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I remember the exact day I fell in love with American Idiot. It was January 2nd, 2005, in the middle of nowhere. I was 14 at the time. I had heard American Idiot (the song) and Boulevard of Broken Dreams and watched their videos on MTV. I liked those two songs, so I got the album. I listened to it and Give Me Novacaine captivated me from the very first time I heard it, but other than that I only liked those two singles, so I would play those 3 songs, repeat Novacaine a few times, and skip the rest of the album. Then for the New Year holiday my family and I went to visit my extended family in another state, and we were driving back to my hometown, Caracas, on January 2nd. The drive was supposed to be around 8 hours long, and about 3 hours into it our car broke down. We were in a small road in the middle of nowhere surrounded by a pretty dry landscape. This was long before we all had internet in our cell phones, in fact I didn't even have a cell phone at the time. So I had nothing to do to kill time while the adults figured things out, other than sit on the side of the road and read the booklet of American Idiot while I listened to the album. I hadn't done that before, and at the time my English was not good enough that I could understand the lyrics of the songs just from listening, I needed to read them. And so I did. 57 minutes later my life had changed. I was blown away on so many levels. First, was this album telling a story, where all the songs were connected and giving you a peek into the lives of these characters? Was that even possible? I had never considered before that an album could do that. And second, those stories, those lyrics, they resonated with me so profoundly. I was a teenager by then struggling with all the emotional troubles teenagers go through and dipping my toes into depression. So that teenage angst of the Jesus of Suburbia captured so many of my emotions at the time, many of which I hadn't figured out how to articulate yet. And I lived in a country that was (and still is) in constant political turmoil, where censorship and violent repression of peaceful protests was just getting started, and there was so much hatred between government and opposition, and American Idiot also spoke to that. I felt like I had found this treasure, this album where each and every song articulated so many of my feelings, not only about my own internal private struggles but also about my struggles as a teenager growing up in country submerged in such a political chaos. We ended up getting home almost at midnight and I went straight to the internet to confirm my suspicions that the album was telling a story, and it was! I spent the following weeks dissecting that story, talking about it to anyone who would listen, and starting to consume any Green Day media I could get my hands on: previous songs, previous records, old videos, recordings of live performances. I did end up going to a show in the American Idiot tour (another long story for another time). I took a 10 year sabbatical from Green Day fandom and totally disconnected from whatever the band was doing between 2013 and 2023, until I went to see them live at Bataclan last November. They opened that show with the song American Idiot, and as soon as the first chords played all my teenage fandom rushed back in, I felt like a was 15 again and as excited as the first time I heard that song live. As soon as they announced they'd be playing Dookie and American Idiot in full in this tour I went a bit crazy I decided to go to three shows. At the first one (Lyon) I was kind of in a state of disbelief... hearing American Idiot played live in its entirety and in order was my ultimate dream as a teenager, and seeing it become a reality 20 years later was just so surreal. I teared up with the songs I had expected to tear up with: Give Me Novacaine, Homecoming, Whasername. By the third show (Paris), just knowing that this was probably the last time I'd get to hear the whole album played live, I started tearing up from the moment the band started playing the song American Idiot (am I the first person to tear up with American Idiot the song? 😅). There's a third way in which American Idiot impacted me though: It gave me a community to be a part of and where I felt welcomed and accepted. I was a bit weird as a teenager: I did not like the same music, the same hobbies, or the same fashion trends as my peers at the time... and teenagers are notorious for not playing nice with the ones that don't fit in. To say that I had very few friends at the time is the understatement of the year. On top of that I was also struggling with my mental health, and I didn't know anyone around me who was going through something like that, at least not openly. Mental health was such a taboo, so I also felt really isolated because of that. But then I joined the Idiot Club, and after having exhausted every Green Day related topic I ventured into the General Chat section of the forums and I found so many wonderful people there. It was bitter sweet, most of them were in the US or the UK and had the opportunity to meet each other in person occasionally, while I was geographically isolated in Venezuela. But at least I had an online community where I could be myself without being judged, or laughed at, or ignored, and with whom I could discuss mental health more openly, hear from other people going through similar struggles, and feel less alone in that regard. I did get to meet a few of them in person in one of my trips to see Green Day in the US back in the day. 20 years later I still keep in touch with many of the people I met then... hell, I've kept contact with more people from the Idiot Club than people I went to high school with, and I'd still like to meet some of them in person when I get a chance. Oh and yes, I made a fan art inspired by American Idiot. I wrote a 300 page long fan fiction about American Idiot. It was the story of the album but from the lens of Whatsername, covering her origins and what happened to her after Letterbomb, and I proudly published it in one of the Green Day fan sites at the time. I was 15 and depressed when I wrote it though, so I have since made sure to delete it from the face of the Internet. And while it was 100% cringe-worthy, I am very proud of the fact that I wrote a 300 page long story being only 15, and in English besides, which is not my native language. And how has my life changed since then? Well I finished high school, went to university, and then left Venezuela and moved to France to get a PhD, which I completed and then stayed here for work. I eventually managed to build a small but solid group of friends in real life. Venezuela continues to be a political disaster, now more than ever, which still hurts. But overall, life got better. And 20 years later American Idiot continues to tug at my heartstrings and hearing it played live in full has been such a privilege and such an emotional experience. EDIT: Oh yeah, CS, 33, Venezuelan now living in France. But good luck shortening that to a usable version 😅

