New Rock and Roll Hall of Famer Green Day thrills with marathon show (review, photos)

CLEVELAND, Ohio - Pop quiz, kiddies: How much Green Day is too much Green Day?

Ha! It's a trick question, because there's no such thing, and I'm pretty sure every single person who was at the newly minted Rock and Roll Hall of Fame band's sold-out show at the House of Blues on Thursday would testify to that.

Three solid hours of Green Day -- playing tunes from their Sweet Children days all the way to their latest trilogy, "Uno!,'' "Dos!,'' and "Tre!'' -- proved one thing, and proved it emphatically: The band DESERVES to be in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

What's really sweet -- no pun intended -- is that vocalist and principal songwriter Billie Joe Armstrong, bassist Mike Dirnt and drummer Tre Cool seem genuinely humble and proud by the accomplishment.

And it IS an accomplishment. The band became eligible this year, 25 years after the release of their first album, "39/Smooth.'' They're not the first band to make it into the hall in their first year of eligibility, but like their most recent predecessors -- Nirvana -- they're just as deserving.

Purists have debated since they first arrived on the scene whether Green Day really was "punk.'' In this case, "purists'' is another word for "snobs.'' Green Day is punk, by definition. The songs are mostly fast-paced and anti-establishment. There's not a whole lot of gimmicky instrumentation, with funky overdubs and tracks. It's just raw music.

Maybe the problem those snobs, er, PURISTS have is that Armstrong has such a wonderfully emotive voice. He actually SINGS instead of just spitting out invective. And then there's the harmonies from Dirnt, which probably further irk the detractors.

So what? I love listening to "Holiday,'' to "Boulevard of Broken Dreams'' and "2000 Light Years Away.'' Armstrong, as frenetic at 43 as he was at 15 when he and Dirnt formed their first band, is one of the most charismatic frontmen around. Oh, and he still LOOKS 15, at least from the back of the House of Blues.

Songs such as "Christie Road,'' "Stuart and the Ave.'' and "Geek Stink Breath'' still resonate, as do "One for the Razorbacks,'' "Burnout'' and "Longview.''

Naturally, there are the hits -- "When I Come Around,'' "American Idiot,'' "Jesus of Suburbia'' and "St. Jimmy'' -- that just blow you away.

And maybe that's the best part of this particular three-hour marathon of Green Day. It was not your typical 90 minutes, cash-the-check, load-the-bus, get-the-heck-out-of-here show.

I loved every instant of the show, but to be honest, Armstrong, Dirnt and especially Cool earned a special place in my heart because of the "surprise'' band that followed opener Jesse Malin (who, by the way, will be at the Beachland Ballroom on Saturday, and is worth checking out of if you don't have Rock Hall induction tickets).

Malin opened the night with 30 minutes of rock-solid music, and then gave way to Green Day . . . sort of.

Armstrong and Dirnt -- obviously with Cool's blessing -- shared the stage with John Kiffmeyer, the band's original drummer, for an hourlong set as Sweet Children.

To my mind, if there was any doubt about the heart of the members of Green Day, it was erased right then and there.

I admit to a certain amount of empathy for Kiffmeyer. I'm a drummer, too, and I've been fired from more bands than I care to think about, including one I started myself (that's a story for another day). It's not that I'm not good; it's that the other drummers were better.

That's the case with Cool and Kiffmeyer. Cool IS better, but to me, giving the guy who was there in the beginning, when band practice was in Armstrong's living room and his mom was the only audience, a chance to share a stage on the eve of the band's Hall of Fame induction is Class with a capital C.

I've always been a fan of Green Day. I'm still a fan of the band. But now, I'm a fan of Armstrong, Dirnt and Cool as people.

I'll be at the Rock Hall inductions on Saturday, and Green Day will play again, which thrills me no end.

I mean, who can ever get too much Green Day?

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