My Green Day Adventures (True Stories)
Orlando, Florida show
The holidays had passed. For Christmas mom had gotten me a Mike Dirnt Percussion bass and other assortments of Green Day items to add to my collection. Mom and I have a thing she collects Rolling Stone items and I do Green Day, and we both combine with Social Distortion.
My birthday arrived in March and it was my sixteenth, which I guess is a big thing. To me it's just an increase of a number, but society makes it some huge event. I just went out to dinner with the family and a few of my close friends. Mom presented me with tickets to a Green Day show in Orlando, Florida, Tampa Florida, Charlotte, North Carolina, and Cleveland, Ohio. The Florida shows were an excuse to go visit my sister and the North Carolina show was to go visit my Uncle, and the Cleveland show was just to keep life interesting.
We left on the 15Th for Orlando. We did our usual thing, except this time I brought my niece who lives not too far from Orlando. So we stayed with my sister. She digged Green Day and it was fun to have someone there to keep me company. This time I was extremely paranoid about getting up front, since Mike Dirnt had indicated that he recognized me, and I had no idea how Floridians going to Green Day shows reacted in timing to get there. I sound like I'm trying to analyze a mystery, but I quote that above from my notebook. We got there around 9 in the morning.
Lisa (my niece) and I hung around listened to music and walked around the TD Water House Arena. The people on the other side of the arena were weird. They hung a bag up and said it marked their territory and that we couldn't take it or something like that. Then later in the afternoon we were still walking and we saw this guy run in the middle of the street and I swore on my life it looked Billie Joe, but it was just a fan at the show. He asked if we were going to the show and all that jazz. Then he went to a store and Lisa and I resumed our spot out front. About an hour or so later the same guy comes back with a few friends with food and drinks for everyone waiting in line, which I thought was kind of cool. We all sat and sang Green Day songs. The guy though that I referred to earlier that looked like Billie Joe was as aggravating a piss ant. I wanted to tell him to shut the hell up, but I was consuming the goods he brought, and thought that would be a bit rude.
A few hours later I spotted tour buses rolling around the corner. I look at Lisa and we darted to them. Suddenly everyone followed and Tre appeared from one of the windows goofing off pretending to hump the driver and everyone started chanting the lyrics to "Waiting". After buses went to this underground thing everyone resumed their spot in front of the arena.
Mom came a few hours later with the tickets. The gates opened and I darted towards where Mike would be. There was a change this time in the opening band, which would be My Chemical Romance. I wasn't too thrilled, but whatever. When My Chemical Romance was doing their slot I could see underneath the stage and see Billie Joe and Jason White skateboarding.
Green Day came on and did their thing. Mike spotted me and laughed like he did in LA. Terry from the Frustrators was no longer a guitarist in St.Jimmy (I think that was when Mike Pelino came in). The time came for them to do "Knowledge". I decided not to volunteer at all unless they were in dire need of someone, and I think they already knew I played bass anyway.
Well, one of the guys that brought us food played drums. He was pretty good. Then that obnoxious Billie Joe look a like got picked for bass, and some girl got picked for guitar. I felt kind of bad for her because she was terrible and people from the audience kept yelling at Billie to get someone else, but he was cool with her and got her to get it. As for the bass player he was terrible, and obnoxious. He kept following Billie around everywhere and pretending he was the shit.
Mike, Jason White, Jason Freese, and Ronny Blake were all pointing and laughing at him the "The fuck?" kind of expression on their face. Once they finished playing "Knowledge" the bass player took the mic from Billie and yelled "I've only been playing for 6 weeks!" and then Billie runs back to where Mike's was and goes "You need 6 more!". Then the bass player started yelling random shit like "Clap for the best fucking band Green Day dammit!" and tried to get everyone to chant to "Waiting" again. Security jumped on stage and took him off. They ended up using the bassist to do the stage dive.
They changed the set list a bit by adding "Maria". Then during "'Good Riddance" I see this little girl run and jump on Mike's shoulders. I knew right away it was of course Estelle. I smiled at her and Mike pointed at me and said something to her and then she waved to me. I thought that was cool and waved back.
