Post Classifieds
Green Day front man embarrasses himself
By Tom Gallagher
On November 7, 2012
Billie Joe Armstrong is a clown.
While performing at Las Vegas' iHeartRadio Music Festival in September, Armstrong, long-time front
man for the pop-punk act Greenday, stopped performing in the middle of the band's set.
He lashed out on an expletive-laced tirade and claimed that whoever had booked each act's stage time
cut his band's set short. He proceeded to smash his guitar and storm off stage.
Strangely enough, the band was in the middle of playing the mid-90s hit "Basket Case" when
Armstrong began his rant. For those unfamiliar with the tune, the opening melody and accompanying
lyrics are simple: "Do you have the time, to listen to me whine?"
Frankly, Billie Joe, I don't have the time to listen to you whine, and I certainly don't have the patience.
Something tells me the thousands of music fans in attendance that night in Las Vegas were operating
under similar parameters.
His actions in front of the packed crowd were senseless. He and his band mates signed on to play the
show, and instead of doing so, they left their fans disappointed.
Let me correct myself - Armstrong left the band's fans disappointed.
Can one honestly believe that when Armstrong cut his song in half by means of denigrating vulgarity,
the heads of band mates Tre Cool, Mike Dirnt and Jason White didn't immediately perk up like
paranoid dogs? When the four got backstage, did Cool, Dirnt and White celebrate with Armstrong in
stick-it-to-the-man, punk rock fashion?
Of course they didn't. Odds are they weren't very happy with Armstrong. He made the entire quartet
look foolish.
Punk rockers are notorious for being against the proverbial "corporate machine." That was on
full display throughout Armstrong's rant. The ironic part is, given the band's major-label success
and "sellout" - a term I typically don't apply to any band - status, Armstrong has become what he
hates by endearing himself to those very "machines."
Following complaints about having just one minute left to play, Armstrong, in an act of bravado,
proclaimed to those in attendance that he had been around since "19-(expletive)-88," an entire 24 years
of banging around the punk rock scene.
Am I supposed to think Armstrong is some kind of music icon? He's a talented performer in a very
talented band. He's not Bruce Springsteen, Billy Joel or Eric Clapton.
And as he said in the midst of his diatribe, he's not even Justin Bieber. Like him or not, Bieber is a
bona fide superstar. He's a bigger pop-culture icon than Armstrong and Greenday are or ever will be.
His actions have done nothing but punch his latest ticket to rehab. The band has cancelled a major leg
of its current tour, including a January date in Rochester, as a result.
Greenday has produced solid punk tunes for years and as such, I'm a fan. I own albums and I saw
Armstrong perform on Broadway in the group's Rock Opera, American Idiot.
But I can solemnly say that I am no longer a supporter of Armstrong.
Lastly, smashing your guitar, Billie?
Be a bigger punk rock cliché. That may have been hip if you were 20 years younger.
Tom Gallagher can be reached by email at gallagher.record@live.com.
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