Green Day have come an awful long way since their humble beginnings as a regular act in small clubs in the late '80s. Through a gradual increase in the band's popularity and progressive improvements in their live chops, they have evolved into a slick, well-oiled rock and roll machine. They brought their big-time, stadium-sized sensibilities to the final slot of Lollapalooza's Saturday night (August 7) and delivered an incredible set of tracks that have evolved into classics.
Frontman Billie Joe Armstrong is especially impressive, as he careens from one end of the stage to the other rallying the crowd, inspiring them to clap along and leading singalongs through the extended bridges. All the while, he manages to hold down his guitar and vocal parts, which are sharp as ever (especially on the complex, often dark tracks from the group's most recent album 21st Century Breakdown). Though you may never have guessed it had you seen the group in their infancy, Green Day are a massive rock and roll machine, and Armstrong is the died-in-the-wool star leading the attack.
[Full review at MTV]