Green Bay,JB's Dudley 25/03/05

First the venue Jb's is the dodgiest little shed venue in the midlands, but that is a good thing! Having been to Jb's to see lots of tribute acts aswell as the likes of The Wildhearts and Pitchshifter, i have to say that Jb's is the best venue I have been to. Holding about a thousand at a push it's a great little venue with great sound and a serious hang up on bad(or good if you like to dance like a fool to Van Halen!) 80's Rawk'n'Roll! with a little room out the back for the Nu-Metallers and i must agree sometimes Rammstein and System of a Down have a serious jump like a fool appeal, the venue really does appeal to the whole spectrum of rock and roll. Also bizarrely in this room is also the greasy spoon, where shit chips and a heart attack burger are the order of the day for sweaty mansonites who probably couldn't get served across the room at the Bar, which, wait for this it's a classy touch, sells not only Guiness, Lager and Newcastle Brown Ale but also Jack daniels and 20/20, surely making it's first appearance at a venue for over 18's and not just on Red House Park.

Another interesting fact about Jb's is that Dudley as a whole has NO and i mean NO (capitals and everything!) other places to listen to Bon Jovi meaning therefore that a high level of women over 40 descend on the place every Friday or Saturday more eagerly as Hoddle to a church, making it and remember i'm married, Milf city for the desperate and eager among us, even and i must stress the EVEN Andy Clarke has been laid by two different women met at this venue.

Anyway...The Band

Tribute bands come in 3 categories Dire(a bad experience with a Freddie Mercury tribute on a Holiday camp springs to mine), OK (Ozzmosis) and GREAT (Limehouse Lizzy). Green Bay come firmly in the verging on GREAT department. I think a love for the band comes second only to the setlist as the makings of a great tribute act, Green Bay don't look a thing like Green Day but they look like they are having a whale of a time during every song and as a fan who has seen Green Day on 4 occasions, i can say the voices aren't perfect, the bass player forgot the lyrics to Longview(ooohh the bugger), but for enthusiasm more than made up for it.

The setlist left no stone unturned even waying in great Ramones and Clash covers(I fought the Law, whichwas covered by Green Day on the soundtrack for some crap US teen movie). Kicking off the set unsurprisingly with a perfect American Idiot, they then managed to surprise everyone with the full nine minutes of Jesus of Suburbia, which i think for a tribute band is quite a risk it would be so easy to just play hits and not lose everyone but the hardcore fans, but these were hardcore fans playing for hardcore fans which as a hardcore fan was a delight. About five songs in the drummer took centre stage a gentleman in dodgy hat with an acoustic guitar walked on and everyone watched looked at each other and said 'Time of your life?' but no what followed was a word perfect version of the hidden track on Dookie 'I was alone'. Sometimes the genius in a tribute band is hearing tracks you never see live and these didn't disappoint 'Nice guys finish last' being just one example and alongside live classics like 'She' and 'King for a Day' which led as it does with Green Day into a Skatastic version of Lulu's 'Shout'.

When it finally got to it everyone who set foot in Jb's that night sang 'Time of your Life' from start to finish A fitting end to a great set and joy of joys, like any good meal followed a fitting dessert, a cheesy rock disco altogether now 'She's got eyes like the bluest sky...'.

The night was only marred by the first act of violence i have seen in Jb's in the 5 years i have been going. Sad but incredibly amusing, During the second song i was having a little skank as you do when all of a sudden a skinhead slammed into my back, i believe i handled this situation quite well and left the centre of the dancefloor, for fear for my glasses and also my ribs looking at the 6foot5 muscular psycho walking up and down with no top on,always the good sign of a true nutter, with a middle finger raised on each side of him. Now what i didn't see was that he slammed into a lady and apparently hurt, I gauge that by the fact she kept trying to approach for maybe a kind apology, but her fella was having none of it. A couple of songs later the boyfriend wen't to the toilet and the Lady landed possibly the best thrown punch i've seen connect WHAT A BEAUTY!!!! The sound it made was louder than the band, as was the cheer. Psycho man was then ejected, possibly to Hospital or maybe to tell his mommy.

www.greendaytribute.com
www.jbsdudley.co.uk