My ONTD post, posted here as well.
The Bay Area punks celebrate an early Independence Day in Seattle, with pyrotechnics, man-on-man kissing, and much more!
Attention aspiring rock stars: Get good seats for the Green Day tour and you might end up ripping a solo on Billie Joe Armstrong's guitar. If you're really lucky, you'll even plant a slobbery smooch on the punked-out frontman's face.
Under the cut, a review from SPIN.com on the tour's opening night, the setlist, a Tre Cool Q&A and an interview with Billie Joe's wife. (They just celebrated 15 years!)
During Friday night's two-hour, tour-launching set at Seattle's Key Arena, Armstrong pulled onstage no less than six ecstatic fans from the front row and gave each the spotlight, for better or worse. A sold-out crowd of 16,000 looked on as one dude laid a long, lingering kiss on Armstrong's mouth, then took hold of the mic and asked, "Who wants to fuck this guy???" before belting all of "Longview" like the song was his.
Later, Armstrong handed off his axe to a tall, gawky teenager he pulled from the pit -- "You know 'Jesus of Suburbia,' swear to God?" -- and let the kid run, note-perfect, through all of the American Idiot epic.
These are moments lifelong fans are made of.
Say what you want about Green Day's methods or motivation. The band's relationship with its audience is disarmingly real, a cross-generational give-and-take that's as punk as any Gilman Street scroungers today. The scale is different, sure, but at this point Green Day traffics only in massive gestures and universal emotions -- exaggerated and operatic and goofy, so that every last, proud American idiot knows exactly where the band is coming from.
Green Day unleashed all the high points of their recently released album, 21st Century Breakdown, the best bits of Grammy-winning American Idiot, plus the old classics -- like 1995's "Brain Stew." Backed for the new songs by an extra pair of rhythm guitarists and an organ player, Armstrong, bassist Mike Dirnt, and drummer Tre Cool rocked around a 50-foot-tall digital cityscape backdrop with enough pyrotechnics to ignite an early Independence Day.
They even swerved into R&B territory with a cover of the Isley Brothers' "Shout!" and Ben E. King's classic "Stand By Me."
Armstrong played ringleader to the adoring audience, condensing 30 years of arena rock grandstanding into the set with big hard-hitting rockers like "Know Your Enemy" and "East Jesus Nowhere." After that, it was just a matter of crowd control, and at that Armstrong was Picasso.
"Put the cell phones away," he said at one point. "If they're not here right now, fuck 'em. This is our moment right now."
Green Day setlist:
"21st Century Breakdown"
"Know Your Enemy"
"East Jesus Nowhere"
"Holiday"
"Static Age"
"Before the Lobotomy"
"Are We Waiting"
"Geek Stink Breath"
"Hitchin’ a Ride"
"Brain Stew"
"Jaded"
"Longview"
"Basket Case"
"She"
"King For A Day/Shout"
"Stand By Me"
"21 Guns"
"American Eulogy"
Encore:
"American Idiot"
"Jesus of Suburbia"
"Boulevard of Broken Dreams"
"Minority"
"Good Riddance (Time of Your Life)"
Green Day frontman's wife remembers Mankato
Adrienne Nesser, living in Mankato in her early 20s, had a long-distance friendship and flirtation with a guy so interested in her, he and his band planned tours around Minnesota just so he could see her.
Green Day wasn’t famous at the time. In Adrienne’s own words, they were just another band she had seen a couple of times in the Cities.
They were both also seeing other people. But there was something pretty powerful that must have connected them over a distance of thousands of miles. There had to be. Otherwise, she never would have agreed to leave her home state of Minnesota to move to California to be with him.
Just weeks later, they were married July 2, 1994, Adrienne was pregnant with the couple’s first of two sons, and Green Day’s album “Dookie” became a household name. All of this seemed to happen over night.
