Bands inviting fans on stage can be wonderfully endearing. We’ve seen Yungblud jam with fans time and again, while Pearl Jam recently celebrated a fan travelling 7,000 miles to watch the band by inviting him on stage to play Yellow Ledbetter with them – but one fan has used his moment in the spotlight to troll Green Day.
The punk rock legends chose to bring a fan on stage during a recent open-air show in Luxembourg on June 30, with the acoustic guitar staple Good Riddance (Time of Your Life) next up on the setlist. The chosen fan, however, had other ideas – and their wicked sense of humor got the better of them.
The young fan had Bille Joe Armstrong’s acoustic slung over his shoulder, but when he was prompted to start playing the 1997 hit in front of the 16,000-strong crowd, he chose to play Oasis’ Wonderwall instead.
Armstrong’s groan of “Oh, fuck me!” amidst a mixed reaction from the crowd – whoops and boos intermingling – hits hard. He knew he’d been duped.
The guitarist, though, swiftly unarmed his guitar-playing assailant, who put his hands to his head in disbelief. There was then a brief exchange between the pair, which likely saw the fan pleading his case before being ushered off stage, leaving Armstrong to finish the song himself.
He may have proven more forgiving if he hadn't played the long game in his bid to drop the punchline. There'd been an exchange just beforehand, with the young fan playing a chord progression that was definitely not Good Riddance, prompting Armstrong to laugh awkwardly and say, “You told me you could play this song!”
Still, Liam Gallagher found it funny at least. He commented on a clip of the prank on X with “Best song of the night.”
Green Day have been making a tradition of ending many of their sets with the help of their fans – Good Riddance's simple chord progression really lends itself to the opportunity – but this might be the first instance a fan has dared to go off-piste. The band may reconsider their vetting process in the future.
It’s been a busy few months for Armstrong. He was in Liverpool in January watching a fan cover a Green Day classic at the Cavern Club, unaware that the man who wrote it was in the room. In April, he showed his guitar solo chops by shredding Crazy Train with The Coverups, and joined the Go-Gos on stage for a Coachella guest spot, and last month they headlined Download Festival.
Green Day released their latest album, Saviors, last year, with Armstrong saying he fell in love with guitar solos again after doubling down on his love of Eddie Van Halen.
He’s also one of a select few musicians to have played Steve Jones’ Les Paul on stage in recent months, after its owner, who bought the guitar for $390,000 at auction, loaned it out to certified punk heavyweights.
