Green Day show sends good vibes to nearly everyone

Welcome to a new kind of tension.

Green Day, the rock band that revived its career by criticizing the Iraq War and President George W. Bush on 2004 album “American Idiot,” is far from finished with social commentary.

Today’s political climate shaped Green Day’s Wednesday performance at Klipsch Music Center, the band’s first in Indianapolis since a 2005 concert at Bankers Life Fieldhouse.

Vocalist-guitarist Billie Joe Armstrong paused during “Holiday,” the fourth song in a 2-½ hour show, to outline the night's agenda: Dividing us is entertainment devised by politicians and corporate media, Armstrong told the crowd. In contrast, this stop of the "Revolution Radio" tour will be about love, compassion, equality, fun and unity.

Armstrong extended his "We're all in this together" idea by saying Democrats and Republicans aren't where it's at. "I don't want a party; I want a celebration," he said.

"No racism, no sexism, no homophobia" was seen on T-shirts throughout the audience, and Armstrong used these phrases in a call-and-response segment.

(Wednesday's hottest Facebook thread within the Indianapolis music community involved the planning of a "Rock Against Racism" concert, an idea initially launched in England in the mid-1970s).

Of course, Armstrong's call for equality and unity didn't materialize in a vacuum. Something is causing friction, and he said "moral truth" compelled him to invite neo-Nazis to leave the United States.

Eventually, Armstrong got around to talking about President Donald Trump and his response to last weekend's violence in Charlottesville, Va.

In a difficult-to-prove accusation, Armstrong said, "The president is a white supremacist, can you believe it?" and he included an F-bomb salutation for Trump in a song near the end of the night.

Armstrong delivered some of the most pointed political comments on the Klipsch stage since Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young sang, "Let's Impeach the President" in 2006. To say the CSNY crowd was polarized would be an understatement. On Wednesday, Green Day appeared to have the audience on its side.

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It helps that Armstrong is one of music's most engaging entertainers. He dedicated "Boulevard of Broken Dreams" to all his "good friends" who are the lonely ones. He complimented the audience for not overdoing it with smartphone documentation. "Be present," he said.

During a rendition of 1991's pre-fame "2,000 Light Years Away," Armstrong worked to connect with fans by spraying water into the lower pavilion (an old Ozzy Osbourne favorite) and by booming souvenirs from a T-shirt gun.

"2,000 Light Years Away" showcased two touring members of Green Day: Jason White playing a Chuck Berry guitar solo and Jason Freese playing a Farfisa-toned garage-rock organ solo.

Armstrong's official partners, bass player Mike Dirnt and drummer Tre Cool, supplied the foundation of "Hitchin' a Ride" — a slice of minimalist genius in the tradition of Bo Diddley, Willie Dixon and Screamin' Jay Hawkins.

For sophistication, "Are We the Waiting" blended U2 and Cure textures into an autumnal anthem before slingshotting into popular rave-up "St. Jimmy." This transition represented the "American Idiot" project at its most effective, rivaling "Tommy" and "Hedwig and the Angry Inch" in the pantheon of rock operas.

It's nice to report Indiana supplied three capable volunteers when Armstrong asked for on-stage assistance.

Two minutes into the show, a young man in a Ramones T-shirt nailed the lyrics of "Know Your Enemy"; Jon Benjamin of Indianapolis band Chin Up, Kid may have been a ringer when rallying the crowd around "Longview"; and 8-year-old Liam rocked his assignment of playing guitar on Green Day's nightly version of Operation Ivy's "Knowledge."

U.S.A., let's stay together for the kids.

Call IndyStar reporter David Lindquist at (317) 444-6404. Follow him on Twitter: @317Lindquist.