With the release of their new album, Broadway musical and video game this year, GREEN DAY leave us wondering, ‘When do they sleep?’
With the success of their new musical American Idiot and the upcoming release of their new version of the Rock Band video game having recently kept Green Day working around the clock, you might think that the band should be taking this summer to chill out and shake off their hectic year. But the Oakland, California Punk trio refuses to slow down. Instead of sipping cold drinks on the beach, they’re taking this time to embark on a massive summer tour through North America and Europe.
Green Day has clearly evolved since their founding in 1987. Starting out as angry teens with “no motivation,” as their 1994 hit song “Longview” states, they have now arrived as composers of rock operas fifteen years later. By venting their anger at the Bush Administration through their 2004 album American Idiot, Green Day suddenly found themselves leaders of a youth revolution, a position that they happily accepted as shown by singer Billie Joe Armstrong’s tendency to put on a George W. Bush mask and invite his audience to mock the former president during concerts. But with the success of Grammy-winning American Idiot dying down and President Obama taking office, Green Day had to examine their former place as rebels and decide where they stood in this changing time when rage has been replaced by a new four-letter word, Hope.
After almost four years, Green Day made an impressive return, awing fans with their newest album 21 st Century Breakdown, which earned them their second Best Rock Album Grammy. In 2008, they began collaborating with Michael Mayer, the Tony Award winning director of Spring Awakening, and a year later, American Idiot the musical opened at Berkeley Repertory Theater. Because of the outstanding enthusiasm of critics and fans, the musical has moved to Broadway and is currently playing at the St. James Theatre. American Idiot is now nominated for three Tony Awards, including Best New Musical.
As if the staging of a major Broadway musical and a huge new album wasn’t enough, Green Day prepped and released Green Day: Rock Band, this year, making them only the second group to warrant their own version of the popular game. Besides Green Day only the Beatles have received the honor to date. Green Day: Rock Band gives fans the chance to play The Fox Theatre in Oakland as well as numerous other venues that Green Day have played in their long career, shredding through “Holiday,” “Minority,” and many more of their definitive songs.
Now fans can eagerly await Green Day’s arrival in their town as the band kicks off a huge summer tour. This latest tour begins in Holland (the country!) and ends in the band’s home state of California. With over 100 songs to choose from in their now extensive catalog, Green Day is sure to deliver novel performances, rocking everything from recent hits like “21 Guns” to classics such as “Welcome to Paradise” and maybe even some new songs (fingers crossed.)
Green Day is currently writing for their next studio album and as Billie Joe Armstrong tells MTV News, “It’s all back to the basics.” Whether they are returning to their punk roots or writing another rock opera, clearly Green Day is not slowing down any time soon.
