Today marks the 10th anniversary of this album’s release on October 3, 2000. That’s a big birthday! Here’s Warning‘s Wikipedia page, and here’s the page at the Green Day Wikia site. Please note that the Wikia site is still a work in process, so if you have anything concrete and meaningful to add to the site’s Green Day-related entries, go on over and do so!
Here’s the band doing “Waiting” from Warning for the first and, I think, only, time during the 21st Century Breakdown tour. It was at Wembley Stadium in London this past June.
“Waiting” at Wembley Stadium, June 2010 – Green Day – Davoski
What are your thoughts on Warning If you have any, leave ’em in the comments below!
Listen to Me Whine - BJA, Camden, Susquehanna Bank Center, 8/3/2010 - Photo by xGeneralxS
By the time I got to the kickoff show of Green Day’s current North American tour leg, I was stressed and a bit exhausted. The weeks leading up to the show have been overwhelming emotionally and just sucky. I’ve been missing the idea of California and my life here in New York has been droning on. I’ve been restless and unsure and stuck about many things lately, and I’ve only wanted to think of big ideas that I’m afraid will never come true. Combined with a general life pathos, well, let’s just say that I wish the Last Ride In was actually on a surfboard and not on what feels like a runaway train. It’s been good, but it’s been hella frustrating, too. And not in a fun, Frustrators, sort of way either.
Luckily, I’ve seen some pretty good bands since Green Day (or actually the Foxboro Hot Tubs) was last in town back in April, like the Mystic Knights and Prima Donna, but I’ve also been lucky to see old school punks and shows such as The Avengers, Jello Biafra and the School of Guantanamo Medicine, Sharon Jones and the Dap Kings, the English Beat, Courtney Love, Faith No More, and Star Fucking Hipsters. I’ve come across smaller bands over the time, too, the crazed Cula A Buco playing with the Cobras and Prima Donna in Santa Cruz, local NYC bands, the Homewreckers, the Sandworms, Yula and the Extended Family, and a few more whose names I can’t remember. It’s been good musical times.
The Ticket That Went to Wembley Without Me - Wembley, 19 June 2010
Though I’ve seen many great shows over the last few months, Green Day was never far from my mind. I missed Wembley last June because I couldn’t get over the expensive Summer airfare pond known as the Atlantic Ocean, and that made me sad. Luckily, a little piece of Wembley came home to me as Jax sent me the Ticket That Went To Wembley Without Me. Thanks, Jax!
Since missing Wembley (and I’ve been lucky through the year, so I’m not whining about it… anymore), the second leg of the North American tour has been on my mind what with making mental plans about which shows to go to, how to get there — if I can get there — all the while attempting to avoid a 21st century breakdown simultaneously. Sigh.
Though I’ve seen a lot of great bands since those halcyon days of Pinhead Gunpowder playing at the small 924 Gilman in February or those beautiful nights at Don Hill’s or the Bowery Electric with the Foxboro Hot Tubs in April, I’ve got to say that I have been a little spoiled by the smaller, more intimate shows that Green Day or any of their members in all of their varieties may play. I’d love to see Green Day in a smaller space, and the amphitheaters are going to be the equivalent of as small and intimate of a Green Day show that I’m going to get after missing their shows last year at the Bowery Ballroom and Webster Hall in NYC.
Green Day - Camden, Susquehanna Bank Center, 8/3/2010 - Fith Photography
I’m excited by the amphitheater tour, though I’ve not always been so thrilled at the thought that either there was no pit at some venue or as I found out last night, there would be no catwalk for Billie Joe to go strutting down. I had thought about that possibility, but the reality was a bit like, oh, bummer, no catwalk at all. After which I thought to myself that that was a bit whiny. I didn’t even have to worry, though, because Green Day can adapt to any venue, and adapt they did. It was a great show, despite the dicky boys in the area of the pit that my friend and I found ourselves in. I heard later that if only we could have seen the other side of the pit, we would have known that there was plenty of space over there to dance.
