Category Archives: 21st Century Breakdown World Tour 2009-2010

November 13, 2010

“I Was There” – 1991 and 2010

By Green Day Mind

“I Was There” – Green Day in Costa Rica, 2010 – Part of me wants a video of this on the upcoming Live DVD but part of me wants to keep it locked away in raw memory, too.

This past October, at Green Day’s show in Costa Rica that ended their 21st Century Breakdown tour, the band performed a slew of “Old School” songs, songs primarily from the pre-American Idiot and Warning eras of Green Day. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve heard a Green Day fan beg for songs from the old days, usually from those albums that came out from 1990/91-1998: 1039/Smoothed Out Slappy Hours, Kerplunk, Dookie, Insomniac and Nimrod. In fact, it’s annoying the persistence of it sometimes, but I understand. A lot of fans love the “old” Green Day and many fans missed live performances since their introduction to the band is from the American Idiot era. These fans can kick themselves (like me) for not following the band from their younger days either because they weren’t into them back then (like me) or not born yet (unlike me).

I bought all of Green Day’s albums over the last sixteen months except for American Idiot (I’ve had that one since 2006), but despite this fact, there are numerous songs from the old school days that I yearned to hear over the course of the tour and several from the 21st Century Breakdown (see what here) album itself that the band didn’t play on the tour. Since I had the good fortune to attend a lot of shows over the tour, I got to hear more than a few new and old songs that were on my mental list, but it’s nothing like actually being there back in the day.

In Costa Rica, the “old school” portion of the night included songs such as “Brat” (Insomniac), “Road to Acceptance” (1039/Smoothed Out Slappy Hours),”Christie Road” (Kerplunk), and Warning’s “Waiting,” as well as a song that Green Day may not have played live — except for sound checks — since 1991. Or, at least that’s how long the gap exists between 1991 and 2010 when it comes to live performances of “I Was There” from 1039/Smoothed Out Slappy Hours on Youtube. From 1989-1991, there are five live performances of “I Was There” uploaded that I found. Two of them are with original Sweet Children/Green Day drummer, Al Sobrante (John Kiffmeyer) in Davis, CA in 1989 and at International Foods Day at Pinole High School on May 10, 1990 (there are two versions of the Pinole, H.S. show on YouTube). The other three clips finds Tre Cool drumming the song in Little Rock, AK and at the Starr Club in Tampa, Fl., both in August of 1991 (see below for the Starr Club), and then again in December of 1991 at the Den in Wigan, England, here and here.

The song doesn’t appear again as sung by Green Day themselves (covers of the song are uploaded) until yesterday when Green Day LIVE on Facebook posted a video link of the song from the Costa Rica show from Oct. 29, 2010. Fans of “I Was There,” including me, have been waiting for this to pop up, and just when all hope seemed lost, some nice person uploads a creaky cell phone-recorded version of the song from Costa Rica for us fans who were not lucky enough to have been there.

The video is raw and unprofessional, but personally, I don’t mind that so much. It reminds me of the old school days that way, where the pre-digital, celluloid memories of “I Was There” are clunky with a slight touch of melody, like the unpolished and fast sound that comes out of Green Day’s first EP, 39/Smooth. The videos, with not-so-great sound, syncing issues and chaotic filming, capture not only the rawness of Green Day’s musical youth and the sheer bravado of their performances, but also the fleeting quality of memory itself. Memories are never played in perfect HD in your mind, memories are never clear and crisp, and you never know when a body will come sailing at you in real life, too. Ok, maybe not that last one, but memory is fleeting and rarely accurate as time goes on and we move further away from the the original good moments, the pictures, the places, that we want to make last, despite any troubles we might have in our life… “But I don’t let it get me down, Or cause me too much sorrow, There’s no doubt about who I am, I always have tomorrow … I looked into the past, and I want to make it last, I was there, I was there…”

“I always have tomorrow” isn’t necessarily true, but at least it’s a good rallying cry in melancholy times for anyone, and heck, “I was there,” dammit, having a great time and stamping existence with our presence and always moving forward to the next thing in life. I kinda love this song when I’m feeling full of regret about the past or defiant in creating the kind of future I’d like to have for myself and others.

“I Was There” was written by John Kiffmeyer, the only song on 1039/Smoothed Out Slappy Hours penned by him. All other songs on the album were written and composed by Billie Joe Armstrong. Billie Joe jumbles the lyrics up a bit in the 2010 version in Costa Rica, but for a song that they haven’t played in front of an audience since 1991, it’s as fun and vibrant as when they were kids in sweaty basement venues playing in front of a hundred people, only 1000 times bigger, playing in a stadium of 20,000 people.

I’m glad that Kiffmeyer wrote this song for the band, but I have to say, I’m exceptionally happy that Tre Cool ultimately became the drummer of Green Day. My favorite of these versions besides the Starr Club, below, is the up-close version of “I Was There” from The Den in Wigan, where Mike is running around changing basses, Billie Joe is avoiding bodies on the stage, and Tre starts drumming while waiting for his new and life-long bandmates to kick in. Tre takes it all in stride with his wicked smile, egging on the audience with his licks to keep them moving as fast as possible. Must have been good times. I wish that I had been there.

