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[Awhile ago we had a contest to see Green Day in Paris - and here's a message from our winner!]

Hi everyone, my name is Tom Hand and I am from Hamilton, ON. I’ve been a Green Day fan since ‘94, and I’ve seen them in concert about 10 times now. But to be able to see them in Paris, France! That’s the trip of a lifetime.

Our trip started out very smoothly. We got to the airport and on the plane with no hassels. Our plane took off, and our adventure to see Green Day had begun. How fitting that the first song we heard on the airplane, with our newly purchased headphones, was “21 Guns”. A sure sign that the trip is going to be a blast, after all it’s because of Green Day that we were there to begin with. Our flight went off without a hitch, and we landed safely at the airport.

After the nearly 8 hour flight, naturally my girlfriend and I were a little tired. Being in a place where they didn’t speak english was a little intimidating, but we got over it. We figured out the train we needed to take and we were off to our hotel room. It’s now 11:30am in Paris, 5:30am back home in Canada. With no sleep on the plane, we needed a nap.

There is so much to see and do in Paris, luckily we’d planned a lot ahead of time and knew where and what we wanted to see (besides Green Day). Paris is a beautiful city with amazing architecture and art. But still the highlight of the trip for me was Green Day.

The night of the concert we arrived at the subway stop and walked up to the street to see hundreds of people already lined up 2 hours before the show was to start. Everyone was already cheering and singing. The energy was incredible. We had General Admission seating, which to us here in North America means you get to go on the floor and get as close as you like. Unfortunately, in France however, it means you get to pick any seat in the stands, so it was lucky we had gotten there so early, and explained why everyone was already lined up.

We got into the concert and grabbed great seats to the left side of the stage. Everyone was constantly clapping and cheering. The opening act, Prima Donna, came on and got the crowd all pumped. The arena was packed. Not an empty seat and people even flooded the aisles. Then it happened, the music got louder, and there he was… the drunken bunny. The signature drunken bunny that has been at almost every Green Day show I have been to. He got the crowd going by doing “YMCA” and then proceeded to leave the stage. The lights went out and some of the loudest cheering I have ever heard started.

There was darkness for what seemed like forever, and you could barely hear it over the cheering but it was there, “Song of the Century”. Then there was light and Green Day came running out. Very similar setlist to what they have played on their North American leg of the tour. The crowd was intense, they can’t speak very much english if at all, but they could sing Green Day! They played a few songs I haven’t heard them play in years including, “When I Come Around”, and “Macy’s Day Parade”. Billy Joe even played one at the end, and I have never heard it before! All in all it was an amazing show. But don’t worry Canada, I am confident in saying that our reception for Green Day was much louder and more intense.

We made it home without any troubles. And we had an amazing time. This is truly something I will never forget. I want to thank everyone involved for making this promotion and the trip a success. And just like a talented artist once sang, “It’s something unpredictable, but in the end is right, I hope you had the time of your life.” And we did, thank you!!!

Tags: Contests, green day, winners

Posted on Monday, October 26th, 2009 at 2:21 pm by admin and is filed under Contests.

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