Welcome To Paradise - Green Day at Red 7 - 11.17.11 - Austin, TX

Have you ever had one of those days were you thought it was just going to be another normal day but somehow the planets aligned and the day turned out to be one of the most incredible experiences you'd ever had? Well that is what happened to me last Thursday here in the Live Music Capitol of the World. I woke up that morning (11:48 AM was morning for me) still a bit hazy from the night before and grabbed my phone to see what was good in the world. I hit up my social media outlets to see if there was any good news and low and behold there was a tweet from a friend of mine saying that Green Day was to play a secret show that night at a downtown Austin club. Tix on sale at noon and for $20. Oh snap! This was quite intriguing!Now I have never professed to be a die-hard Green Day fan but I have followed their career since they broke through with Dookie in 1994. I was even a big fan of 2004's American Idiot, even if most weren't. So being the concert-junkie I am I figured that this had the opportunity to be a really kick-ass show so I rubbed my eyes clear and headed to the computer. I refreshed the page right at noon and tried to secure a ticket. Nothing. I tried again and still nothing. I tried once more and BOOM there was ticket in my cart. CHECKOUT! CHECKOUT! GO THROUGH! Aaaaah....done. Crazy, I had a ticket. I tried again just for shits and giggles to get another ticket. SOLD OUT. It was 12:03 PM.

400 tickets to this club show were gone. I would read later they actually were all gone in 15 seconds. Is that even possible? Well I had mine and was pretty stoked about this. Green Day in a 400 capacity club? Wow, this is gonna rock! And it did. After a a couple of sets from the openers (which the band took in from the same spot I did, in the crowd) it was time for GD to hit the stage around 11 PM. Billie Joe let us know they were gonna do "some new stuff, some old stuff, some really old stuff, and some really, really old stuff..." and immediately launched into Welcome to Paradise. This sent the crowd into a frenzy and indeed, we were all in paradise.

Billie Joe Armstrong signing an autograph for a fan after the show.

They played a 2 and 1/2 hour long set that featured almost an album's worth of new material, lots of old tunes especially Dookie hits and a few covers (a Misfits cover was particularly funny in light of Glenn Danzig's diva act at Fun Fun Fun Fest). The night was quite crazy; I guess like a punk show should be. Fans on stage and stage diving, Billie Joe slamming Lone Star tallboys (he even shared with us how his wedding was BYOB), and a celebrity sighting (Andy Roddick, Brooklyn Decker, and Serena Williams....odd I know). There was also a nice moment where the band played a tribute song to Amy Winehouse while a fan held the hand-written lyrics up for Billie Joe. The band wrapped up the show around 1:30 AM although I am sure they could have played well into the early morning hours. I even scored a drumstick from Tre Cool after the show. Not a bad night I must say especially since I woke up that morning thinking the highlight might be taking a nap. Ha! You gotta love those unexpected days that turn into kick-ass memories! Thanks Green Day!!