Tre is All Smiles - Camden, Susquehanna Bank Center, 8/3/2010 - Fith Photography
A Man and His Bass - Green Day, Camden, Susquehanna Bank Center, 8/3/2010 - Fith Photography
Since we got to the show just as Green Day went on after a traffic jam on lovely NJ Highway 295 stopped our progress (thanks Rachel for clarifying that for me, lol), by the time we caught our breath, had a beer and some cigarettes, and entered the pit area, we could not see over the heads of anyone and assumed that there was no space on the far side of the pit. I suppose there was an entrance on the Ben Franklin side of the space, but we entered on the Walt Whitman side and into a wall of people.
Catcher In The Rye - Camden, Susquehanna Bank Center, 8/3/2010 - FITH Photography
No one was really dancing in the pit, it was more pushing and shoving, and I can get a bit wild. Most of the time, it’s all good, but I ended up behind this tall fellow whose space I entered and I am not sure if he was trying to block me from taking his space (which I wasn’t trying to do), or blocking his girlfriend from being pushed by me or the people that were pushing me from behind. The day was so stressful that I actually got angry at his elbow blocking and literally punching me in the side and chest with them. No way do I play that. I pinched his arm when he kept doing it. I was trying to get past him and out of his way, but his elbows were blocking everything and I couldn’t move anywhere. At the same time, I was so warm that I thought I was going to faint. If only I had known that the other side of the pit was empty, I would have been much happier, and not felt the need to annihilate this tall asshole in front of me. At that point, I sorely missed my burly and stoic Cobra men, who would have chomped his elbows off, or at least been able to see over the heads of the crowd. Those boys are tall!
Anyway, the show itself was great. The band had a frantic energy that did not stop onstage. I was also totally psyched when Billie Joe came out with fluffy blond hair. Yes, folks, you heard it, it’s a HAIR ALERT!
Billie Joe with a Silly Bandanna of Pot Leaves - Camden, NJ, 8/4/10 - Photo by Green Day Mind
You know how I am about taking pictures (I’m not much of a photographer lately anyway since I hate my camera and I don’t like taking a lot of photos at shows anyway), so I only have two of them, but it just so happens that xGeneralxS, who took some amazing photographs of the Foxboro Hot Tubs at Don Hill’s before her camera died, was at the Camden show! I’ve only seen a few of the photos, and as usual, she’s caught the band beautifully. Fith Photography, who posted a gallery of photographs on Flickr, also took some great shots and both kindly agreed to let me highlight some of their photographs. Thank you!
The setlist structure was primarily the same with each section changed up a little bit, 21CB, AI, Old School, 21CB, Encore 1, Encore 2, and the playing of “Paper Lanterns” during the “old school” portion of the night felt really special. There was a fresh ferocity from the band as they launched into their huge back catalog of songs. A reviewer at Spin wrote that they didn’t seem as emotionally invested singing the older material as they seemed to be when performing the newer stuff. I’m not sure about their assessment, it’s possible, particularly when they come blasting on with “21st Century Breakdown,” at the show’s opening and the song crawls right under your skin. I love to hear it kick off the set at each show that I’ve been to so far this year. While 21CB might be grittier than “Paper Lanterns,” I’ve never had the thought that they were more emotionally invested in one type of their music than the other, though I do think that Green Day believes its newer music is more accomplished than their older stuff. As to whether they have fun playing one more than the other, I think that’s quite arguable. But what the hell do I know? Just shut up and dance.
“21st Century Breakdown” – Green Day, Camden, NJ – RockConcertNo1Fan’s Youtube Channel
Billie Joe’s voice sounds crystal clear. I’ve noticed this not only from the European tour that I’ve seen on Youtube and the smaller shows that I attended earlier this year, but most especially during the band’s performance of “Last of the American Girls” on Jimmy Fallon the other night. As I was listening to it, for a second I thought that they were actually lip-syncing the song, it sounded so good and like the album recording. Hearing his voice live at Camden, and joined by the best rhythm section in music these days, Mike and Tre, they kept a dynamic beat throughout the entire night. These guys just love to play, new stuff, old stuff, their stuff, someone else’s stuff. I think that’s kinda the bottom line with them, not emotional investment between old and new. Haven’t we all had that argument already?