“I Was There” – Green Day in Tampa, 1991 – Last Youtube videos of this song are from 1991 with new drummer, Tre Cool

“I Was There”
Looking back upon my life
And the places that I’ve been
Pictures, faces, girls I’ve loved
I try to remember when
Faded memories on the wall
Some names I have forgotten
But each one is a memory I
Look back on so often.

I look into the past
I want to make it last
I was there

I look into the past
I want to make it last
I was there

Looking back what I have done
There’s lots more life to live
At times I feel overwhelmed
I question what I can give
But I don’t let it get me down
Or cause me too much sorrow
There’s no doubt about who I am
I always have tomorrow

I look into the past
I want to make it last
I was there

I look into the past
I want to make it last
I was there

Looking back upon my life
Faded memories on the wall
Looking now at who I am
I don’t let it get me down.

Looking back upon my life
And the places that I’ve been
Pictures, faces, girls I’ve loved
I try to remember when
But I don’t let it get me down
Or cause me too much sorrow
There’s no doubt about who I am
I always have tomorrow

I look into the past
I want to make it last
I was there

I look into the past
I want to make it last
I was there

Composed by John Kiffmeyer, 1039/Smoothed Out Slappy Hours

2 Comments   |  tags: , , , , , , , | posted in 21st Century Breakdown World Tour 2009-2010, Tré Cool

October 31, 2010

21st Century Breakdown Tour: Celebrating the End and the Future

By Green Day Mind

This is the End

I’ve noted a few times over the last year when a specific segment of Green Day’s 21st Century Breakdown tour ended [LINK HERE], and this time, it’s the complete end of the tour. Green Day finished off their tour last Friday in Costa Rica and did an amazing bunch of old songs, including a full band version of “Christie Road,” and “Brat” and probably the most rare song of them all, “I Was There.” [SEE SETLIST HERE] According to DJ ROSSSTAR, a mega-fan and host of LA’s The Punk Rock Show [LINK HERE], the band hasn’t performed “I Was There” since John Kiffmeyer left the band as Green Day’s drummer. I would have hocked my Grandma to be there in Costa Rica to hear that one live, but alas, I was not there.

While Billie Joe and the band absolutely hates Youtube and concert videos, I hope that one pops up of “I Was There.” Unfortunately at this point, the only videos that have turned up on Youtube have been of the set’s regular mainstays. Though one person did capture “Christie Road” so far. It’s not the best of recordings, as happens on Youtube, but I literally cried hearing it, but hey, that’s just me.

I’ll Meet You at Christie Road – Green Day in Costa Rica – christian1449

If “I Was There” pops up on the ‘tubes, I’ll probably have to go to the insane asylum and complete my personal 21st century breakdown there.

This is the Future

There is plenty more in the future to come from Green Day, so even if the tour is over, let’s not be sad, let’s celebrate it, not mourn it. In fact, pretty soon, we will be able to look forward to a few things over the next year including:

*In Europe, MTV will head into movie theaters with their full version of Green Day’s Munich concert. MTV telecasted parts of the show last year on European television and earlier this year in North America on the HDTV Palladia Channel. The event will take place in movie theaters across Europe, in HD and will be for one night only, on November 15, 2010. So far, no dates are set for North America, which, of course, sucks balls.

*Some time in the next year, Green Day will release a new live album featuring songs from the band’s 21st Century Breakdown Tour. Maybe a DVD, too!

*Green Day is already working on a new album.

*American Idiot on Broadway is extended to the end of April 2011, as a new batch of tickets for the show were recently released. For more information on tickets sales, go the official American Idiot on Broadway site.

Who knows what else the band has in store for us, too? Heck, maybe a little Foxboro Hot Tubs record? Maybe Billie Joe will go back to Broadway for a bit? Maybe Mike Dirnt and his bandmates, Jason Chandler, Art Tedeschi and Terry Lineham, from The Frustrators will finish their new album, too! So, don’t be sad, be happy! Celebrate the future! It is bright!

Green Day Fans Celebration on May 28, 2011

Coming up for fans in May 28, 2011, there will be a huge Green Day fan and environment celebration, put together by fans for fans! The event is still in the planning stages, so I don’t have much to write about so far, but once there are final details, I’ll post something about it. The Green Day Authority may also be providing information on this event, too.

The Future of Green Day Mind

Just a note on this blog: I said I was going to end the blog when the tour ended, but I’ve decided instead to expand it a bit beyond Green Day and write about other bands, theatrical events, and just plan life crap, too. So, if you have enjoyed anything from this blog over the last months, please continue to visit and thanks for stopping by. I’ve always appreciated the positive feedback I’ve gotten from the blog, and your comments have always made my day. If you’d like to write anything about bands, fanzines, concerts, crazy theater or anything of the like, feel free to send in stuff. While I may not use everything depending on the writing and the topic, I’d love to share the best of your opinions, new discoveries of bands and events, and happy fan stuff, Green Day-related and otherwise. Thanks!

