Dearly beloved, I’m the bad guy. I bless the rains down in Africa. Thanks for the memories. What do these sentences mean and why, you may ask? Good question! They are lyrics from songs performed by all four acts at the Commerce City, Colorado, leg of the Hella Mega Tour. The four acts were The Interrupters, Weezer, Fall Out Boy, and Green Day. It’s a concert that I am grateful to have attended and that I have looked forward to for a while.
Originally, I was scheduled to attend the concert in July of 2020. Unfortunately, because of the barbaric grip that the COVID-19 pandemic had just months before the four musical groups were scheduled to go on tour, it had to be postponed for thirteen months. My sister and I were really excited about going to this concert, as we both really enjoy Fall Out Boy and Green Day. The main reason I wanted to attend was because I had been itching to see Green Day live since the age of eighteen.
I decided to treat my sister to lunch on the way down, we enjoyed some delicious pasta. When the concert finally began, the opening act was a band that I had never even heard of before that evening, The Interrupters. I was blown away by their music. I can’t get over how wonderful they sounded. Plus, if I can say so myself, the lead singer is a major smoke show! She is a brutally beautiful human being who has a singing voice that has boosted my mood in a big way.
Weezer is really awesome live, in my opinion. As soon as the stage was set for their act, I immediately thought of one of my friends who is a huge Weezer fan. My opinion on Weezer is that I will listen to their music, but they aren’t necessarily a top 15 favorite band of mine. Their live performance changed all that. As soon as they started playing their song, Beverly Hills, I was so excited. That song is an icon. Better yet, they played Africa, which is extra legendary!
I loved that people were living their best lives during the Weezer act. Some of them even threw their hands in the air to represent the Weezer logo. I tried, easier said than done. I’m still practicing so I can be a weirdo and have the ultimate Weezer sing along in my new place.
What I loved about Fall Out Boy’s act was the fact that their lead singer, Patrick Stump, was extremely excited to be there. He was smiling all act long. Some of my favorite songs that were played include My Songs Know What You Did In The Dark (the song that got me listening to the band in the first place), Sugar, We’re Going Down (which is my favorite song by the group), and Uma Thurman (which reminds me of passing finals in college during the fall of 2015). I don’t understand why Patrick’s voice is autotuned for non-live songs, his regular singing voice is fantastic.
Pete Wentz was absolutely hysterical. He took the time to call out somebody who was on FaceTime during the concert. Basically, he was confused as to why someone was doing all the virtual quarantine stuff when a band is playing in real live time. Then he insisted on taking a photo with the crowd at the end of the act. I found that to be really funny. I just really like when people use humor whenever and wherever they see fit.
The end of the night was absolutely worth it for me! It was the time when I finally got to see Green Day after waiting for six long years. Billie Joe Armstrong was a major gem. He insisted that people photograph as little of the concert as possible and set their mobile phones in their pockets. The reason, he said, was because now that we’re are all together, we can sing, dance, party, cry, and scream bloody murder together. He wasn’t wrong, though. In my opinion, concerts are a time to live your best life.
His voice was absolutely fantastic! Plus, his introductions were amazing, he went around and introduced all his bandmates. My favorite part was when he said that Tre Cool needed a very minimalist introduction and that he was the most dangerous drummer in the world. I’d have to agree with that, Tre is a fantastic drummer, probably the best that I have seen in my lifetime! I also adored how he insisted that the crowd do blood curdling screams in order for the group to proceed with the song.
There were three things that they did that I absolutely adore. First, during their performance of Still Breathing, Billie changed the lyrics from “Just shine a light into the wreckage” to “Just throw your hands into the sky.” He made sure that everyone had a ball during the 10 PM hour. Two, Billie was looking for a guitarist. When he saw a teenage human with about half a dozen years of guitar playing experience, he selected them to play a few chords, and made sure that the teen got bodysurfed off the stage. That human’s life was made, I guarantee it!
Lastly, a couple announced their engagement with a tank top that said, “Green Day: She Said Yes!” Billie called it to attention in the middle of the group’s performance of their iconic nine-minute ballad Jesus of Suburbia. What’s best of all, is that Billie did a “mini-marriage” where he said, “Dearly beloved, by the power vested in me, I now pronounce you, bat-[expletive] crazy.” Way to make my night by being a legend, Billie!
There is something that all three headliners did that I adored, and that is the confetti machine. At the end of each act, the bands showered the audience with confetti. It was absolutely adorable and made the experience extremely exciting and worth it. Plus, I loved burning all my energy through dancing along. My fitbit recorded about 20,000 steps, even more, perhaps. Another thing I loved was that the family in front of me was enjoying their lives to the fullest, singing and dancing along to every single song. Just knowing that they had a great time makes me happy inside.
There were only two downsides. One is the fact that I got a nasty migraine during the concert. It was almost a hundred degrees outside during the daylight portion of the concert, there were some extremely bright lights, and the concert was loud even with concert grade earplugs. I started getting a painful headache in my eyebrow area that is resistant to water and electrolyte-rich beverages and that can only go away with medicine. There was no medicine inside the car or the plastic venue bag my sister and I took with us, so I was very miserable during the ride home. I needed to wear sunglasses during the night half of the concert because the lights were so bright.
The second downside? It ended. A week later and I still have those “post-concert blues.” I get really sad when an event that I enjoyed is over. I have been coping by sharing videos of the concert on social media in an attempt to make other humans smile.
Bottom line? The Hella Mega Tour Concert was worth every minute, every song, and every dollar. I am grateful that I went and I can’t wait to attend another rock and roll concert sometime in the future.
Elephants & Extra Base Hits 