox Theater in Pomona on March 10, 2013. (Vanessa Franko/Staff Photo)
Green Day made a Pomona theater feel like an arena on Sunday, March 10 when the band brought its big stage antics to a sold-out crowd at the Fox Theater.
Tickets sold out within minutes to see the punk-inspired rockers, which also marked the band’s triumphant return to the stage for the first time since singer Billie Joe Armstrong’s tirade at the iHeartRadio festival in September 2012 and his subsequent stint in rehab.
PHOTO GALLERY: Green Day at the Pomona Fox
Mike Dirnt, of Green Day, performs at the Fox Theater in Pomona. (Vanessa Franko/Staff Photo)
Throughout the two-hour-long set, Armstrong busted out a giant Super Soaker water gun to hose down the crowd, shot toilet paper into the air with a contraption and fired off T-shirts with a T-Shirt cannon. There were the call-and-response “hey ohs” and dozens of fans brought up onto the stage, starting with a boy on second song “Know Your Enemy,” with the requisite stage diving to return back to the audience.
However it was a quiet moment during “Boulevard of Broken Dreams” that was the most poignant of the night, when Armstrong said “Welcome back” to the crowd.
Green Day performs at the Fox Theater in Pomona on March 10, 2013. (Vanessa Franko/Staff Photo)
It was Green Day that was welcomed back. Fans waited outside of the venue from midnight to get a spot in the front of the stage. Some carried signs of support and all cheered loudly for the band.
Pomona marked the first show on the band’s “99 Revolutions” tour to support the trilogy of albums “Uno!” “Dos!” and “Tre!,” the promotion of which was cut short when Armstrong entered rehab. Two more intimate theater shows follow before the band heads to the South By Southwest Music/Film/Interactive Conference in Austin, Texas, where two documentaries about the band will be screened. Then, the band goes off on a mega-tour, which includes another SoCal stop at the Los Angeles Sports Arena on April 18.
PHOTO GALLERY: Green Day at the Pomona Fox
“99 Revolutions” off “Tre!” started the band’s Pomona set, which also included “Oh Love,” “Stay the Night” and “Let Yourself Go” off the trilogy.
Having seen Green Day personally a half dozen times before the show (at Warped Tour, arenas, an amphitheater and big radio festivals), the show was just as entertaining as it ever has been. Armstrong, bassist Mike Dirnt and Tre Cool are just fun to watch, whether goofing off with silly accessories during “King for a Day” (which also featured a saxophone/kazoo duel and forays into “Shout” and “Stand By Me”) or just rocking out on the encore of “American Idiot” followed by “Jesus of Suburbia.”
There were slight mic issues (a squeal of feedback here and there), but Armstrong’s voice sounded strong, particularly during the call-and-response stage antics such as a sustained note during main set ender “Minority.”
Among the highlights of the night was a string of songs from Green Day’s breakthrough album “Dookie,” including “Coming Clean,” “She,” “When I Come Around” and “Basketcase,” as well as a shoutout to the band’s pre-major label days with the classic “2,000 Light Years Away” from “Kerplunk.”
I tried to capture the whole set list below, but please let me know if there’s something I’m missing. I had to drop off my camera gear at the car after the first three songs. You can see the Green Day Pomona photo gallery over at PE.com.
Want to talk more about the concert? You can follow me on@vanessafranko Twitter, Google+ and at the Audio File on Facebook.
Green Day set list from Pomona on March 10, 2013
99 Revolutions
Know Your Enemy
Stay the Night
Stop When the Red Lights Flash
Let Yourself Go
Oh Love
Holiday
Letterbomb
Boulevard of Broken Dreams
Hitchin a Ride
Brain Stew
St. Jimmy
2000 Light Years Away
Coming Clean
When I Come Around
She
Basketcase
King for a Day
Minority
ENCORE
American Idiot
Jesus of Suburbia