5 Comments   |  tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | posted in 21st Century Breakdown World Tour 2009-2010, Green Day Fans, Green Day's American Idiot (Musical), Green Day's Other Bands, Mike Dirnt

October 10, 2010

Insomniac is 15!, 10/10/10 – Director Terence Malick’s Thin Red Line – Billie Chavez on a Llama Looking for International Fans Who Couldn’t Make It to South America

By Green Day Mind

First of all, Happy 15th Anniversary, to Insomniac!

As you may all know, I bought my first Green Day album in 2005, American Idiot. It wasn’t until 2009 when I became a bit… uh… focused on Green Day… did I buy the remainder of their music catalog, so all of the music that I missed from Back in the Day is really fresh to me. Yea, yea, I’m a noob, sue me. For me, Insomniac (as well as Nimrod) has some of the hardest-hitting, “I hate me and everyone else, too” songs from Green Day, mean, furious, frustrated, from “86,” to “Jaded,” to “Armatage Shanks,” and of course, “Walking Contradiction,” “Brat” and ” Geek Stink Breath” and the seriously neglected, “Panic Song.” Ah, when I’m in a mood for destruction, Insomniac is the one for me.

I read a curious story the other day about the reclusive director, Terence Malick. According to an article in Slate on the film’s upcoming re-release, Malick, while editing the 1998 film, The Thin Red Line, completed the entire process for the film with the film’s sound OFF and listening to an unspecified Green Day album. Presumably, loud. Since the film came out in 1998, the album Malick listened to could very well have been 1997’s Nimrod, but, I can picture him listening to 1995’s Insomniac as well. The film is about young American World War II soldiers facing their biggest fear, heading straight into a sure death in order to secure the Pacific island of Guadalcanal from the Japanese. Here are two articles about the movie, the one from Slate, as well as a commentary from the blog, Death and Taxes, that talks specifically about what Green Day album Malick could have listened to while editing The Thin Red Line.

Anyway, back to the subject at hand, general silliness, I like that I discovered Green Day fully after they (and me) matured a bit, because they still like to act the stupid, and I think it’s a great way to live your life.

I mean, how many really fucking happy and bigger-than-life celebrity folks on the Twitter actually upload photos of themselves in Fatbooth? Or, who would dare get on a llama, a short llama… as a short… person… and take the picture below? Uh… yea, that guy, Billie Joe Armstrong. He’s head Idiot, with a capital I, for sure.

Short Dude on a Llama Somewhere in Colombia - Photo presumably by Chris Dugan

The photo, tweeted out last night sometime after their arrival in Colombia, came before Billie Joe tweeted that the Minnesota Twins would win over the New York Yankees in the Playoff Series Game. Well, that was a bit of Lushie Wishfulthinking cause of course, the Yankees won over the Twins. The Yankees go on toward yet another possible World Series win. Blech. Baseball isn’t even fun anymore when the same damned team wins all the time.

Anyhoo, here are the series of Tweets from yesterday, great for a chuckle.

GreenDay Green Day
GreenDay Green Day
Twins will beat the yanks! My prediction!
GreenDay Green Day
Oh well.. Thanks to Jeter for the seats a couple years ago!! Hahaha. Oh shut up! Its only a game

St. Billie - T-shirt Silkscreen by Luanne Iwan

These tweets came the day after Billie tweeted that he was in Venezuela watching the government channel, En Vivo Television and that country’s leader (a man reviled and loved in that country and the world, with a lean toward reviled), Hugo Chavez, was talking with kids on the teevee. Billie mentioned that Chavez looked like his dad, Andy Armstrong, and then he called himself, “Billie Chavez.” Boy oh boy, did that cause a storm of replies back at him about Chavez, which may have prompted Billie’s later Tweet about the baseball game, “Oh shut up. It’s just a game”… which could easily be translated to, “Oh shut up, it’s just a joke” about Chavez and his dad. I’ve only seen one picture of Billie’s dad, and frankly, he does look a bit like Chavez. Billie likes to name himself different things in his Tweets… such as Billie Jonas and St. Jimmy. He’s got a new nickname these days, too, from fans. “St. Billie.”

I had a vivid picture in my mind when I first saw the Plizi photo, at first of Charlie Chaplin in The Great Dictator, a parody of the Nazi era. Chaplin is mistaken for the rule of Tomania, and hilarity, with an ending serious message, ensues. Of course, Billie Joe would never be an evil dictator, but I can see Billie Joe as the leader of his own little liberal Greenmania, somewhere deep in the Rain Forest, where that million-person sex party he tweeted about a few weeks ago should take place. I’m just saying. It would be an awesome venue for it, lol.

