GREEN DAY'S L.A. "UNDERPLAY" OVERPERFORMS

Seeing a stadium-level band in a club is a rare opportunity. Seeing said band performing two of their most beloved albums in their entirety in such an environment is a unicorn-level rarity.

Little wonder, then, that Green Day's "underplay" at L.A.'s Echoplex (capacity 780) was packed to the rafters. Every available inch of space was taken up by the Crush-repped Warner trio's rabid fans, who screamed along to every word of every song from Dookie and American Idiot, which were delivered back to back with no fanfare—but with bludgeoning energy.

What came through, beyond the effortless rock & roll chemistry of Billie Joe, Mike and Tre, was the staggering number of great songs. You know, like "Longview," "When I Come Around," "Basket Case," "Welcome to Paradise," "American Idiot," "Boulevard of Broken Dreams" and "Are We the Waiting."

Those not fortunate enough to catch this knockout show will be able to see the band assaying this classic material on tour starting in July, in much larger venues. Much larger.

Photos: Greg Schneider