"Missing my little buddy Lenny"

One of Tre with the bunny from Ryan Baxley

Pics from the band on Facebook

"Twin cities!!!! One of the best shows ever. Seriously"

On this day 3 years ago (19 August 2021), Green Day played in Pittsburgh, PA on the Hella Mega Tour. More photos: 12 years ago (19 August 2012), Green Day played Summer Sonic in Osaka, Japan. More photos: 19 years ago (19 August 2005), Green Day played in Houston, TX on the American Idiot Tour. More photos: 23 years ago (19 August 2001), Green Day played Highfield Festival on the Warning Tour. 26 years ago (19 August 1998), Green Day played in Karlsruhe, Germany on the Nimrod Tour. 30 years ago (19 August 1994), Green Day played Lollapalooza in Baytown, TX. 33 years ago (19 August 1991), Green Day played Abstract Book Store in New Orleans, LA.

Just begging to be a caption competition 😂😂

Movie night from Ryan Baxley

4th pic is proof that men never truly grow up. 😂

Thank you! It was amazing! Yep and I sure was there! Spiritual experience for sure. I was going crazy during pretty much every song. Hearing Homecoming and Whatsername live honestly made my whole life worth living. I went with my Dad and was worried because I wasn’t sure if we’d be able to get tickets. We had to settle for “obstructed view” tickets, but the only obstruction was the net there for Twins games. We had an amazing view and overall a 10/10 night for sure.

My name is Charlie, and I live in Pennsylvania, United States. I started my obsession with Green Day just after the 'Saviors' album came out, so around March of this year. I instantly was enthralled by Green Day. I've listened to most of their albums and discography, but my favourite? 'American Idiot' of course!L istening to their album almost made me cry, I'm neurodivergent and it instantly became my new obsession. I LOVE it. I LOVE the album. I will never get over it, if I'm honest. The first song from 'American Idiot' that I heard was 'Wake Me Up When September Ends', and although it isn't my favourite song from the album, it still holds a place in my heart for being the song that made me curious. Though my favourite song from the album is 'She's a Rebel' which has become a guilty pleasure to listen to. Sadly I don't have a CD, or a commemorative piece or merchandise for Green Day (Though my birthday is the 21st, so as of writing I'm hoping things change?) But I do have a pure and unadulterated love for Green Day, and nothing is gonna change that.

Some YouTube videos from last night:

As we all know, American Idiot turns 20 this year. This album means a lot to the fans – many will even say it changed their lives – and hearing it live in full is an emotional experience. @The Grohl suggested writing a commemorative article for the 20th anniversary and we want to celebrate how it’s impacted all of us, the fans. Share your story in this thread and if you want to be featured in the GDA article, please share your first name/alias and country or state. If you feel comfortable sharing your age, please include that too so readers can see how this album has impacted people of all ages, from all walks of life. If you don’t want to post your story in the thread, you can send it to a member of the GDA staff in a PM or on Instagram or Tumblr. You’re also welcome to share your story in this thread even if you don’t want to be included in the GDA article. The deadline to be featured in the GDA article is 10 September 2024. Of course, you can share your story in the thread whenever you want, but it won't be included in the GDA article if you submit it after 10 September. There are no other rules or requirements. It doesn’t matter how long you’ve been a fan or whether or not you’ve heard American Idiot live. If you’re not sure where to start, here are some questions you could answer: What does American Idiot mean to you? Was American Idiot the album that introduced you to Green Day? Has your life changed since then? Is American Idiot your favourite album? Do you remember the first song you heard? Do you remember buying the CD or holding it for the first time? Were you already a fan when the album came out? Did it change your feelings about Green Day at all? Did you see Green Day on the American Idiot Tour? If you've heard American Idiot live in full, how did you feel? Have you made any fanart inspired by American Idiot? Share it! Are there any photos you want to share, like a photo of yourself at a show or holding the CD? These are just examples. You don’t have to mention any of these things; you can talk about anything related to American Idiot. I'll have to come back later with my own story, but if no-one else has shared theirs by then, I'll get things started