1st Part, “¡Viva la Gloria!” – Green Day, Camden, Susquehanna Bank Center, 8/3/2010 – chixLL
“Hitchin’ A Ride” and Saving a Kid from Being Crushed – Green Day at Camden, 8/3/2010 – denwilliams
“Boulevard of Broken Dreams” – Thank you for the last 22 years! – chixLL
I guess because it’s been so tough lately, “She,” a song that I try to avoid listening to because I just don’t want to mentally crack, really got to me on Tuesday, though a bit through it, I felt awfully faint and crushed. The video below is a bit like my experience of the song, as I was really trying to concentrate and listen, but each time that I started feeling that emotional scream inside, I think my psyche rescued me by making me slightly blank out at points of the greatest emotional and heat distress.
“She” with long stares into the ceiling (but sounds great) – Green Day, Camden, Susquehanna Bank Center, 8/3/2010 – RockConcertNo1Fan
By “Jesus of Suburbia,” I was still slightly in a state of daze. Billie Joe sang the entire song, and the shape of the amphitheater really offered a lovely background soundscape to the music and made the tune’s complexities stand out. I loved it.
“Jesus of Suburbia” – Green Day, Camden, Susquehanna Bank Center, 8/3/2010 – RockConcertNo1Fan
I was overcome by the tons of confetti that blew out during “Minority,” and by the time the second encore came around, I needed water. I also realized that I was so emotionally drained by then (as well as dehydrated), that it would probably be a bit too much to stick around for the sad part of the show. Sigh. I listened to the encore outside, desperately searching each vendor stand for water. Billie Joe’s voice was still clearly heard when I finally found a bottle of water in the amphitheater outdoor atrium. I gulped down the refreshment and listened to the last strains of “Good Riddance” outside, with the song drifting up the hill and out of the sides of the venue.
I’m going to do it all over again in Hartford on Thursday. It’s gonna be a blast.
Boys Will Be Boys - Camden, Susquehanna Bank Center, 8/3/10 - Fith Photography
Here’s some links from last night’s show:
SoundSpike: In Pictures Story by Editor Hali McGrath and Photographer Rob Loud.
Spin.com: Green Day Kick Off Epic Tour Near Philly
Rolling Stone: Green Day launch Tour with Punk Marathon
Popstar.com: Green Day Returns to U.S. for Second Leg of North American Tour
I missed Green Day’s show at Wembley Stadium. I had a ticket, but could not afford the airfare across the pond (told you Lushie luck runs out occasionally). My ticket had a fabulous time with Jax May, the folks at Nova-Caine, and the Raxorbax gig that happened the night before Wembley, at the Luminaire Club. The Punks Play for Autism gig raised over a £1000 for the organization. Major success! Hopefully some video will be coming from the show in the future, possibly a soundboard mix. The boys known as Green Day donated a vinyl copy of 21st Century Breakdown, the only one of its kind that is signed by the full touring band including Billie Joe Armstrong, Mike Dirnt, Tre Cool, Jason White, Jason Freese, and Jeff Matika. How awesome is all of that?
Greet, a Lushie Nun Mother from Belgium who attended the Razorbax show was the successful bidder winner. And here’s the baby here:
21st Century Breakdown Vinyl signed by Full Green Day Touring Band for the Punks Play for Autism Benefit, London - Green Day 21st Century Breakdown Tour 2009-2010. Photo by Greet Druyts
Green Day at Wembley Stadium
I tried writing about this show, but frankly, I was a little sad that I couldn’t go, so it was a little hard writing about the show since A) I wasn’t there, and B), well, sadly, I wasn’t there. Sigh. I’ve been a bit whiney about it, too, but hey, it happens, lol. I hear from folks who went that it was great, and really, I believe it.
What I really missed out on was hearing for the first time on Green Day’s 21st Century Breakdown tour, the band singing “Waiting.” Sigh.
“Waiting” – Green Day Wembley Stadium – June 19, 2010
I did watch several clips of this show and read every page of the Wembley thread at the Green Day Community, so I feel in a way that I was there, but it’s all in bits and pieces of lore. Some good stories, too, of long lines at Wembley, what Billie Joe said about leaving Green Day in a coffin, of how Tre sang during the “Shout” part of the night, and hey, Mike grabbed the mic at one point too and kicked his legs higher than Tre!