Anyhoo, then another thought came up, sparked by a conversation on (evil) Facebook about the photo:

ANNE: hahhaa….he is lookin for us…..not used to us not being around him……….WHERE OH WHERE ARE MY FAN FREAKS??? HA HAA
#
GDM: ‎”Where are you? Our fans from far away? From Australia? Europe? East Coast? West Coast! These fans are new and awfully cute, but I can’t find you!” lol.
#
GDM: ‎”I shall take my llama and ride it upon this land of South America until I find you!”
#
GDM: Oh man, I’m gonna have to blog that, Anne. 🙂
#
BM: haha, love it Anne & GDM! 🙂
he’s soooo ‘green’.
how i’d love to be below the equator with them.
#
GDM: Yep. Oh well.
#
ANNE: We could all take my jet, that is parked in my garage…..no one else can see it but me though……I don’t get that……xxxoo
#
J. EIGHTY-SIX: This pic is so awesome. Is there a story to go with it, or is it just a question of when in Rome…?! Either way the llama looks proud to have Billie on its back.
#
GDM: Rome. Billie. Lllama. When. And yes, he does, lol! Ha, man, they are just having the time of their life. I hope that we see some ones of Mike and Tre, that would be awesome! Maybe in a rainforest or something. Ha.
#
J. EIGHTY-SIX: ‎…with monkeys….
#
GG: ~ LOL ~
#
BW: who doesn’t want billie on their back? just saying
#
J. EIGHTY-SIX: Haha, this is very true BW…

Ground Llama with Green Day - Fun with Photoshop by Fabionei

Yes, that’s what he’s doing, in our minds… looking for us fans from Australia, Europe, South Africa, the Far East, the West Coast, the East Coast and Middle America who didn’t get to head down to the wonderful (despite all the problems many of the countries have) places in South America to party with the boys. I’m sure there are many lovely new fans down that way who you will meet, hungry after a ten-year absence to have God’s favorite band, Green Day, perform with them. Though cheer up, leader of Greenmania, Billie Chavez! I hear there are more than a few folks heading down to Costa Rica to meet new fan friends from Central America and party hardy with you, too. In the meantime… going to Pasa-llama, indeed. I think we all need to hitch a ride on “Ground Llama” as well as the new (fake) Green Day airline enterprise jokingly dubbed by photographer, Michelle Lawlor, as “Idiot Air” and get on down to Pasa-llama, stat!

Going to Pasa-llama! - Signature by @StickIt2daMan (Twitter) - Logan Kimber

4 Comments   |  tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , | posted in 21st Century Breakdown World Tour 2009-2010, Billie Joe Armstrong, Green Day Fans, Green Day General, Green Day Photographs

October 7, 2010

Back on the Road Again – Green Day Hits South America

By Green Day Mind

Green Day in Venezuela - Unknown Photographer

Green Day is back on the road again as they hit Venezuela today to start a month-long, ten-city tour of South America and the Central American country of Costa Rica. The tour starts on 10/08/10 and ends on 10/29/10. From what I understand, Green Day hasn’t appeared in South America for many years now, and the Continent is completely ready for them to play.

After a triumphant week-long, eight-show run in Broadway’s, American Idiot, Billie Joe Armstrong joined his bandmates, Mike Dirnt and Tre Cool, in Caracas at a press conference today. You can see a part of that interview below.

Mike Dirnt did an interview yesterday for a Colombian radio station. You can hear that interview here (conducted in English) and he says some very interesting things about their upcoming live album, and says that they have already written about thirty songs for a new, non-live album, and he hints at… wait for it… a possible DVD coming out with the live album as well. Hmmm… nice hints, don’t you think? Some folks at the Green Day Community think that the live album should be named, Green Day Live: Awesome As Fuck. Hmm. I like that.

Thanks to “shesarebel” from Twitter, we found out that the press conference in Venezuela was livestreamed today. The press conference feed on Ustream failed after about 28 minutes [WATCH FULL CONFERENCE HERE], and the short clip below is a bit awkward as the translation between English and Spanish went a little haywire here and there. In the link at Ustream, Billie Joe mentions that the band is trying to mesh the sound of Green Day with the party element of the Foxboro Hot Tubs. Hmm. Something is afoot in the world of Green Day and personally, I can’t wait to hear what the future holds.

Oh, and please, no one tell Billie Joe that in actuality, Green Day DOES have a Facebook page… albeit it’s a band page and not a personal page… but heck, I suppose what he doesn’t know won’t hurt us, eh?

I know a few people who are heading to the show in Costa Rica, and one of them asked me if I was going also. Luckily (blah) my passport needs renewal, and heck, I’m broke as sin anyway, so no Costa Rica for me. If you’re heading to a show for this very last leg of the tour, have a great time, why don’t you?

1 Comment   |  tags: , , | posted in 21st Century Breakdown World Tour 2009-2010

September 19, 2010

A Short History of the Short History of “Awesome as Fuck” Signs at Green Day Concerts

By Green Day Mind

"Thanks" from Fans in Paris -- Green Day in Paris, June 2010 -- Photo by Chris Dugan, greenday.com

Oh Twitter, how I love thee!

As some of you may know, a strangely odd tradition popped up at Green Day’s shows back in Summer of 2010: the appearance of hundreds of signs at shows, ranging from “Thanks” to “Merci Beaucoup,” and morphing into “Awesome as Fuck,” and “Welcome Home.” Last night, Green Day (ok, Billie Joe) tweeted:

Greenday: When we do the talk back on sunday, everyone should hold up signs that say Awesome as Fuck. That be.. Uh.. awesome as fuck?