Finding Adrienne and talking to her about all of this was a big part of our Campaign Green Day mission. (See accompanying story for background.) Today, we accomplish that goal as Adrienne talks to us about life in Mankato, including her favorite Pagliai’s pizza toppings, how quickly her life changed when she headed West, and also the big question we’ve been pursuing for weeks: Would Green Day ever come back to Mankato to play a show?
Free Press: Tell me a little bit about your college experience at Minnesota State University. Were you a studier? A partier? On the student senate?
Adrienne Armstrong: I was a transfer student to MSU. I was at the U of M for a few semesters, then Minneapolis Community College. I was dating my then boyfriend who lived in Mankato, so it seemed a good place to go to finish my degree.
I loved school, especially when I was in the more focused classes of my degree. And I was definitely a partier. I found it easy to balance both. I loved the What’s Up, and for the life of me can’t remember the name of the bar across from Pagliai’s that I absolutely loved. (Square Deal?)
I graduated in 1993, but I had turned in a paper after one of my classes ended, and the professor never posted the grade. I had to call the school to argue the fact. They finally sent my degree in 1996.
FP: Why sociology? What interested you about the subject and what career did you have in mind?
AA: I have always loved the dynamics of social groups, clicks and society classes. It’s what triggered my interest in social justice and being an activist. I really didn’t have any career in mind while going through college. Occasionally, I would think of getting a credential to teach, but it was always a fleeting idea.
FP: You seemed to have a ton of jobs while you were here. Your Mankato friends have listed Pier 1 Imports, the Piercing Pagonda, Pagliai’s and The Jungle among them. Am I missing any? Any favorites?
AA: I really only had a few jobs in Mankato. It was hard for me to find a job because I had dreadlocks and dressed kinda funky. So the first place that took a chance on me was The Jungle and the bowling alley. It was a trip. I really liked working there, and the bowlers warmed up to me.
I worked at Pagliai’s all through college, and that was super fun. I worked with lots of my friends and the pizza was awesome. I worked at Pier 1 after I graduated. I was a manager there. I loved that job. I was hired at the very beginning; we put the store together from the ground up. The people I worked with were fun, and I loved running the store. I remember unloading a truck full of merchandise with 70 below windchills. The whole town was shut down. Good times!
FP: Do you have any favorite moments in Mankato? Any night or event or time that really stands out for you when you think about your college years?
AA: My entire experience of living in Mankato was fantastic. I loved living there. It was a small town with such a heart. Camping in our friends T-PEE, the festivals in Sibley Park, tubing in the storm drains, biking, which seemed, at the time, the biggest hill to campus, and the really cool friends/people I hung out with.
FP: I read you met Billie Joe in 1990 at a show in Minneapolis. Had you heard his music before that show? How famous would you say Green Day was at the time?
AA: I met Green Day for the first time at a house party in Dinkytown. A friend of mine invited me to a party on the Fourth of July. So I went with my boyfriend at the time to check out the bands.
I saw a couple songs, then we left to watch fireworks. The next day they played The Varsity. I ended up going to that show, too. My friend, Erica, introduced me to the guys that day. I wouldn’t say they were famous.
I mean, I went to a lot of shows ... saw a lot of bands. They were just another band. This was the first time they played Minnesota.
FP: Was it difficult having a relationship long-distance when Billie Joe was on tour after you’d first met?
AA: Billie Joe and I were friends first. And never tried to be exclusive. I was in a dwindling relationship that was off and on. And I know he dated many other girls. We grew over time. After I graduated from college, I finalized the break-up with my longtime boyfriend and was single for almost a year. During that time, I saw Billie Joe a few times, but it wasn’t until I moved out to California that things solidified pretty quickly.
FP: I couldn’t get anyone to clear this up for me: Was it because of you that Green Day started coming to Mankato and playing shows? Or was Mankato a part of their early touring locations?
AA: Umm ... probably. : )
He booked a mini tour that started in Sioux Falls, S.D., and then came through Mankato, Minneapolis, to Beloit, Wis. So yes, to see me. Very Romantic ... .
