Location:
HFStival, RFK Stadium in Washington, USA
Date:
May 16, 1998
Notes:
Incomplete setlist
Mitch Schneider, Amanda Cagan: "For Green Day, the madness continues. At the HFStival at RFK Stadium in Washington, DC, the band stole the show by playing a reliably maniacal set in front of 60,000 people before capping things off with a special touch. Let the Washington Post pick up the story: 'Green Day's lead singer, Billie Joe Armstrong, donned a mask for a crowd-pleasing spoof of shock-rock ghoul Marilyn Manson and later stripped down to leopard-print bikini panties. It seemed as if the entire stadium sang along to the anthem of self-loathing Basket Case, and after a spectacularly pyromaniacal closing in which the band set its drum kit and guitars on fire, Armstrong managed to pull off the relatively quiet and reflective Good Riddance (Time of Your Life).'"
MTV: "In a sign of spring as recognizable as melting snow or beer-cradling beach-bound college students, the annual radio station-sponsored love-in known as the WHFStival is back, this time with Green Day, the Mighty Mighty Bosstones, Foo Fighters, Everclear, Marcy Playground and many more. The rite of spring will take place on May 16 at its usual haunt, RFK Stadium in Washington, and will also feature performances by God Lives Underwater, Crystal Method, Semisonic, Soul Coughing, Save Ferris, Fastball, Barenaked Ladies, Cherry Poppin’ Daddies and Harvey Danger. Organizers say that more artists will be announced soon. Tickets for the show are $25 and are available through TicketMaster with some portion of the proceeds going to the Milarepa Fund to aid the Tibetan people in their non-violent struggle against their oppression at the hands of the Chinese government."
Rolling Stone: "Making the Crystal Method go on stage at R.F.K. Stadium's HFStival in Washington, D.C., after what Green Day did to it was cruel and unusual punishment. Theirs was a performance that will age well and prove more vigorous, more audacious and more felonious as it evolves into urban legend. Today, it was, 'did you see Tre Cool torch his drum set, Billie Joe Armstrong strip to his leopard-skin bikini briefs and that pimply-faced mosher jam with the band?' In ten years, the drummer for Green Day will have pulverized his drums and shot flares into the crowd, Billie Joe will be naked and urinating on security guards, and an overzealous fan will be heisting guitars. It was that good. 'We never plan to do shit,' Tre said after the band's set, waiting for a fire marshall to potentially come-a-callin', 'but we always keep the implements of our destruction on hand in case need be. I had an ax and other things.' Tre stood in front of his drum kit like a priest performing an exorcism, doused it with lighter fluid, and watched in glory as the flames grew. With studied ambivalence, Billie Joe walked up to the mic and performed the only song he could with the rest of the instruments in various states of ruin: the guitar ballad Good Riddance (Time of Your Life). The song's line 'It's something unpredictable, but in the end is right / I hope you had the time of your life' proved a fitting explanation for the wreckage ... and a modest farewell. Earlier, while covering Operation Ivy's Knowledge, Billie Joe voir dired the mosh pit, looking for a young hack who could adequately play the song's guitar line, so the ax-wielding frontman would be free to roam. After a two-minute search, Dave the Fan, wearing a 'Porn Star' T-shirt squirted through the pit and hopped on stage, where Billie Joe greeted him with a full kiss on the mouth. For the next few minutes, Tre and Mike supplied the backbeat while Billie Joe taught Dave how to play the song. 'If you suck, everyone here is gonna kick your ass,' Billie Joe said. He didn't, and even if he did, Green Day's chutzpah negated him. Not that a few performers didn't give Green Day a run for the benjamins. Wyclef Jean, joined on-stage by fellow Fugee Pras and the hip-hop flava of the month, Canibus, baptized 'rip-rock.' 'A lot of kids try to do it, but the fusion's not right,' he said before his set. 'We gonna combine street hip-hop with straight-up rock, but the lyrics are straight deadly street, you know what I mean?' Sure, why not."
Starsailgirl: "Green Day - I was thoroughly surprised at how good they were. They did all their hits, like Hitchin' a Ride, Longview, Basket Case, When I Come Around, Brainstew/Jaded, Welcome to Paradise, etc.. They did some funny stuff too. Billie Joe put on this devil mask and was like "the beautiful people, the beautiful people!" lol. He also dropped his pants...and then they set the stage on fire before Time Of Your Life (Good Riddance). Overall, they were good. They really interacted with the crowd."