 

"As Billie Joe sang the last song, the fans in the front all held up homemade signs saying 'THANKS'. No one in the band or crew had ever seen this kind of mass sign of appreciation from an audience before.. " Greenday, Parc des Princes, Paris, August 2010 -- Bobgruen.com

Oh Billie Joe, that would be awesome as fuck, as American Idiot on Broadway continues to rip up the traditions of Broadway and turn them on their heads. I am sure there will be photographs taken as the signs are held up at the Talkback on Sunday, which will make a wonderful photographic memory. I’ll be at American Idiot today (I have a ticket to the show), as well as the Talkback. The AI talkbacks (I have somehow managed to see all four of them so far), have been pretty awesome as fuck themselves!

There was some hullabaloo when the signs first morphed into “Awesome as Fuck” from the “Thanks” signs of Paris. Parisian fans, bless their hearts, felt like their “tradition” was being taken over. It was a momentary lapse of reason for them as they felt that they had gotten no recognition from the band regarding the signs, but we talked them down from the brink, and they came to realize that they had begun a wonderful tradition as a sincere measure of the gratitude of their (and our) hearts in regards to the gift of music and fun that Green Day has given to all of us. We also reminded them that they had an awesome picture of the signs published by the famed rock photographer, Bob Gruen, himself.

Since Billie Joe tweeted it last night, I thought I’d write up a short little history of the signs, to make sure that all of the people who had a hand in this crazy tradition get the recognition that they all deserve. As Bob Gruen said when he posted his photograph of the signs from Paris, “No one in the band or crew had ever seen this kind of mass sign of appreciation from an audience before.” I have never seen something like this at a concert before, have you?

So, here goes. If there is any discrepancy in the history, please feel free to update the history in the comments to this post!

The signs started out in Paris with “Thanks.” Greendaylove38 (Abbey) then suggested that fans continue the signs of “Thank You” in Virginia based on what happened at the Parc des Princes in Paris. When the “Thank You” signs materialized at the Virginia show because of Abbey and other Green Day Community folks, Billie Joe tweeted after the show, “Great times in virginia and surrounding areas! Now that was hot! Not like randy jackson hot dawg…. Highlight-thank you signs”

Variations of the Paris “Thanks” signs continued to show up throughout the remainder of the North American amphitheater tour. In Montreal, there were “Merci Beaucoup” signs. I was at that show with a sign; Billie Joe tweeted: “Have you ever played the game Mafia? Aka wolves and villagers. Good times in montreal! Love those signs. Highlight- armatage shanks”

As the signs popped up at more shows, Gnash, a commentator at the Green Day Community (and others), suggested that the signs be turned on their head. What new craziness could we surprise the hell out of Green Day with? After all, how many variations of “thank you” were there, anyway? When Abbey had first written in the Green Day Community thread that attendees should bring “thank you” signs to the shows, her first post mentioned that the signs themselves would be “AWESOME AS FUCK.” Gnash then wrote, “I think for the next show you should hold AWESOME AS FUCK signs up instead of THANK YOU. Just to spice it up a bit, y’know?” It was a brilliant idea, to say the least!

Abbey and Beth (shesarebel on Twitter and **nobodylikesyou**” on the GDC) conspired together to present these new “AWESOME AS FUCK” signs at the Denver show. Billie Joe tweeted afterward: “Denver! Highlight- cigarettes and valentines – twice! – awesome as fuck?”  The AWESOME AS FUCK signs were around in other shows, too, and by the Homecoming show in San Francisco, the signs became simply, “Welcome Home.”

At the Denver show, when the signs first came out during the second encore, they made Billie Joe laugh. And then, he magically incorporated the phrase into “Good Riddance.” Watch the video by xGeneralxS at 4:12, you’ll hear him sing “awesome as fuck” in the video below. A photograph of those signs may be found on TwitPic, by shesarebel, below, as well as an actual sign at the show (I think by Chris Dugan).

 

AWESOME AS FUCK -- Green Day -- Photo by Chris Dugan?

@greenday is this what you're looking for Billie? I will... on Twitpic

“Your awesome as fuck…” at 4:12 — Second Encore, Green Day at Comfort Dental, Denver — xGeneralxS

And with that, if you are coming to the talkback at American Idiot this afternoon, I hope you bring your “AWESOME AS FUCK” signs with you. I have one from the Irvine show, but those never really materialized at that concert because security stopped people from bringing signs into the venue at the front gates. I held onto the one given me. Beth and Abbey are bringing some signs today. I think it’s going to an AWESOME AS FUCK photograph, don’t you?

"Welcome Home" -- Green Day at San Francisco Shoreline, Mountain View, CA -- Photo by Green Day Mind

 

Welcome Home - Green Day at Shoreline, 8/4/10 - Photo by Green Day Mind

21 Comments   |  tags: , , , , , , , , , , , | posted in 21st Century Breakdown World Tour 2009-2010

September 17, 2010

Green Day Mind Banners

By Green Day Mind

Over the last year, Violeta from the Green Day Community has created some (in my opinion), beautiful banners for this blog. I thought I’d used this post to put them all in one place as the blog begins to wind down after the South American leg of the 21st Century Breakdown tour.

