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What I mean is even if they don't actually censor something they are not free to perform exactly as they might elsewhere. Could they wear a gay pride flag like they do at many shows for example? Doubtful. Just the fact they would even have to consider which parts of their shows could cause a problem means it isn't a place they should play imo. Especially given their former stance with Pansy Division - going from refusing to play venues that wouldn't book a queer support act to playing a venue where that act would risk being arrested or worse for performing isn't a good look.

Got a Fan Pit Standing Ticket for myself.

This is admittedly a tricky matter, given how there are various degrees to this. They also played in Thailand and Venezuela in 2010, both authoritarian regimes at the time with a variety of human rights violations and press censorship to boast. In fact, if we go down that rabbit hole, the whole of South America is a bit tricky on that front. It's not just sun, cocktails and party beaches down there. Just look at abortion rights, political/gang violence, corruption etc. etc. I still think playing in South America is on the whole justified, but it's hard to decide where to draw the line. Granted, the state of the UAE is a particularly vile example of flagrant human rights violations, right up there with the likes of Saudi Arabia and Qatar (boo FIFA). It's unthinkable that we should still have countries in 2024 that allow for public executions, merely for one's sexuality, sometimes even by stoning, but here we are... I suppose the only worse optics the band could have achieved is by playing in Israel or Russia right now. But I agree, as a headline this makes me squirm, if nothing else. In general I'm honestly quite disgusted by how both oil-state airlines and Dubai are seemingly successfully marketing themselves to western holiday-goers. Under the glossy facade they're still horribly repressive and unequal regimes with few to no minority rights. Not to mention the absurdity of having a city with skyscrapers, huge swimming pools, artificial beaches and even an indoor skiing resort, erected in the middle of the Arabian desert, an area otherwise plagued by severe poverty, famine and drought. The old fishing village is actually quite interesting and has some history, but all the flashy bits built around it over the years, to attract business and tourists feel vapid and soulless, almost like a disneyland capitalist fever dream.

Kind of lame to play a country that oppresses LGBT+ and women to that extent and is built on slave labour tbh. If nothing else it seems like a terrible PR move

Does nobody have an issue with the fact that they are playing a country where Homosexually is a criminal offence ? Being homosexual is officially prohibited in the UAE which Dubai is a part of. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/LGBT_rights_in_the_United_Arab_Emirates#:~:text=Both civil law and sharia,the partner or the guardian. I am a bit disappointed by this one. Unless Green Day use this as a platform to advocate for equality .

Hope they do! Since they're playing countries they've never even played before seems like a decent chance. I guess the last time they did a proper Asia tour was 21st CB? They're due for one.

I mean, logistically speaking, they‘ll be coming from South Africa and could play in other places after Dubai.

The ticket prices are: VIP Hospitality Lounge AED 3,000 Front Pit AED 1,195 Golden Circle AED 595 Regular Standing AED 445 I think I will wait for a couple of months to see if they come up with an Asia tour or something rather than going to a vanilla Green Day show as my first one.

We're reading too much into this. Many major rock bands have played in Dubai, Abu Dhabi, or Doha in the past. In the end, it's all about the big money. Or why did Green Day play at the Formula 1 few years ago?

People are just going off based on what's most likely thing to happen. The Boys aren't so fucking stupid that they would accept controversial gig in Dublin just to pull off songs that would piss people off and get them banned from performing in Dublin ever again. At best, Billie might give some speech about loving everyone, but that's it. I realize I'm cynical about this, but they never should've taken this gig. I am very confident about this show being Greatest Hits 2.0 setlist with focus being on biggest hits and feel good songs.

On this day 7 years ago (8 May 2017), Green Day played in Brisbane, Australia on the RevRad Tour. More photos (all by Dana Hope) 26 years ago (8 May 1998), Green Day appeared on MTV. Interviewer: Are you doing anything for Mother's Day? I just FedEx'd my mom my card. Tre: Me too. FedEx'd your mom. If you want to find out how Tre got his mouth taped shut, you can watch the show on YouTube. Billie also played Good Riddance on the Howard Stern Show that day.

I think before judging their set and accusing them of self-censorship we really need to wait and see what they actually end up doing.

Wow yeah this is it. It's not just that the country/government does bad things, every country/government does. It's that they'll be altering and censoring their own show as a result. Considering the Pansy Division thing it really does seem wrong for them to play a venue where a queer act like that would not only not be welcome but likely to be arrested or worse, and to play a show where they can't freely include any song/part of their usual show. Idk how they can play songs about standing against authority when their setlist/show content will have been limited by censorship laws. It's really nothing of any consequence to anything except the band's reputation and fanbase (whether they play UAE or not won't affect the country or human rights there). But it's lame.

Alternative Airplay- stays at 1 Mainstream Rock Airplay- 2, down from 1 Rock and Alternative Airplay- stays at 1 Canada Rock- stays at 1 Hot Rock and Alternative Songs- 35, up from 38

I think what I’m struggling with is this: During the Saviors promo, it was brought up in multiple interviews how well they took care of Pansy Division in the 90s and refused to play venues that wouldn’t let Pansy Division play, too. They talked a lot about the values they learned at Gilman, primarily about equality. That means something to me and is a huge point of pride for me in being a fan, as are all their progressive views and actions. That might not factor into why others are a fan and that’s totally fine, but it does for me. It is hard for me to reconcile them refusing to play a venue that won’t let a queer band open for them with now playing in a destination where queer people cannot legally exist. No, citizens are not their government, but you could argue that back in the 90s, not all people they refused to play for were homophobic — the band refused in principle, I’m sure fully knowing that some good people were missing out on a show because of it. As @MillenniumFan pointed out in their very thoughtful post, this isn’t the first time they’ve played in a problematic place, and where to draw the line here is difficult. But right now, playing in Dubai just feels like a particularly poor and hypocritical choice.

Yeah it’s a really weird choice to me from a brand-alignment perspective. I remember hearing about Beyoncé playing at some resort in Dubai a while ago and thinking it was a bizarre choice (I don’t know much about her but feel like she probably has progressive values that don’t align with what goes on there). This feels similarly off. I’m not like *mad* because they have fans everywhere, I’m just surprised from a PR perspective and a bit disappointed that they are not paying better attention to what matches their values as a band. And this isn’t even an event for local fans, really, it’s a trade show that will probably largely be for attendees. It’s just very far from what Green Day stands for in all ways.

I really hope they don't pull a Matty Healy and use their show to advocate because it won't actually change anything – the local LGBTQ+ community will just suffer for it. If we're serious about forcing change through boycotting, the whole world needs to work closely with the local community to do it. Until that happens, one band refusing to play there won't help (again, it'll probably just do more harm than good), and I don't see why the decent local people should be deprived of enjoyment because the laws suck.

I don't. I have been to UAE several times from the 90s. The last time I was there was in 2017/2018. I see a huge difference and it's going in the right direction. Dubai is a huge city and is also different from other parts of UAE. If one part of the world doesn't get to experience music, movies, theatre etc from other countries I don't see anything positive about it. The reason for the changes that have been in UAE is due to the attention the country has gotten and hopefully that will continue. 🤞

Billie should dye his hair black again wear the black shirt and red tie during the American idiot anniversary shows