Green Day live

Date - 6th February 2005 Venue - Carling Hammersmith Apollo, Hammersmith, London Main Act - Green Day Support - New Found Glory ~~~ The Venue ~~~ The venue in itself was an absolute joy, providing comfortable seating with decent views of the band and the surrounding area in general. Having been an old cinema, the seats were previously catered to allow a prime view of the stage area, and luckily that hasn’t been compromised since it’s renovation to an ‘events’ arena. The Apollo itself, has hosted some of the main players in modern music over the last 10 years, yet never a band of the ‘gigging’ ... more

Hot off the heels of their successful UK legs of the 'American Idiot World Tour 2005' in January and February, Green Day announced plans for a huge show at the Milton Keynes Bowl, one which would become their biggest ever single performance in their 16 years as a band. Ticket sales day came and went - the gig had sold out within the hour, and the band consequently named a second date for a repeat performance the following night. Over the weekend of June 18th and 19th, Green Day would play to a combined audience of 130,000 people, and with the shows both being filmed for a November DVD release ... more

The combination of the hottest day of the year so far, a band at the height of its powers after the record selling 'American Idiot,' performing their biggest UK concert ever, and for 2 sold out nights running - meant this was going to be special, and it was…. Milton Keynes National Bowl was the venue, the colossal natural amphitheatre on the outskirts of Milton Keynes which holds over 65,000, it was looking a picture, absolutely packed, from the stage right up to the rim of the bowl stretching into the distnace. All in rapt anticipation at the prospect of seeing their hero's Billie Joe ... more

Green Day’s appearance at Wembley was a much-talked about topic in the office on Monday. I was therefore greatly surprised when on the same night I get a phone call from a beloved friend telling me that he had won 2 tickets via Xfm to see the first of there two shows! And so the story begins….. Support acts at Wembley are usually well known bands, with their own stage settings and backdrop. Cue many puzzled faces when a band that we had never even heard of took to the stage and proceeded to blast out emo-punk in front of the performance curtain with no indication as to who they actually were ... more

When my son gave me the latest Green Day album - American Idiot - for Christmas, I was a little hesitant. I had asked for it based on the first two singles released - the beautiful 'Boulevard of Broken Dreams' and the title track, 'American Idiot'. But this was a band I had loved 10 years ago at the time of their 'Dookie' album. Somehow I'd lost track of them and not followed their career since then. What if I didn't like this album? What if it tainted the pleasure I'd had in them previously? Of course I was not disappointed. When I played the album I was blown away. There was no going back, I ... more