Green Day Mind Banner 2009 by Violeta

Green Day Mind Banner for 2010 by Violeta

American Idiot Banner by Violeta Kalfova. Photos by Nick McGlynn.

Green Day Mind Banner Summer 2010 by Violeta

Until We Meet Again Green Day Mind Banner by Violeta

3 Comments   |  tags: , , | posted in 21st Century Breakdown World Tour 2009-2010, Green Day General, Green Day Photographs

September 6, 2010

Homecoming – Welcome Home, Green Day!

By Green Day Mind

Welcome Home - Green Day at Shoreline, 9/4/10 - Photo by Green Day Mind

Hello there!

I have just barely come up for air after the last week of Green Day’s North American tour. I unexpectedly went to the Irvine show in LA, then Chula Vista, and finally, the most amazing show of them all, Shoreline, the final show of the tour leg. I also got to attend Oakland’s rogue music festival, Hoodstock, yesterday, and saw my raw lovelies, the Mystic Knights of the Cobra play. It’s been an incredible week!

I’ll post more later as I’ve been keeping notes, but my hangover from the last week is still a bit thick in my brain. No worries, though, if I can remember it, I’ll have a lot to report (of what I can), as usual!

I’m here in Northern California for the next week. I am the luckiest woman in the world and so incredibly happy right now. I hope all is well with you!

Leave a comment   |  tags: , , , , , , , | posted in 21st Century Breakdown World Tour 2009-2010, Other Bands

August 29, 2010

Sacre Bleu! Green Day in Montreal, 8/21/2010

By Green Day Mind

It’s been over a week since I went to Montreal to see Green Day. This post is a little overdue, but I was hoping that the xGeneralxS would post a few more pictures that she took of the show, but she’s been busy with life and seeing Green Day in Colorado on 8/28. I have two more shows to go, in Chula Vista and San Francisco, and it’s hitting me a little hard that the tour will soon be over. After those two shows, the boys have a month off and then hit South America finally, and then… it’s all over. This blog, except for occasional updates, will be over and then what do I do, ha! It’s been an amazing tour. I really hope the fangirl fever that I’ve attempted to keep under some control this past year, despite blogging about the tour, won’t come to a head and have me bawling like a freaking baby at Shoreline, but we’ll see. Thank you, Green Day! Thank you!

BJA Montreal - Green Day, August 21, 2010 - Photo by xGeneralxS

I had contemplated heading up to Montreal to see Green Day since the second and final leg of shows were announced earlier this year. I love Montreal. It’s a nice city, with beautiful vistas and lovely buildings. I know a few folks from Montreal, both English and French, and love them dearly. Sometimes the French can get a little overbearing, but on the whole, a chance to see the band again in a foreign country was way too tasty to let pass by.

Tired, Happy, Wet - Nicole W-M and GDM in Montreal

I had no idea, though, how I would get up there. I didn’t want to go by myself, even though I knew some Canadian fans who were going. The bus was 10 hours and $139. The train, 12 hours and a bit more. Flying, one hour and $327. Uh, choices, choices, choices. My friend who lives there offered me a place to stay, and I hadn’t seen her and her family, including her son, now seven, in a few years. It would be a perfect time to get away, see the band, the city, and my friends. It would never have happened if Nicole W-M had not said yes when I put the idea of going up to Canada on the evil Facebook after the Holmdel show. We ended up getting into Nicole’s hybrid car, which got us to Montreal on one tank of gas for $35. What a deal!

Green Day Flags in Montreal - Photo by GDM

The show was scheduled for Saturday, August 21st. Nicole and I left at 4:30 AM on Saturday, and got to Montreal at noon. It was the first time that Nicole had been to Canada, and I was happy when we parked, got into line and Nicole was able to walk around the beautiful area of Old Montreal. Of course, it was raining — Montreal had been sunny and bright the day before and when we got there, boom! — rain, rain rain. The show would go on rain or shine, and it did. It was wet and wonderful.

Canadian Idiot Flag - Photo by Silvi Kingsland

We waited in line and I finally met up with a photographer whose photos I use a lot, xGeneralxS and her sister. I was happy that they came up from New Jersey to make the show. Naomi, who I had last seen at Madison Square Garden back in July 2009, was there, as well as her fellow Canadians Silvi and Jaymee!, and I saw a couple of the Aussies, Liz and Aska.

The venue was open air and unlike the previous amphitheater shows that I made it to (Camden, Hartford, Holmdel), the stage was high and the band seemed far away again. I was a little worried about the entire space being General Admission. I had heard that one of the roughest shows so far of the tour had happened at Green Day’s gig at the Parc des Princes in Paris, and if that was any indication, the French-Canadian fans would be a crowd of wild-children. Well, they were, but I’ll get to that in a bit.

