Billy Joe is short!!

The bruises have mostly healed. The beer has been washed out of my hair. My sneakers still have a bit of nacho cheese on them I need to scrub off. Other than that, though, the Green Day concert was truly amazing ... and in a totally different way than any other concert I've been to.

Lizzie, Amanda, and I got to American Airlines Center at around 5:00pm so that we could get in early for the 7:30 show. Well, we get there and find that a General Admissions line is just beginning to form on (of course) the side of the arena that is facing the sun. Keep in mind, it was about 100 degrees outside that day. Thankfully, Mom had insisted that we bring water with us and a $1 umbrella they'd picked up at the dollar store. Thank goodness we had that with us -- we were baking.

They finally let us into the arena at around 6:30, and after a few minutes wait, they eventually let us down onto the floor. Wouldn't you know it -- the three of us walked right up to the railing along the front stage! The girls were excited at this point, yet still kind of dazed. Lizzie kept explaining that she was trying not to freak out.

Jimmy Eat World opened the show. The music was good. Loud, but good. Lizzie and Amanda were singing along having a great time. Their set ended, the lights came back up, and that is when everyone on the floor decided to push forward. We were totally squished up against the railing and it got kind of ugly there for a while, and Green Day hadn't even come out yet. I knew that once the music started, people would begin jumping and trying to bully their way up to the front, so I told the girls to not let go of the railing for anything. (Through the whole concert, I had a death grip on Lizzie's arm.)

Finally, Green Day came out, the crowd went wild, the girls were screaming, and I was crushed. I couldn't tell if the two were being squished b/c they were too busy screaming and laughing and trying to get (lead singer) Billy Joe's attention. They really had a great time -- every time I looked back at them, they were grinning and singing at the top of their lungs. I was having a good time, too -- after a while, you kind of get used to having your lungs squished. It was actually a really cool experience to see Green Day. They've been around since I was in high school, and I liked their music back then. (Lizzie and Amanda refuse to accept that Billy Joe is older than I am.)

Memorable Moments:

• Billy Joe reaching down from the stage and touching Lizzie and Amanda's hands
  
• The band calling up fans to replace each of the band members, then giving one of the fans the guitar
• The cannons shooting off Green Day confetti into the air and it snowing down on us during "We Are The Champions"
• "Holiday" - I love this song
• Billy Joe with a crown and cape, kind of like a "pint-size James Brown"
• The drunk bunny
• Realizing just how small Billy Joe is!
  
• Waiting behind the arena until 1am for the band to come out (which they never did) and Lizzie falling asleep laying against my leg

It was great. I loved it. Lizzie loved it. Amanda loved it. And for now, I'm a pretty cool big sister in Lizzie's eyes. :)

Read the Dallas Morning News review here.