FP: Talking to people around here now, it seems like the band was playing shows everywhere here in town: garages, basements and that show on a farm near St. Peter. Was it really like that? Or was it just a few shows that just sort of popped up when they happened to be here?
AA: Green Day always played anywhere, any time. So when they were in town as a band they would play garages, basements, street corners and even that farm on top of spools. Billie Joe came to Mankato a few times on his own for visits as well.
FP: Did you have any idea in the early days of your relationship that Green Day was going to hit the big time?
AA: I really didn’t think of it. I just knew that I loved the band and their music. They were so fun to watch live. ... But it wasn’t in my thoughts at all what their future held. I remember being with a friend in Minneapolis, and we were watching MTV, and their “Basket Case” video came on. It freaked us out. We were like “Oh My God, how crazy!! They are on TV!”
FP: A few people who knew you said your decision to move out West to marry Billie Joe happened quickly. It was like one minute you were here and then you were gone. Was that how you remember it, too? Were you scared?
AA: Billie Joe had asked me to move out to California and give us a try. I was Totally scared. But super excited. It was a new adventure, and I was ready. I had a big garage sale - sold as much as I could, including my favorite blue creepers, packed a mini U-Haul and drove out with my 15-year-old brother and my friend, Holly, who was already making the trip. I figured I’d give it the summer and see what happened.
FP: It seems as if shortly after you were married “Green Day” and “Dookie” became household names. What was that time like for you? Was it strange to suddenly be living the life of a celebrity? Is it still strange?
AA: I was out two weeks and Billie Joe asked me to marry him. It was crazy. But it was a crazy time for us - and I said yes. It was a whirlwind. I was pregnant, and his band was everywhere. It was completely overwhelming. We were just trying to navigate it all - it was a bumpy ride for sure. It took years for us to find our footing. ... But sometimes I think it was all those trials that made us stronger and brought us to where we are today.
FP: What’s your life like now?
AA: It feels pretty normal for me now. I am a mother of two amazing kids. So I am busy with school, sports and all their activities. And Billie Joe’s life keeps us busy. It’s never boring ... that’s for sure.
FP: What are your roles at Atomic Garden and Adeline Records? Does that keep you pretty busy?
AA: My friend and I are partners in Atomic Garden. She’s a very good friend who is amazing and patient. I work as much as I can when I am in town, and we do all the buying together. We have an incredible manager who does most of the day-to-day stuff. She allows us to live our lives and still have such a beautiful store. I don’t do anything with Adeline Records anymore. I worked the label for years when it first started. But I have moved on. : )
FP: Do you still keep in contact with anyone from the Mankato area?
AA: I keep in touch with a few people. But sadly lost touch with a lot of them.
FP: And now for the $65,000 question. What do you think our chances are of getting Green Day to come back to Mankato to play a show some time? Are small markets like ours pretty much out of the question at this point?
AA: I would love to imagine Green Day playing Mankato again. I don’t think it’s out of the question. They still play small clubs and stuff. They are still the same in that way - they will play anywhere. It’s more just the logistics of it all.
FP: How about you? Could we get you to come back some time? How about a big party catered by Pagliai’s?
AA: I would LOVE to get back to Mankato for a visit. So let’s keep in touch and make this happen! It’s been too long since I had a Pagliai’s pizza with onion, green olive and extra sauce. Cheryl Rueda made me the BEST pizzas!!!!!
Green Day drummer Tre Cool Q&A
By DARRYL STERDAN - Sun Media
If Green Day were Goodfellas, Tre Cool would be Joe Pesci.
"What, I'm a clown?" bristles the drummer goodnaturedly down the phone from a rehearsal studio in San Diego. "I'm here to amuse you? You think I'm funny?"
