Tune In, Tokyo… Mini-Review

Yeah, yeah, yeah. Shut up. I know it’s been a long time coming, especially since I should have reviewed this right after Warning:, but I never ever ever got around to procuring and listening to it.

Well, I did it, so shut up and be happy.

Green Day is:

Billie Joe Armstrong on guitars, lead vocals, and harmonica

Mike Dirnt on backing vocals and bass

Tre Cool on drums

Jason White on guitars

Released 2001, month unknown, Reprise Records

This Japan-only import starts off with some crazy siren and Green Day testing a few chords before launching into Warning:‘s first obligatory pop song, “Church on Sunday.” I admit that this song was relatively catchy yet still bland when I first heard, but Green Day does it justice here, with Tre’s crazy drum rolls, the bass-heavy guitar line, and a nice acoustic back-up that proves that even when they’re not successful at all, Green Day can still put on a pretty good live show.

Although Green Day admirably improves “Church on Sunday,” they still prove that when they play an excellent song live, it’s really good, with “Castaway” standing out even though we’re only on the second song. One of the best cuts from Warning:, the song turns into an absolute anthem (still using the word!) here.

Another strong track from Warning: (this EP is dominated by Warning: tracks) is “Blood, Sex, and Booze,” Billie’s dominatrix ode which, even lacking a mandolin, manages to sound pretty cool based on sheer catchiness alone.

It was at about this point in the EP that I realized the crowd were only audible when Billie makes them scream really loud. Did they tap the amps for this performance? I’m not sure.

The fourth track is the only one that isn’t from Warning: and it’s “King for a Day” from Nimrod, which sounds absolutely fantastic. Unfortunately there’s no information on who played the brass section, but they really made the song. It sounds great, even when it collapses at the end.

I like the band’s interactions with the crowd on this EP. They tell several people to “Shut up!” and the crowd laughs. One woman requests “All by Myself” and the band starts playing “Waiting.” “Waiting” sounds unimaginably good live, though I can only imagine what Billie is doing that makes the crowd cheer so loudly during the “acoustic” interlude.

“Minority” is the longest track on here. Billie screws with the crowd and does his annoying and dated “Hey-ho” routine, but it’s worth it to get to the harmonica solo. You read that right.

The last song on here is “Macy’s Day Parade,” which sounds far better live than on the album.

Yeah, it’s short, but every single track on this Japanese-exclusive live EP is sweet. If you can find it, I definitely recommend it.