Jacques Cartier Pier - Green Day, Old Montreal, August 21, 2010 - Photo by GDM

The site itself was magnificent! If you’re never been to Montreal, particular Old Montreal, it has an Old World style with winding, small streets, and ornate stone buildings. Many of the streets along the waterfront are closed to traffic and you can just walk around and stare at people and things, and pretend like you’re walking around old Europe instead of Old Canada. Old Quebec City is even more beautiful, if that’s possible, and I highly recommend going to these two great Canadian cities… though I’m not sure about attending a rock or punk show there.

The show itself took place on a pier that juts out from Old Montreal, and when we got to the site, there were already about 300 fans standing in line. We met a few people from Canada, including one funny fellow and his girlfriend who had seen Green Day play at the Belle Center in Montreal last year and was raring to see them for a second time. We finally were let into the site around 6:00 or so, and made a run for the front barrier. Nicole W-M went to her favorite spot, to the right of Mike’s stage side, at the front, the xGeneralxS was near her, and I went to the heart of the pit, in front of Mike, and where I could see Tre. I love watching him drum, and he makes some pretty funny faces during a show. There’s also opportunities to just play with him, and it’s always fun to play with a crazy drummer.

The Stage - Photo by GDM

AFI went on first again, and I have to say, while I’m not a big fan of their music, I think of the five opening bands that I have seen for Green Day this tour (The Bravery, Franz Ferdinand, the Kaiser Chiefs, and Prima Donna), AFI and Prima Donna were the two bands that really got the crowd pumped up prior to Green Day coming on. I even found myself humming AFI songs afterward, once I got back home. They did about a 35-minute show and several members of their fan club were in attendance, and they certainly catered to them. At one point, Davey Havok came down to where they were standing at the front and rocked out with them for a bit. They left the stage, and the rain, which had held off for about two hours or so, started coming down again as Green Day went onstage. I was lucky for the most part because I was so close to the front of the stage that the top awning shielded most of the front area from the rain.

Naomi (BJ's Entourage) and Silvi - Photo by GDM

The all General Admission crowd rushed forward when Green Day came on and pushed us all into the barrier. It was fun for the first few songs, and then things just got crazy. I love crowdsurfers and being in the pit, but there are happy pits (Pinhead Gunpowder at 924 Gilman back in February was one of the roughest pits I’ve been in, but everyone took care of each other out of sheer joy) and then there are pits with crazy fans who don’t give a fuck whether they kill you or not. Both are fun, but seriously, if you’re trying to kill me, I’m going to try and kill you, too. That’s just the way it is. Fans elbowed other people and got into stupid fights, and in general were assholes. Good times!

Americans with the Funny Canadian Dude and His Girlfriend - Photo by GDM

The highlights of the show for me (Billie Joe tweeted that his highlight was “Armatage Shanks”) was hearing “Platypus (I Hate You),” “F.O.D.” again, and my favorite Green Day song, “Welcome to Paradise,” which was dropped from earlier amphitheater tour shows that I’ve seen, but was on last year’s tour setlist. For me, these three songs together summed up how I felt about the Montreal crowd, though I have some special love for the wonderful and enthusiastic fans from Montreal at the Green Day Community and I will always love the city. I had to leave the pit center during the Shout Medley. I had had enough after I threw out a expletive at a French-Canadian fan who had said to no one in general, “If you all can’t handle the pit, you all should just go to a Justin Bieber show,” and I realized that my F.O.D. level was way too high. Despite wishing earlier that the band wouldn’t hose the crowd because of the rain, I was hella happy when they did, but at that point, my anger and the fact that I was dehydrated, was too much. I got out and was completely rained on. I paid $4 for a bottle of water (egads), and went to Jason White’s side of the stage, which is always a bit saner. I spent the first encore there, and was very happy for the remainder of the show.

“Armatage Shanks” and “Paper Lanterns” – Billie Joe’s Highlight – Green Day, Montreal, 8/21/2010 – xGeneralxS

“Welcome to Paradise” – Green Day, Montreal, 8/21/2010 – zanth214

We all really have to thank the Lushie Gods for the Crazy Band of Australians who have managed to follow Green Day from Australia to Europe, and now, to our shores here in North America. One of the them, Aska, requested “Take Back.” Billie Joe looked at her like she was a bit crazy, but then said, all right, what about “Platypus (I Hate You),” a song that they haven’t performed on this tour yet. He turned around to Tre and made a bunch of hand movements while Tre was like, “What, are you nuts? OK, yes, you are,” and then boom, into “Platypus (I Hate You), they went. I posted two videos of “Platypus (I Hate You)” in a previous post [LINK HERE], but here’s an additional awesome clip that Green Day LIVE on Tour on (Evil) Facebook posted of Tre banging the drums during this song like the King of Drumming he is, and what a face he makes afterward:

Tre Drums Out “Platypus (I Hate You) – Green Day, Montreal, August 2010 – Brian

Speaking of Tre’s drumming, during the soundcheck earlier in the day, the crowd could hear Green Day rehearse, and we heard “Church on Sunday,” which made us all really happy. [LINK HERE] A video popped up that someone took that showed the big screen, which was focused mostly on Tre during the band’s rehearsal of “21st Century Breakdown.” You can clearly see him drumming the song, and since I’m a bit fascinated with his drumming and love the jig of 21CB, I am in love with this video of a laid back Tre practicing for the show.