Doesn't everybody? For nearly two decades, the 36-year-old Cool -- born with the decidedly square name of Frank Edwin Wright III -- has been the Keith Moon to Billie Joe Armstrong's Pete Townshend; an irrepressible imp who's nearly as entertaining offstage as onstage. And while the band that once sang odes to masturbation has matured personally and musically over the past few years -- as evinced on their increasingly ambitious rock-opera concept albums like 2004's American Idiot and this year's post-Bush tale 21st-Century Breakdown -- Cool remains as fast with a conversational comeback as he is with a drumstick.
While the East Bay trio put the finishing touches on their new tour (they play the Copps Coliseum in Hamilton July 16), Cool took a break from rehearsal to chat about his zombie knee, the new American Idiot musical and the woman inside of him.
Not that he's being funny or anything.
How's your knee doing? I heard you messed it up goofing around at the beach before you made the album.
Yeah. It's good now, though. It's been rebuilt. I've got a piece of some dead person in me.
You do not.
I do! I've got a piece of a cadaver in there as a replacement.
So, does you knee rise up unbidden in the night?
Yeah. I've been having these weird dreams that I'm a schoolteacher in the Midwest. And female. I might have a woman inside me. More than usual. (Laughs)
I don't know where you're going with that.
We're going to Canada with it! We're bringing it up there!
Tell me what we're in for with the new show.
You're in for a big rock extravaganza. It's like Green Day times 10. I don't want to reveal too much, but the crowd is definitely as much a part of the show as the band.
Audience participation seems to be important to Billie Joe.
Yeah, he's definitely a showman. A punk rock dictator. (Laughs) He gets up there and the whole crowd-obedience factor goes way up. Everybody's there to have a good time and he's like the scout leader.
How do you make it bigger and better than last time?
Write another kickass record and play songs off of it. We're switching it up; we're not doing the same songs we did on the last tour. We're adding songs that people didn't get to hear last time and we haven't played in years. And we're playing the newer stuff -- basically mixing from all the records. That's a physical feat in itself, playing all those songs. There's 20-something songs, maybe 30.
And you're gonna be on the road for what, like two years or something?
Yep, we're just gonna go and go and go until we pass out.
You seem to provide comic relief during the show.
Oh, thanks a lot, dude. (Laughs) ... Yeah, in this band, our personalities shine through in everything, you know. Even on the recordings, you can definitely hear us as individuals. We are strong personalities, bouncing off each other. And sometimes bouncing off the ceiling.
Billie Joe comes off as a very serious guy and Mike Dirnt comes off as the quiet one ...
Mike? Quiet? Ha!
And you come off as the guy who's going to light a firecracker in someone's butt.
Yeah, well, there's that. But Mike's hilarious. He does have a lot of serious things to say -- there are many sides to Mike Dirnt. But I know him as a hilarious motherf---er.
And you have your serious side?
Yeah, I guess. (Laughs) I seriously beat the s--- out of my drums every night.
This album took longer to make than any of your other CDs. Was that tough? You must have wanted it to be over with.
Yeah, but we will serve no wine until its time. There were definitely times when we had so many songs it was overwhelming. And we had no idea even where to begin -- we had, like, 40 new songs ... But it takes time. You can't just shoot something like that out.
Are all three of you equally involved in the process? Or does Billie just present it to you?
He'll do a lot on his own. But he needs organizational help because he writes so much stuff. He's just constantly writing. So that's where he'll look to the rest of the guys. As for the melodies and the rest of it, it just sort of comes to him somehow. He has his own private, cerebral AM/FM radio.
And now you're the composers of a musical.
Yes, the American Idiot play. It's opening off-off-off-off-Broadway in Berkeley, California. We're keeping it close to home, so we can change things and make little tweaks. But what we've seen so far, it's mindblowing. The cast is incredible. It's interesting to hear Green Day songs sung by women.
But not the woman inside you.
No (laughs) ... I'd better shut up now.
Instead of the covers of "Shout!" and "Stand By Me" they should slip in some MJ! What? Just saying..
Source: Spin.com / Mankato Free Press / Jam.Canoe.CA!