DATE: Tuesday, November 11, 1997            TAG: 9711110051

SECTION: DAILY BREAK             PAGE: E2   EDITION: FINAL 

TYPE: Music Review 

SOURCE: BY CRAIG SHAPIRO, STAFF WRITER 

                                            LENGTH:   47 lines

PUNK GROUP DELIVERS FAST-PACED CONCERT

IT WAS HARD to tell who was having the better time Sunday: Green Day or the sellout crowd of 2,600 that crammed into the Boathouse to see them.

Call it a draw.

The Berkeley, Calif., trio set the evening's torrid tone before setting foot on stage. After 30 minutes of generic alt-rock by Superdrag, the P.A. system cranked up the Ramones' ``Blitzkrieg Bop,'' the national anthem of American punk. As the lights dimmed, the Ramones yielded to Devo's ``Whip It.''

Whip it good is exactly what Billie Joe Armstrong, Mike Dirnt and Tre' Cool proceeded to do, ripping through three songs without pausing once to suck wind.

By the time they rolled out ``Geek Stink Breath,'' the Boathouse was rattling right up to the rafters.

The pace established, Green Day didn't lose one bit of momentum with ``Nice Guys Finish Last,'' ``Hitchin' a Ride'' and ``The Grouch,'' all off the new ``Nimrod.'' Armstrong's witty, self-mocking lyrics on the latter were lost among the crowd-surfers, but what the hey.

In fact, Armstrong proved to be as good a ringleader as he is a power-chord-loving guitarist. Early on, he stopped to read the riot act: No moshing. Laughing, he added, ``Rules are meant to be broken.''

He modeled everything tossed his way - hats, scarves, shirts, a girl's headband. After dousing the audience with water, he played pope and blessed them. He used an Elmo doll to lead a clap-along. He polled the crowd to see who knew how to play guitar - ``just three chords'' - then brought a dude on stage. When it looked like some over-zealous moshers were going to scuffle, Armstrong intervened, telling them to kiss and make up.

After a quick how-to, he had everyone pumping their fists to ``Brain Stew,'' one of the big singles off 1995's ``Insomniac.''

Dirnt (bass) and Cool (drums), didn't miss a beat, either. If they were any tighter, they'd be Siamese twins. The sound crew did a crack job negotiating the hall's acoustics.

Between ``Chump'' and ``Long View,'' both off the huge ``Dookie,'' the band worked in a rib-tickling take on Marilyn Manson's ``Beautiful People.'' Armstrong's posing knocked the windbag down a notch.

``When I Come Around'' brought the night to a close. It was only 90 minutes, but given Green Day's pedal-to-metal approach, everyone felt like they'd been in a marathon.

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