The Video Music Awards Will Take Place On A Green Day

I really don’t want to think this but nonetheless — we’re sure Stephanie was a real fan and not some sort of viral plant?

@NedRaggett: for what — Jessica Hopper’s book? (Actually that would be kinda awesome.)

Eyewitness account here:

At one point during Monday night’s Green Day show at Madison Square Garden, Billie Joe Armstrong announced that he needed someone on stage who could play the guitar. And not just for a “three-chord song,” he added, “for one with four, five, maybe six chords” — “Jesus of Suburbia.” After rejecting a few wannabes he stopped and asked a girl in the mosh pit if she knew how to play, then looked unconvinced when she said she did. “What key is it in?” he asked. Seemingly satisfied with her answer (it’s somewhat complicated, but for the sake of brevity, let’s say the correct response is C sharp major) he pulled her up onto the stage. The girl — her name later was revealed to be Stephanie — was wearing jeans shorts, a torn Misfits t-shirt, and a head scarf over her pigtails. Mr. Armstrong handed her the guitar, conferred with her briefly, then let her sit on an amp to get started. And then she…ripped! A few bars in she was wandering the stage like a pro and when Mr. Armstrong introduced her at the end, the crowd was shouting “Ste-pha-nie! Ste-pha-nie!” in appreciation.

Stephanie was last seen heading down Tower A after the show, a pair of Tre Cool’s drumsticks in one hand, her cell phone in the other, a chant of “Ste-pha-nie!” breaking out from those who spotted her in the crowd.

@Maura: Haha that would be! (I was thinking more some sort of long term appearance-in-a-video thing or the like, how to ‘introduce’ her via, well, a YouTube clip.) But if this is totally on the level then it’s great to see.

@NedRaggett: I never even thought about that but the exact same thing happened at the first stop on the tour in Seattle. I didn’t go but the review in Spin said “Armstrong handed off his axe to a tall, gawky teenager he pulled from the pit — “You know ‘Jesus of Suburbia,’ swear to God?” — and let the kid run, note-perfect, through all of the American Idiot epic.”

@NedRaggett: I was at this concert, and I’m pretty confident it was legit. GD have been plucking audience members out to play parts of songs onstage for years (this was my second of their concerts and the first since 2001), and the quality ranges widely.

Important detail that’s gone unreported: This was the third audience-participation bit of the night (first time was with a 12ish kid who did some fan-incitement gestures) and the second bit had been a bit wobbly; Armstrong had picked out three people to sing the three verses of “Longview,” and the middle guy had done a horrible job and didn’t know half the words. This, by the way, explains the “What Key?” quiz; I’ve seen some online commentary about the implied sexism of Armstrong asking a woman a question he supposedly wouldn’t ask a man, but just 15 minutes earlier he’d been burned by an overconfident dude’s bad singing. The choosing of Stephanie also took an almost excruciatingly long time; he even rejected a few self-proclaimed guitar aces before choosing Stephanie.

That’s part of what made her performance such a thrill: everyone who came onstage earlier was either a charming novice or a total boor, and here was this modest amateur who actually sat down for the opening chords to get her bearings (no plant would have done that, I think) before feeling confident enough to stand and play. (A plant also would’ve been flashier; Stephanie played like a very competent amateur who just knew “Jesus of Suburbia” really well.) It was a happy-wallflower moment that I’ve chosen to believe was genuine.

Ha, i was standing right next to Stephanie in front of the catwalk. I still feel that I play the song slightly better than her but she deserved to be on stage more than I.

FWIW, I read a review of a show on this Green Day tour in the WSJ a few weeks back (I think the show was in California), and it described bringing members of the audience onstage to perform, just like this. So if these folks are planted, they are doing it at every show.

Okay that’s all making a lot more sense now. It was the idea that this was some sort of totally unique moment that was making me wonder a bit.

they did the same thing at the show in LA at the Fonda, only that kid just sang and he too nailed it for JOS

they tried it another guy who was a disaster at Longview , but that was just as fun seeing someone bomb like that

I don’t even like “American Idiot,” but this trumps the “Forever” dance for me, hands down. I’m just one big smile.

They’ve been doing the fan participation thing all tour long. I was at the Boston show and Billie Joe did the same “do you know ‘Jesus of Suburbia’? what key is it in?” thing. The kid only made it through about 3/5 of JOS before handing the guitar back, though.

Definitely a fun thing – as long as the fan can decently bang out the song. I saw Green Day waaay back in 1998 (EdgeFest, for you Canadians) and I remember them pulling a guy out of the audience to play guitar. The band also set the drum kit on fire. Loved it!