Full show https://youtu.be/lrv4UbBWF0g?si=8Jz3ElYL-gFL35q1

Mike added some remarks to Danny Clinch's photos and some other stuff on his Instagram story Few bits from Kevin's Instagram story

So my perspective is very different from many of you but if I tell you my first gig was Siouxie and the Banshees in a nasty little club in 1976 it will explain a lot. I knew Basket Case and loved it and was always kind of aware of Green Day but I was a married, working mum with elderly parents needing assistance so actually just had no time to be involved in music like I had been as a teenager and was pretty pissed off with the current music scene that I was hearing on mainstream radio. Just as AI was released, my niece came to stay and watched MTV all the time so suddenly I was hearing this album which seemed so different and was so huge and the band looked so different I could hardly believe it was the same guys. I loved the music but was not suffering any of problems so many Green Day fans have endured but I can completely see how they feel and the music still speaks very powerfully to me. I regarded myself a fairly casual fan, l had gone back and acquired their whole back catalogue, until we went to see them on the 21CBD tour which I say I am till getting over 😂😂. I completely agree with @Gwen Stacy re Green Day conquering the world TWICE and hope one day BJ gets the recognition he deserves for his songwriting. Forgot to say I am in the UK!

I wasn't sure where to put these as we don't have a Green Day Facebook posts thread so I'm putting them in here https://www.facebook.com/share/p/fdxJY28BKbtrNDeA/ https://www.facebook.com/share/p/xQqkchrzZazsaEQU/

Love that he brought the Mudstock outfit to celebrate its anniversary

So I am an old school fan in Australia, started listening to Green Day when Dookie came out. I saw them live for the first time in 1996 touring the Insomniac album. I did not like American Idiot when I first heard it. The single was fine, but songs like Boulevard of Broken Dreams and Wake my Up When September Ends didn't sound like Green Day to me. For years and years I would skip Jesus of Suburbia and Homecoming when I listened to the album. I still much prefer Shoplifter, Too Much Too Soon and Favorite Son from that era but I love Holiday from the album. Green Day for me is Dookie/Insomniac/Nimrod/Warning and Shenanigans. That will always be my Green Day. I do listen to American Idiot but nowhere near as often as Dookie/Insomniac/Nimrod/Warning. I am very keen to hear the American Idiot demos, I much prefer the Holiday/BOBD demo sound to the album versions. I said to my son the other day when it was released that the demo version of BOBD sounds more Green Day to me than the album version, I don't quite know why that is. But without the American Idiot album I would not have been able to introduce my now 16 year old son to Green Day, he is now a huge fan. I used that and RevRad to get him into Green Day. He was wearing an American Idiot T-shirt today!

