Live review: The Coverups, London O2 Academy Islington

In the gloaming of a mild January evening, the prospect that a punk rock star of the magnitude of Billie Joe Armstrong might appear onstage – for nothing other than, presumably, the love of it all – at a venue as compact and bijou as the O2 Academy Islington is enough to warm the heart in the depths of an English winter. As The Coverups' name suggests, tonight’s happening, 90 minutes in length, is devoted to a side band devoted to playing songs (more or less) originally recorded by the groups that influenced the group that would become Green Day. It’s a busman’s holiday, if you like, in a city teeming with buses.

It is, if not quite by definition, a rather low-key affair. In front of a house-full crowd, Billie Joe declines from adopting the much-huger-than-life persona that in the past 12 months has graced enormodomes such as Wembley Stadium here in London, and Citi Field in New York City. Instead, the man that just might be the finest songwriter of his generation cuts a low-key presence who guides his four-piece band (comprised of Green Day guitarist Jason White and other members of that group’s immediate circle) through a collection of what he describes at the top of the show as his favourite songs. With this, the setlist is comprised of tracks that appeal to people of a certain age. The crowd, themselves comprised of people of a certain age, are pleased by the results.

So, a quarter of a century after Green Day bedazzled the audience at a low-key show at the nearby King’s College with a blast of Generation X’s Dancing With Myself, tonight in North London, we get the song in full. With this there comes a blast of The Undertones (Teenage Kicks), The Clash (Should I Stay Or Should I Go and I’m So Bored With The USA), Ramones (I Wanna Be Sedated and Rockaway Beach), The Pretenders (Message Of Love), Nirvana (Drain You), and more. It’s as if Billie Joe Armstrong has plugged in his iPhone to the venue’s PA system and, for shits and giggles, has decided to sing along.

The crowd sings along, too, even though the PA fails to carry its volume to the people at the back of a heaving room. With its flat floor, the Academy is also an enemy of people who happen to stand somewhat below average height.

Overall, though, the evening still ascends to something approaching joy. At the end of the night, an introduction to (What’s So Funny About) Peace, Love & Understanding – by Nick Lowe, and popularised by Elvis Costello & And The Attractions – dedicated to the victims of the Southern Californian wildfires adds weight to the notion that this is a man who has fought his way out of the bubble in which other rock stars reside. For sure, it’s a nice touch. From Wembley Stadium to a tight and fetid club in Islington, Billie Joe Armstrong continues to find ways to be himself.

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