We drove back to my sisters and stayed the night and hung out for them the part of the next day and headed to Tampa for the next show.
My birthday arrived in March and it was my sixteenth, which I guess is a big thing. To me it's just an increase of a number, but society makes it some huge event. I just went out to dinner with the family and a few of my close friends. Mom presented me with tickets to a Green Day show in Orlando, Florida, Tampa Florida, Charlotte, North Carolina, and Cleveland, Ohio. The Florida shows were an excuse to go visit my sister and the North Carolina show was to go visit my Uncle, and the Cleveland show was just to keep life interesting.
We left on the 15Th for Orlando. We did our usual thing, except this time I brought my niece who lives not too far from Orlando. So we stayed with my sister. She digged Green Day and it was fun to have someone there to keep me company. This time I was extremely paranoid about getting up front, since Mike Dirnt had indicated that he recognized me, and I had no idea how Floridians going to Green Day shows reacted in timing to get there. I sound like I'm trying to analyze a mystery, but I quote that above from my notebook. We got there around 9 in the morning.
Lisa (my niece) and I hung around listened to music and walked around the TD Water House Arena. The people on the other side of the arena were weird. They hung a bag up and said it marked their territory and that we couldn't take it or something like that. Then later in the afternoon we were still walking and we saw this guy run in the middle of the street and I swore on my life it looked Billie Joe, but it was just a fan at the show. He asked if we were going to the show and all that jazz. Then he went to a store and Lisa and I resumed our spot out front. About an hour or so later the same guy comes back with a few friends with food and drinks for everyone waiting in line, which I thought was kind of cool. We all sat and sang Green Day songs. The guy though that I referred to earlier that looked like Billie Joe was as aggravating a piss ant. I wanted to tell him to shut the hell up, but I was consuming the goods he brought, and thought that would be a bit rude.
A few hours later I spotted tour buses rolling around the corner. I look at Lisa and we darted to them. Suddenly everyone followed and Tre appeared from one of the windows goofing off pretending to hump the driver and everyone started chanting the lyrics to "Waiting". After buses went to this underground thing everyone resumed their spot in front of the arena.
Mom came a few hours later with the tickets. The gates opened and I darted towards where Mike would be. There was a change this time in the opening band, which would be My Chemical Romance. I wasn't too thrilled, but whatever. When My Chemical Romance was doing their slot I could see underneath the stage and see Billie Joe and Jason White skateboarding.
Green Day came on and did their thing. Mike spotted me and laughed like he did in LA. Terry from the Frustrators was no longer a guitarist in St.Jimmy (I think that was when Mike Pelino came in). The time came for them to do "Knowledge". I decided not to volunteer at all unless they were in dire need of someone, and I think they already knew I played bass anyway.
Well, one of the guys that brought us food played drums. He was pretty good. Then that obnoxious Billie Joe look a like got picked for bass, and some girl got picked for guitar. I felt kind of bad for her because she was terrible and people from the audience kept yelling at Billie to get someone else, but he was cool with her and got her to get it. As for the bass player he was terrible, and obnoxious. He kept following Billie around everywhere and pretending he was the shit.
Mike, Jason White, Jason Freese, and Ronny Blake were all pointing and laughing at him the "The fuck?" kind of expression on their face. Once they finished playing "Knowledge" the bass player took the mic from Billie and yelled "I've only been playing for 6 weeks!" and then Billie runs back to where Mike's was and goes "You need 6 more!". Then the bass player started yelling random shit like "Clap for the best fucking band Green Day dammit!" and tried to get everyone to chant to "Waiting" again. Security jumped on stage and took him off. They ended up using the bassist to do the stage dive.
They changed the set list a bit by adding "Maria". Then during "'Good Riddance" I see this little girl run and jump on Mike's shoulders. I knew right away it was of course Estelle. I smiled at her and Mike pointed at me and said something to her and then she waved to me. I thought that was cool and waved back.
We drove back to my sisters and stayed the night and hung out for them the part of the next day and headed to Tampa for the next show.