Earlier in the week we noted the 20th anniversary of the riot that broke out at Boston’s Hatch Shell during a now-infamous Green Day concert. The WFNX event had drawn nearly 100,000 people to the public space between Storrow Drive and the Charles River, and it was too much for anyone to handle.
Green Day got through about 24 minutes of music — eight songs total, playing hits off that year’s breakout album Dookie like “Welcome To Paradise,” “Basketcase” and “Longview.” Then the shit really hit the fan.
In Greg Wymer’s recording, which you can listen to below, it was clear things were bonkers right from the start, as pre-show announcements from the stage ask for people to back up. The recording ends with Morning Guy Tai trying to calm the crowd down as the show abruptly ended.
It sounds calamitous.
And the Meices got booed.
Welcome to paradise, welcome to Boston. And shout-out to my former WFNX.com colleague Kurt St. Thomas, who is interviewed extensively in the We Want The Airwaves documentary and booked Green Day for this gig, for unearthing this gem…
