My thoughts on Green Day (Part 1)

So, Green Day is a doing a huge tour in order to promote their new album, 21st Century Breakdown. I saw them Tuesday night at Madison Square Garden, where they put on a 3 hour show encompassing material from their latest album, with a few classics thrown in for good measure. A lot more older songs followed in the encore, including my personal favorite, Macy's Day Parade. No comment on that one, however. I did not stay for the encore.

Anyway, the group put on an entertaining show. They all played really well- Tre Cool and Mike Dirnt are two extremely talented musicians, as are the back-up players. The stage crew was very competent and on the ball as well. Billie Joe, on the other hand, managed to knock the overall experience down a few pegs with his immature antics and his horrendously dirty mouth. Coming from me, this seems almost out of character. I am known for my horribly tasteless sense of humor, and I am prone to swearing like a sailor sometimes. I swear at the Double Vision shows. But here's the difference: Double Vision shows are primarily 21+. Green Day, however, attracted hordes of young children to the show. Billie Joe has to be aware of this; he invited a few young children on stage to play with the band (only to later tell one of them to 'get the fuck' off the stage after playing). Sure, he probably meant that humorously, but the kid would not understand that.

Perhaps it is up to the parents to research Green Day to see what they are like in concert. True. I really do think it is up to the parents to research the concerts before bringing their children. But most parents don't do that. Still, there really is no excuse to swear excessively in front of kids. Children will imitate anything they hear- swearing included. Billie Joe has to be aware that his fanbase not only consists of fans who listened to his music in the 90s, but also consists of much younger fans today. If he really is that oblivious, then he should acknowledge the fact that he has two kids and that he needs to grow up.

And besides, as much as I like to swear, it gets old after saying 'fuck' every. Other. Word. No joke. And guess what? Kids who look up to Billie Joe will learn that it's okay to talk like that.

Now, this falls on the parents. Hopefully, you are all smart enough to teach your kids the difference between right and wrong. This goes for all the violence in movies and TV as well. Don't let your kids become desensitized to everything that is wrong. Teach them.

And if you really, seriously can't do that, then don't take your kids to another Green Day concert. Perhaps Billie Joe is trying really hard to please all of his fans, from the youngest ones to the older ones. But if he can't control his language, then there should really be a minimum age for admission to a Green Day concert. It's that simple.

Check back for Part II soon.