My story probably needs trimming for the GDA article, but I wanted to share the full one here. It’s cathartic to look back on your long relationship with this album, innit? Maria, 29 Nottingham, England I still remember the day I discovered Green Day: April 7th, 2007. I was 12 years old, alone at home, looking at ‘blends’ on Piczo and I scrolled past a Fall Out Boy one, but the lyrics on the next one intrigued me: ‘I walk a lonely road, the only one that I have ever known…’ My house was usually silent except for video game music at the time. No-one wanted to be reminded of my abusive dad who was a DJ. I almost felt like I was doing something wrong when I typed in ‘greenday I walk alone’ on radio.blog.club. But this song was unlike anything my dad played. I liked the soundtracks to my video games, but I couldn’t really relate to an incompetent detective agency employed by Dr. Eggman. I could relate to this. I was a lonely emo preteen being called everything from ‘terrorist’ to ‘sand [n-word]’ and being ‘stoned’ because ‘P*kis deserve it’ at school, so of course my heart leapt when I heard a beautiful voice singing ‘sometimes I wish someone out there would find me.’ And as I played it again and again, I felt like someone had found me. I felt understood. I felt like I mattered. The next song I listened to was Wake Me Up When September Ends. I could relate to that, too, wishing I could just sleep through my troubles and wake up when they were over. I didn’t really get the title track, but I enjoyed playing it loud when my mum was out and so quietly I could barely hear it when she was at home. I watched the music video over and over just because it was cool. I cried to Whatsername like having a crush on Shadow the Hedgehog was actually soul-destroying, because the song painted such a visceral picture that I could feel something I’d never known. Holiday and Letterbomb were rousing anthems that made quiet little me want to stand up for myself and leave my town for a place where I’d feel human. I was listening to Green Day all the time now, so I nervously asked my mum if I could have some headphones. She was surprised, but asked my grandpa if he could pick some up on his way to ours and he arrived with a pair of Canada 3000 headphones from the charity shop. Soon my mum was worrying about how loud I was playing Green Day through those shitty headphones – I’d discovered a few Warning and Shenanigans songs at this point – but I wouldn’t have it any other way. Blasting those songs was like therapy. I wasn’t really sure why I was learning to play the drums, but now I had a purpose. I wanted to be like Tré. I wanted to play Green Day. Then I watched a video of them performing American Idiot at Milton Keynes and rushed into the living room, waving my drumsticks and yelling that Green Day were so good live, even better than they were on the albums, and Tré was the best drummer in the world. I had to see them live one day. My Green Day obsession was so infectious that all my friends, both online and offline, were listening to them, too. This phase wasn’t showing any signs of ending, so my mum took me to Selectadisc in Nottingham to buy my first Green Day album. I wanted American Idiot, but ended up choosing Bullet in a Bible when the bloke working there started fanboying with me over how incredible Green Day were live. I watched the DVD almost every day after school, but still listened to tracks that weren’t on it on radio.blog.club so often that my mum took me back into Nottingham – to Virgin Music, this time – to buy American Idiot. That day was the first of many times I listened to American Idiot in order. My mum was intrigued at this point. I was an easily distracted kid with unmedicated ADHD and many of my phases didn’t last, but not only had I been blasting Green Day for months – I was actually listening to 9 minute songs over and over. So she asked me to play her something other than Boulevard of Broken Dreams. She quite liked Homecoming. I don’t remember when she heard Give Me Novacaine, but that was the moment when she too fell in head-over-heels in love with her daughter’s favourite band. We started watching Bullet in a Bible and listening to American Idiot in full together. She hardly had the energy to talk about drumming or astronomy (another long-term obsession of mine) after long days working hard to support us both, but we could just sit there and listen to Green Day together. It was an escape for both of us. Seeing American Idiot transformed into a Broadway musical will forever be one of my most cherished memories. I’ll never forget listening to Are We the Waiting from Row F in the St. James Theatre and feeling that whole album like I’d never felt it before. The city lights of New York were coming down over me, skyscrapers, stargazers in my head, and Nottingham was the dirty town burning down in my dreams. I had found the place where I felt more than human; the place that taught me that I’d still matter even when I went home. And I’ll never forget looking up at Billie Joe as St. Jimmy with tears in my eyes as he sang ‘you taught me how to live.’ I can still recall exactly how my heart glowed as I thought, ‘wow, mate, you really, really did,’ because honestly, American Idiot did teach me how to live. I’d be a completely different person if I’d never heard it. I don’t know if I’d even be alive. There are many things – even other musical artists – in my life other than Green Day now, but I might not have discovered any other music if I’d never heard American Idiot, because I’d still be sitting in silence. Now I’m 29 and I no longer want to burn down my town, but I’ll scream ‘I’m leaving you tonight’ at the top of my lungs. I can still feel how I felt at 16, watching the scene when Johnny and friends board the bus to the big city in Holiday, and I can still feel how I felt when recalled that at 19, holding the National Express ticket that was my own great escape. However, it’s Homecoming I can really relate to now. I’m lucky to live in a privileged country and for better or worse, it’s home. Shadow the Hedgehog has been replaced by a real Whatsername. Maria’s Version goes ‘I ran away and then you took a different path,’ but damn, it ‘seems like forever ago’ and there’ll always be a time when I wake up in the ‘darkest night’ and remember it all (too well). So many Green Day songs represent completely different things to me now, but when I heard the first chords of American Idiot in Lyon this year, I was my 12 year-old self again – and I couldn’t believe my ears and eyes. My dream had come true. I was still alive and I wasn’t just hearing the title track. I was hearing the whole album live in full, standing on the front row when there was no way I could’ve stood in the pit at my early shows. And I wasn’t just hearing the album, I was reliving all it had ever meant to me in the best way possible. I’d overplayed Boulevard of Broken Dreams to the point I didn’t remember the last time I willingly listened to it until I got home from Lyon. I couldn’t have imagined that song ever moving me again, but hearing the intro played as it’s played on the album – on Bullet in a Bible – did something to my soul. I’m actually playing it a lot now, reliving everything just through that one song. And finally, I don’t think there could have been a more full circle moment than Billie taking my England flag in Holiday at the Isle of Wight Festival. That flag started going to shows with me in Paris in 2010, and Holiday was my anthem in the years I felt like I didn’t belong in England. It’s tough shit for the people who made me feel that way, because I am English, by half of my blood and by birth, and I handed our flag to my favourite band on national television. I usually say that 21st Century Breakdown is the album that changed my life, and in many ways it is, but it all started with American Idiot. 'You taught me how to live,' indeed.

