On September 9, 1994 I went to a free Green Day concert outdoors at the Hatch Shell along the Charles River. The band had just recently blown up over the summer, and the city of Boston was completely unprepared for it. Forty to fifty thousand more people showed up than expected.
I have a distinct memory of the giant mosh pit (remember “moshing?” Aka “slam dancing?” It got banned at my high school dances, but that’s another story for another time) in front of the stage. The crowd became violent and out of control, and the band left for safety reasons after about 4 or 5 songs. But that was all the hits they had at the time, so I went home happy. From that day on I have referred to it as “the greatest 20 minute concert I’ve ever been to.”
Here’s a really cool youtube description of it from WFNX, the now defunct radio station that helped put on the show. As for the song, I could have chosen Longview, When I Come Around, or Welcome to Paradise as well, but I think Basket Case was the biggest deal at the time.
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About Mark Vandeusen