Green Day at Darien Lake

Green Day is one of the first bands I remember getting into on my own. I still have memories from early Elementary school, of hearing their songs on the radio for the first time.

Though they aren't a band I actively listen to Like I did years ago, I'll never deny the affect they had on my musical tastes. The first time I saw Green Day was in 2002, opening up for Blink-182 on the Pop Disaster Tour at Darien Lake. They absolutely blew Blink out of the water. For me, they really set the bar for what a band could be live. Then I saw them again in Rochester in 2004, shortly after the release of "American Idiot" and they were even better.

When "Revolution Radio," Green Day's latest album, dropped last year, I have to admit I approached it with cautious optimism. After the mixed feelings over their triple album release, "Uno!," "Dos!" and "Tre'," I wasn't really sure what would be next. Sure enough, the band's 12th studio album truly defied my expectations.

The band's latest return to Darien Lake for the "Revolution Radio" tour on August 26th had Catfish and the Bottlemen opening up the show with the perfect level of energy to prime the audience for the headliners.

Green Day opened up with a handful of songs from their newer albums before diving into the stacked collection of classics. Their set made sure to hit all the staples that have become mainstays at a Green Day show such as their cover of Operation Ivy's "Knowledge". It's at this point in the show that Billie Joe invites an audience member onstage, to play along on guitar before letting them take the instrument home.

The Bay Area punk veterans always exceed at commanding a crowd of several thousands, and keep them singing and "hey oh-ing" until the end.