Green Day Pleases with Old and New Hits at Oakland Show

On April 14, rockers Green Day finished up their weeklong tour of the Bay Area with an epic performance, starting with 70 minutes of new songs and ending with 70 perfected minutes of old material, reports Rolling Stone.

They performed the entirety of their new album, 21st Century Breakdown, like a rock opera at the Fox Theater in Oakland, their hometown. Pristine sound quality and theatrical lighting highlighted the restored old movie palace venue.

Although Green Day only had eight rehearsals and two previous performances of the new album, they owned the show. They distributed lyrics to their new album inviting the audience to sing along (as if most didn't already know the words.) Singer and guitarist Joe Armstrong artistically mastered anger on tracks describing rage against religious American culture such as "Christian's Inferno" and "Eat Jesus Nowhere."

Green Day's musical talents surpass simple song writing; they have always been heavily politically motivated and outspoken on social issues and current affairs, as demonstrated on their new album, 21st Century Breakdown. In the second half of the show, they rocked out to songs on old albums such as American Idiot, also filled with political rage.