Stefano Selva, 34 years old Italy I was 14 when American Idiot came out and I was about to start high school. I've heard Green Day before on the radio but only the hits. During that summer I'd heard American Idiot (the single) on the radio and I thought the song was awesome, then I'd downloaded the album since I don't had the money to buy it and I've became obsessed. I'd made a few research and I'd discovered that the album was made by the same band that I'd heard on the radio few years ago. This album completely change me and my mindset. Then I watch Bullet in a Bible almost on a daily basis the year that came out and I'd listen to every Green Day album, that made me a fan. I'm not seen the band on the American Idiot tour since I was too young ( I'd seen the band on 2013 for the first time) but I'd seen American Idiot live in its entirely in Milan last June. It was magical and emotional, it was like closing a chapter 20 years in the making. A chapter that started on September 2004 listening to the album that became my only good friend during the most difficult years and it end on June 16th after seeing the band performing the exactly same songs that brings so much peace on the hectic days 20 years before.

Great idea, I need to do this. Seeing all of Dookie and AI was amazing, 37 songs in one set!

"Picked up this 59 junior in St Louis!"

Amazing . Awesome to see Jason F back!

Damn looking straight out of 2004 and still just as hot!

I actually have met all of the band members in person and believe me, I was dying to ask about C&V. However, I only had a short time to chat with them and didn't want to pester them about it. Tre was kind enough to talk shop with me as one drummer to another, which is an experience I will cherish the rest of my life so I'm kinda glad I didn't in that case.

We've probably ended up having lots of it anyway in one way or another. Scraps of other songs, chord progressions that have become something else. Other than the title track, we don't specifically know what morphed into what. Something on C&V could've ended up becoming Peacemaker for example. Unless they tell is, we don't know.

If they wanted to release it they would. There's a reason they haven't.

I’ve been holding off on buying the anniversary releases (insomniac, nimrod, dookie, and now American idiot), especially since I can listen to them on Spotify, but I still want them physically, with the booklets and all. I don’t listen to vinyl all that much but a part of me wants the vinyl packs, but I think I’ll get the cds. I’ll probably get more use out of those. A big splurge is coming. (I’ll get the insomniac vinyl since that’s the only option) Update: I splurged on the cd packs but on Amazon, it’s cheaper! (Except for preordering American idiot. I want the poster, even though my payment didn’t go through because of an error) Also got the dvd “riding in vans with boys” filmed during the pop disaster tour.

I see $69.98 on the official store right now I was looking at the track list for the demos and I have a theory about the song Lowlife. Without hearing it (obviously), this is just a guess. Knowing how Billie reuses ideas, like Black Eyeliner and Church on Sunday, I wonder if Lowlife was later reworked into Take the Money and Crawl, the line that goes, "High on lowlife, hit me with a dull knife!"

Yes but high quality. I remember the TOTP performance as being totally epic, they weren’t meant to play more than 1 maybe 2 songs but played 4 (I think) by which time crowds were gathering and it was amazing, the Jools Holland performance was also spectacularly good, look out for Robbie Williams in the crowd.

Amazon link has been updated. This is for the CD set: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0DCG5Z5RJ?psc=1&smid=ATVPDKIKX0DER&ref_=chk_typ_imgToDp I've got mine pre-ordered