While many bands will throw some fans a bone by kicking off massive arena tours by playing a warm up date at a small club, Green Day is starting to make themselves at home in smaller venues.
Last month they played the entirety of their new album, Saviors, in downtown Disney's House of Blues. In January they busked on a NYC subway and the Howard Stern Show. Then a few weeks ago they visited the historic Fillmore in San Francisco where they played American Idiot all the way through for the first time since 2005.
Thursday night they rocked the faces off of 750 Angelenos at the Echoplex on Sunset Blvd.
While relatively small, the Echoplex has a way with getting artists out of its league to darken its doors. Because it sounds so good in there? Because the sight lines are fantastic? Because it's so easy to park? Yeah, no.
But none of that has stopped acts like Beck, Thom Yorke, or even The Rolling Stones from slumming it in the Echo Park mainstay.
In their seventh gig of the international Hella Tiny Tour, Green Day played the two albums it will feature on its forthcoming tour, American Idiot and Dookie. The Echoplex show as the first time the band had ever played those two albums together.
Dookie is celebrating its 30th anniversary and American Idiot is now 20.
As if that was not enough they even did a little encore for the lucky attendees including the curious "Fancy Sauce" from the new album.
Seriously, while everyone fawns over Taylor Swift's biting new tunes, only Green Day is incorporating Weezer melodies with uber-emo lyrics
I'm not crazy / You're the one that's crazy
Everybody's crazy / Getting stoned and lazy
As we all die young someday
Billie. Joe. Armstrong!? You come right over here and tell us why you're so despondent despite clearly living your best life?
Playing a 35-song warm up-gig says a lot. It shows Tre, Mike and Billie Joe are wise enough to make sure they can physically knock out that many tunes on the road stadium after stadium around the world. Which is something you should think about when your singer/guitarist still looks 25 but is actually 52.
Fortunately for all involved he seems to have the energy, idealism, and moxie of an 18 year-old.
Want more proof?
A few days later, down the coast in Orange County, Billie Joe and his side band, The Coverups were at the Tiki Bar.
Yes indeed. On 4/20, Saturday night, Michael Anthony of Van Halen got on stage with them and Billie got to show off his Eddie Van Halen chops and bassist got to remind the audience what a fabulous singer he is and why the background vocals of all your favorite VH tunes were so fantastic.
They played three classic Roth-era Van Halen tunes.
Green Day will be filling up sports arenas near you this summer, both baseball and football fields.
Don't show up late as they will have some fantastic opening acts like Rancid, the Linda Lindas, Smashing Pumpkins, and/or others depending on the venue.
Tickets available on the Green Day website.
Green Day 2024 Tour Dates:
05/30 – Monte do Gozo, ES @ O Son do Camino
06/01 – Madrid, ES @ Road to Rio Babel
06/05 – Lyon Decines, FR @ LDLC Arena *
06/07 – Nurnberg, DE @ Rock im Park
06/08 – Nurburgring, DE @ Rock am Ring
06/10 – Berlin, DE @ Waldbühne – with Donots
06/11 – Hamburg, DE @ Trabrennbahn Bahrenfeld – with Donots
06/15 – Interlaken, CH @ Greenfield Festiva
06/16 – Milan, IT @ I Days – Hippodrome La Maura
06/18 – Paris, FR @ Accor Arena – with The Interrupters
06/19 – Arnhem, NL @ GelreDome #
06/21 – Manchester, UK @ Emirates Old Trafford !
06/23 – Isle of Wight, UK @ Isle of Wight Festival
06/25 – Glasgow, UK @ Bellahouston Park !
06/27 – Dublin, IE @ Marlay Park !
06/29 – London, UK @ Wembley Stadium !
07/29 – Washington, DC @ Nationals Park $
08/01 – Toronto, ON @ Rogers Centre $
08/03 – Montreal, QC @ Osheaga Music and Arts Festival
08/05 – New York, NY @ Citi Field $
08/07 – Boston, MA @ Fenway Park $
08/09 – Philadelphia, PA @ Citizens Bank Park $
08/10 – Hershey, PA @ Hersheypark Stadium $
08/13 – Chicago, IL @ Wrigley Field $
08/15 – St. Louis, MO @ Hollywood Casino Amphitheatre ^
08/17 – Minneapolis, MN @ Target Field $
08/20 – Kansas City, KS @ Azura Amphitheatre ^
08/22 – Cincinnati, OH @ Great American Ballpark $
08/24 – Milwaukee, WI @ American Family Field $
08/26 – Charlotte, NC @ PNC Music Pavilion ^
08/28 – Atlanta, GA @ Truist Park $
08/30 – Nashville, TN @ Geodis Park $
09/01 – Pittsburgh, PA @ PNC Park $
09/04 – Detroit, MI @ Comerica Park $
09/07 – Denver, CO @ Coors Field $
09/10 – Austin, TX @ Germania Insurance Amphitheater ^
09/11 – Arlington, TX @ Globe Life Field $
09/14 – Los Angeles, CA @ SoFi Stadium $
09/18 – Phoenix, AZ @ Chase Field $
09/20 – San Francisco, CA @ Oracle Park $
09/23 – Seattle, WA @ T-Mobile Park $
09/25 – Portland, OR @ Providence Park $
09/28 – San Diego, CA @ Petco Park $
01/19/25 – Johannesburg, South Africa @ FNB Stadium
01/23/25 – Cape Town, South Africa @ DHL Stadium
* = w/ The Interrupters
# = w/ The Hives and The Interrupters
! = w/ Nothing But Thieves and Maid of Ace
$ = w/ The Smashing Pumpkins, Rancid, and The Linda Lindas
^ = w/ Rancid and The Linda Lindas only