Green Day Blow Themselves Up at Wembley! What a Show! Photo by Unknown Photographer found by Greet Druyts
I also saw a clip of the pyro that went off during the “Minority” encore, but I saw it only on Facebook and can’t seem to locate it on the Youtubes at the moment. Suffice it to say, at the part where the blowers go off and confetti goes flying through the air, there were fireworks that seem to almost blow the band up! Luckily, they survived and appeared a few days later in Glasgow, and will be playing tomorrow night, 6/23/2010, in Dublin.
With that, I’m off tomorrow to the San Francisco Bay Area! The Mystic Knights of the Cobra and Prima Donna are on a four-night mini-tour, and I’m going to go and dance a bit for two of them! And do some other stuff, too. Later!
This is the end
Beautiful friend
This is the end
My only friend, the end
It hurts to set you free
But you’ll never follow me
The end of laughter and soft lies
The end of nights we tried to die
This is the end
-the doors, “This is the End”
Green Day New Wallpaper from Greenday.com
Tonight was Green Day’s last European tour stop in Turin, Italy. From what I have read on Prima Donna’s Facebook, they were pranked by Green Day, but got the boys back with a case of mangina. I have no idea what either prank consisted of besides the mangina (which sounds dirty), but it warmed my heart to hear that Prima Donna got them back. I only wish that every opening band were as bold and brave as both The Bravery and Prima Donna. Let’s hope for videos soon!
As for the tour, Green Day ripped through arenas in Europe from Germany to Spain to France to the Netherlands, Norway, Italy and many points between. They shared some fantastic moments with thousands of fans who heard their clarion call and were able to join them in their second homeland, the United Kingdom, for Rocktober. I was one of those who were able to follow the call, and 250 lucky fans (me not being one of them), got a rare treat from a crazy band known as the Foxboro Hot Tubs.
Do not be sad, Europe, for the boys will be back in the summer of 2010. Stadium gigs have already been announced for Manchester (June 16), Wembley (June 19), and Paris (Parc de Princes, June 26). Tickets for Manchester and Wembley are on sale now, and will be on sale for Paris on November 20th. In addition, Green Day is still rumored to be the headliner band at the huge Irish festival at Slane Castle sometime in August, so hold on to your hats, Ireland, for that one!
I have a ticket for Wembley and I’m hoping for Manchester, too, if I can find a plane ticket that won’t break my back. We’ll see.
In the meanwhile, the band flies back into the States this weekend, just in time for the closing nights of American Idiot out in Berkeley. There’s good news about American Idiot as well: it is certainly moving to Broadway, according not only to an article in Playbill, but also a casting call for Equity actors that was posted today as well. While the theater and opening hasn’t been set yet (I have a feeling this may be announced this weekend when the boys come back to Berkeley, but it’s only a hunch), all roads lead to Broadway…. for good or ill. In regards to the casting call, Actors Equity rules state that all new shows must have open casting calls for Union actors, so that doesn’t necessarily mean that the show’s current actors won’t be in any future production.
Well, that’s it from Europe for now. There is much more coming soon over the next two months, as Green Day takes a break in California to be with the family, perform a free concert in Los Angeles, head to Australia, and come back home for New Year’s Eve, where they will be performing from Los Angeles for the Carson Daly Show. That last bit of news kinda broke my heart. A press release from the Carson Daly Show posted at the Idiot Club presented the show as if Green Day would be heading to Times Square itself for the New Year. I was so excited because the Idiot Club will be giving out tickets of some sort to the event. However, it’s been confirmed that they will be playing from Los Angeles (though some believe that the free taping on November 23rd from Los Angeles will be a canned performance for New Years), and my heart sank deep when I heard that bit of news. Alas, shit happens and it’s all good… as long as I get to see them again some time next year.
Until Green Day heads off to Australia for more performances, here they are performing “Letterbomb” for the first time on this tour, at Wembley Arena on November 1, 2009:
Green Day Performs “Letterbomb” at Wembley Arena, November 1, 2009
Green Day Mind 