If you’ve picked up a guitar for the first time in the last, say, three decades, odds are you’ve tried to learn Green Day’s “Good Riddance (Time of Your Life).” It’s a veritable alternative nation classic, as well as a guitar 101 standard. And so it’s no surprise that Green Day frontman Billie Joe Armstrong has started using the song as a chance to invite fans on stage to play it with him.
That’s what happened last night, June 30, when Green Day performed in Luxembourg. Well, at least that’s what was supposed to happen.
The young man enlisted for this very special honor used this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to do an extremely bold and — we have to admit — good bit. Instead of playing “Good Riddance,” he started performing the other alternative nation classic that’s also a guitar 101 standard: Oasis’ “Wonderwall.”
Based on one video, it appears the young guitarist got Armstrong to do about half of the first verse over a chord progression that sounds a bit like “Wonderwall,” but definitely isn’t “Good Riddance.” Thinking that maybe his guest had just started playing it in the wrong key, Armstrong gave the guy some quick instructions, and even remarked with a laugh, “You told me you could play this one!”
At that moment, the guitarist launched into an unmistakable rendition of “Wonderwall,” getting through the lead progression once before Armstrong clocked what was going on. “Oh, fuck!” the frontman exclaimed, grabbing his guitar back, before the guest was promptly ushered off the stage.
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“Nice try, nice try,” Armstrong said before playing “Good Riddance” himself.
Green Day’s summer European run has not been without a few minor hiccups. Just last week, during the band’s show at the Hurricane Festival in Germany, Armstrong had to pause the set to yell at a fan who appeared to be shooting Armstrong with a water gun. The band has a handful of gigs left in Europe, with additional shows in North and South America scheduled through September.
