For one night, I was a believer in punk-pop. Dressed in a green Blink-182 shirt, cargo pants and black Converse so as to blend in with the faceless crowd, I entered the Centennial Garden, where the smell of posers hung heavily in the air.

Yes, that’s right ladies and gentlemen, the Pop Disaster 2002 Tour kicked off in Bakersfield on Wednesday, and its co-headliner, Green Day, stole the damn show.

The concert consisted of Jimmy Eat World, Green Day and Blink-182. Green Day, by far, was the best band on the bill, playing amidst flashing sirens, blinking strobe lights (I nearly had a seizure, but it would have been worth it) and huge pyrotechnics while lead singer Billie Joe Armstrong provoked the audience into call-and-response sessions.

At one point, it seemed like some weird jungle ritual and I thought I had been transported to the set of “Apocalypse Now.”

You can tell these guys love playing to the audience, especially Armstrong, who blew kisses, sprayed water and heckled us, at one point saying, “Oh shit, it’s (expletive) Bakersfield, goddamn it!”

They ended with “Good Riddance (Time of Your Life),” a slower song containing the lyric, “I hope you had the time of your life.” What’s weird is that I did. If I had been close enough, I would have thrown my panties on stage.

The minute Green Day walked off stage I said to myself, “Man, Blink-182 better be freaking good,” because at that point, I really didn’t care who went on next.

They weren’t that bad, playing recent sing-along favorites like “Girl at the Rock Show” and “First Date,” which was dedicated to all of the people in Bakersfield who smoke weed, but they were nowhere near as explosive as Green Day.

The best part was when drummer Travis Barker’s kit was suspended in air for a big solo during the encore and was rotated 360 degrees face-forward, and he’s such a bad-ass drummer that he never missed a beat. That alone made their show worth it.

The opening act was Jimmy Eat World. I just have two words: wuss rock. They even look like nice-guy dorks, thus adding to their emo appeal. They sound like the kind of band that would play with local emo favorite Diary, at The Gate.

They’re not the best band, but they seem sincere. I’m sure like with every emo band, the girls that broke their hearts were special enough to inspire at least 12 same-sounding songs.

The bottom line is I’m really glad I caught Green Day. My biggest complaint is that, first of all, they should be the true headliners.

I’m not just saying this because they’re the ones who really opened the mainstream flood gates for punk combining with pop and thus allowing bands like Blink-182 to become huge successes, but they’re also a better band with a better live show.

I’m even glad I waited in line to buy their T-shirt, thus missing Blink-182’s first three songs.

But hey, I was the girl at the rock show, and I had a surprisingly damn good time.