'Pop Disaster' is a raging success

By Scott Iwasaki
Deseret News music editor

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The better the bands, the harder they work.
At least that's what happened last night at the Blink 182/Green Day/Jimmy Eat World concert in the E Center.
When Jimmy Eat World opened the night - which will go down in history as the "Pop Disaster" tour - the energy in the air could have powered a small city.

Jimmy Eat World - featuring vocalist/guitarist Jim Adkins, guitarist/vocalist Tom Linton, bassist Rick Burch and drummer Zach Lind - of Mesa, Ariz., was the perfect band to kick-start the power-pop punk show.

The mix was crisp and balanced as Adkins led the band through a short, sweet 30-minute set full of chugging power chords.

No set was needed to enhance the music - just the stage and Lind's drum set.
"Rockstar," "If You Don't, Don't" and "Get It Faster" primed the already hyper crowd for what was to come during the next couple of hours.

Never has Green Day played a more explosive set. And it had to, just to keep the momentum rolling. Hailing from Berkeley, Calif., Green Day - guitarist/vocalist Billie Joe Armstrong, bassist Mike Dirnt and drummer Tre Cool - took the audience on a quirky trip that included some heavy pomp rock and ska-punk anthems.
"Basket Case" and "Welcome to Paradise" bounced the audience in the seats and had the general admission crowd surfing and moshing. Then, with a smile and little punk-rock attitude, Armstrong announced he needed three volunteers to take over Green Day instruments during a rousing cover of Operation Ivy's "Jaded".

Three amateur Salt Lakers jumped on stage and took over the drum, bass and guitar, while Armstrong sang the final verse. Armstrong was so impressed with the local guitarist that he actually gave him a guitar as a souvenir.

The set ended with Cool stage-diving into his drum set and Dirnt smashing his bass. The encore featured a solo Armstrong singing "Good Riddance (Time of Your Life)."

Guitarist/vocalist Tom DeLonge, bassist/vocalist Mark Hoppus and drummer Travis Barker - collectively known as San Diego's Blink 182 - played their hearts out. While it's only been eight months since Blink played the E Center, the fans gave the trio a huge welcome. And parents in the audience were relieved that this time around the band left the flaming obscenity backdrop at home.