“21st Century Breakdown” Soundcheck, Tre Dumming – Green Day in Montreal, 8/21/2010 – GSPInsights

With that, Nicole and I waited for a bit after the show for the crowd to thin down, and we said our goodbyes to people we had met up with throughout the day. We were pretty high-strung and happy from the drive, the rain, and the show, and we finally got back to the car, went to my friends’ house, and crashed, hard. The next day, we had a wonderful Canadian breakfast with them, got in the car ($35 worth of gas from Montreal to New Jersey), listened to Green Day again all the way back to New York, where she dropped me off and I went home. We drove through some of the worst weather ever, but in the end, despite the crazed fans and that same rain, to see Green Day again, it was all worth it.

I’m off to the shows in Chula Vista and Homecoming in San Francisco, the last show of the tour until the band heads to South America to end the 21st Century Breakdown altogether. I’m really hoping that I hold it together in San Francisco. I’m a bit afraid that I am going to bawl like a baby at Homecoming and embarrass myself to no end. After 18 months of blogging about the tour, it’s going to be a bit overwhelming to me that it will end. See anyone who’s going to the last two shows there. It’s going to be a blast!

Montreal Setlist after the jump…

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August 29, 2010

Green Day Live Album Coming and Cigarettes and Valentines – OMGZ!

By Green Day Mind

The amount of OMGS and OMGZ exploded out of Green Day land last night as the boys upped and announced two things: that they were recording a live album (Billie Joe had tweeted that it was possible a few days ago) and then went on to play a “new” song, which isn’t actually new, but it’s only been heard once by the denizens of Green Day land, at a soundcheck earlier this tour.

That song? “Cigarettes and Valentines,” a tune that was supposed to headline an album just after Warning and before American Idiot of the same name. The album never materialized… the band says that the masters to the songs were stolen while some rumors swirled that they also just didn’t feel the album and decided to not release it. Whatever the reason for the album never materializing, I don’t know, but I’m just happy that they launched the song onto everyone last night in Englewood, Colorado, thereby forcing me to get off the Green Day Community and actually going to sleep for fear of reading one more OMGZ, haha.

The xGeneralxS and her sis headed off to the show this weekend, and as usual, captured the song for all of us hardcore, diehard fans. So again, until it’s no longer available for those who love this band… Green Day gives you… “Cigarettes and Valentines”…

“Cigarettes and Valentines” — Green Day Live in Englewood, Colorado, August 28, 2010 – xGeneralxS

Cigarettes and Valentines Lyrics - Green Day - Photo by Aska

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August 24, 2010

Who Was That Blond Fellow at Green Day’s Holmdel Show? – Supla of Brothers of Brazil Interview with Billie Joe Armstrong

By Green Day Mind

Davey Havok of AFI Sings for a Spell with Supla (in white) of Brothers From Brazil and Anna, Who Sat in the Wrong Seat and Got an Awesome Moment Because of It - Photo by Lauren Banjo

Mystery solved!

In a recent “Highlights From The Breakdown” post, I wrote about Green Day performing “Scattered” into Billy Idol’s “Dancing With Myself” at Mansfield. I mentioned that a tall, white-blond fellow in a white denim jacket and pants had been mistaken for Billy Idol at the previous night’s Holmdel show. Billy Idol was playing in Los Angeles at the time.

The mystery behind this fellow in the white denim outfit has been solved by the administrator of Brazil’s Green Day Fan site, Marie_GD of Green Day, Inc.

Supla Doll - Courtesy of Marie_GD of Green Day, Inc (Brasil)

Turns out that his name is Supla and he is a Brazilian musician from a band that he has with his brother called Brothers of Brazil [MYSPACE here.] They also have a television show called “Brothers TV!” and they interview folks. He was able to interview Billie Joe backstage at the Holmdel show. You’ll also see Bob Gruen duck his head into a frame, which means that there are fantastic photographs of Holmdel coming our way from Gruen, too! It’s a crazy and fun little clip, and if it’s any indication of Green Day’s upcoming appearance on the last leg of this tour in Brazil, the band and the Brazilian fans are in for a hell of a fun time!

Supla gave Billie Joe a Supla doll, which Marie_GD kindly posted a photograph of on the Green Day Community. The link to the interview can be found on either Green Day, Inc. by clicking this link: Supla entrevista Billie Joe em New Jersey! or you can watch the video at Brothers TV! as well. [LINK HERE.]

Green Day hits the largest country in South America on the following dates. Oh how I wish I could go and write about the South American leg of the tour. Sigh. Have fun for those of you who are attending!

10-13 Porto Alegre, Brazil Ticket Info
10-15 Rio de Janeiro, Brazil Ticket Info
10-17 Brasilia, Brazil Ticket Info
10-20 São Paulo, Brazil Ticket Info

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