Green Day's performance of "Good Riddance (Time of Your Life)" on Thursday at the Hollywood Casino Amphitheatre in Maryland Heights, Missouri was unusual, even by the band's sometimes outrageous standards.
It wasn't something they'd planned in advance. They found out as they were returning to the stage for their encore that a dangerous storm was approaching the venue and were asked to help clear fans out as fast as possible. So when Billie Joe Armstrong took the stage for his customary solo rendition of "Good Riddance..." he hadn't even traded his electric guitar for the acoustic one he usually uses on it.
Billie Joe stepped up to the mic and said, "Okay, you guys, that's it. We've gotta get you out of here 'cause there's a big lightning storm that's coming right now." He then launched into a blitzkrieg version of the song, hitting a few chords on his electric before going a cappella for the rest of the song, with the exiting crowd joining in on the song's chorus. "Keep walking," Billy said, as he waved the crowd toward the exits and launched into what would be the song's final verse.
It was all over in under 40 seconds. Tre Cool and Mike Dirnt joined him on stage for a quick wave and off they went. You can check out video of it on the GreenDayInc fan site on Instagram.