Green Day Partners with NHL for Wednesday Night Hockey

[pacejunkie punk]

Just now, Beerjeezus said:

I believe there had to be some change. Billie seemed so wiggered.

I honestly think the band didn’t even know what they were expected to do. They could have gotten there prepared to play a full set and were told no, we only need you to play three songs. They were probably just doing what they were told.

[Little Boy Named Booze]

2 minutes ago, pacejunkie punk said:

As @Jon Benjamin showed, it was posted on the fan app as a concert from 5-6 (then amended to a 5:00 start only but still said concert).  Then when we were there, we learned OAR played for an hour the night before on the same stage, the security guys on Saturday told us they were scheduled to work there until six, one of the official photographers told me he believed it was going to be 45-60 min show, so basically all indications were that it would at least be a full set of songs, not two crowd warmups and a taping.  There would have been plenty of time to play 5-6, since the game didn’t start until 7 and they weren’t due to play inside until second intermission around 9:00pm.
 

I don’t know who you are referring to as “everybody knew”.  Believe those of us who were there, literally everyone in the crowd around us was shocked and confused when they walked off. We’re not all stupid. The NHL never explained to anyone, even the people working there what this would actually be.  

Wow so I guess nobody on place really knew what the set would look like. 

I know you're not stupid I used a bad term. My bad.

[Beerjeezus]

Just now, pacejunkie punk said:

I honestly think the band didn’t even know what they were expected to do. They could have gotten there prepared to play a full set and were told no, we only need you to play three songs. They were probably just doing what they were told.

That's possible… judging from how the info online changed and how even the people working there didn't know, it looks like the decision was made last minute or there was general confusion all the way through. I think it wasn't a great idea to have Green Day play the same day as another band as they likely brought more people to the event, so it was bound to be disappointing for a big part of the audience.

[The Grohl]

6 minutes ago, pacejunkie punk said:

I honestly think the band didn’t even know what they were expected to do. They could have gotten there prepared to play a full set and were told no, we only need you to play three songs. They were probably just doing what they were told.

That's what I think happened. I think they honestly thought they were able to do at least a 45 minute set and then were told at the last minute that it's not gonna happen. But yeah @pacejunkie punk and @Jon Benjamin are exactly right in saying that for the longest it was promoted as a concert, which is why it's so disappointing. I just wish they would've made it clear it was just a performance.  I really don't think Green Day is to blame. There was some sort of change or miscommunication. I really do think they intended to do a longer set considering that OAR performed for much longer the previous night. 

2 minutes ago, Beerjeezus said:

That's possible… judging from how the info online changed and how even the people working there didn't know, it looks like the decision was made last minute or there was general confusion all the way through. I think it wasn't a great idea to have Green Day play the same day as another band as they likely brought more people to the event, so it was bound to be disappointing for a big part of the audience.

Honestly, it was huge clusterfuck. There was so much misinformation going on. Even when it hit time to start letting people through the gate, the security just stood there waiting for the signal. It's was pretty weird. 

[jengd]

Do you think it possible NHL underestimated the interest in GD? That wouldn’t make much sense as they have signed a contract with them but it just seems weird.

[pacejunkie punk]

2 minutes ago, jengd said:

Do you think it possible NHL underestimated the interest in GD? That wouldn’t make much sense as they have signed a contract with them but it just seems weird.

I don’t think so it seemed more like the whole All Star weekend was thrown together and not run very well. The fan app alone sucked.

[The Grohl]

Yeah maybe St. Louis just sucks at organizing big events

[Lenny]

1 hour ago, jengd said:

Just listened again to some of the footage and It various hugely in quality but it did occur to me that an ice hockey arena must be one of the most difficult places to get sound right in, and they would have had to do sound check with it empty.  

It's extremely difficult when it's not set up specifically for a concert

 

20 minutes ago, jengd said:

Do you think it possible NHL underestimated the interest in GD? That wouldn’t make much sense as they have signed a contract with them but it just seems weird.

The NHL is new to this whole "let's make this an entire event" thing. They're not the NFL. 

 

[Squashie]

Everything the NHL does is a clusterfuck, to be honest. The All Star game is just a frenzy of thrown together "events" which is why the players hate going and claim "rest" to avoid going and take their 2-game suspension.

[Yosuke Hanamura]

One one hand, I can understand that people would be upset that they didn’t play longer. Considering they froze their asses off for hours to see the band, and that the NHL false advertised it as a concert.

On the other hand, they saw Green Day perform for free, witnessed the debut performance of Fire, Ready, Aim, half the crowd was dead, there was most likely a miscommunication between the NHL and the band (so it’s not their fault) and some fans (myself included) are paying a fuckin’ premium to see them on the Hella Mega Tour. Sooo, with that said:

[Red]

Can we all just take a second to appreciate how good Billie sounds right now? This new album has really made him work hard to widen his vocal range and it's really payed off.

I watched iheart 2012 for the first time in ages and it was actually heartbreaking to see him barely hit any notes, going on lots of rants and seeing the other band members look really worried about him the entire time, especially Tre.

For those who think Billie looks high or drunk in this mini show, you should really watch iheart again. There is no comparison. I think they absolutely smashed it in this show and I am so excited to hopefully get to see them soon.

On another note: I saw a lot of people talking about FRA using backing tracks, and they might have for some of the harmonies because they sound just a bit too perfect, but I am 99% sure the guitar intro is real.

[jengd]

41 minutes ago, RisingRedWolf said:

Can we all just take a second to appreciate how good Billie sounds right now? This new album has really made him work hard to widen his vocal range and it's really payed off.

I watched iheart 2012 for the first time in ages and it was actually heartbreaking to see him barely hit any notes, going on lots of rants and seeing the other band members look really worried about him the entire time, especially Tre.

For those who think Billie looks high or drunk in this mini show, you should really watch iheart again. There is no comparison. I think they absolutely smashed it in this show and I am so excited to hopefully get to see them soon.

 

I agree so much with you here, I can't bear to watch iheart 2012, it's like watching a train wreck happen to people you love, it's just awful and there is no comparison between that and what we are seeing now.  I understand if people don't like it, that's perfectly reasonable and legitimate, but don't make it into something it's not because you don't like it!  I really don't see where all the "this doesn't feel right" thoughts are coming from, I think it's the fans who are feeling uncomfortable because they aren't feeling connected to the band/music right now.  The band sound and look great to me, looks like they are having fun.  I guess in a career as long as this, and hopefully with more to come, there will be good and not so good phases for most long-term fans.

[Red]

19 minutes ago, jengd said:

I agree so much with you here, I can't bear to watch iheart 2012, it's like watching a train wreck happen to people you love, it's just awful and there is no comparison between that and what we are seeing now.  I understand if people don't like it, that's perfectly reasonable and legitimate, but don't make it into something it's not because you don't like it!  I really don't see where all the "this doesn't feel right" thoughts are coming from, I think it's the fans who are feeling uncomfortable because they aren't feeling connected to the band/music right now.  The band sound and look great to me, looks like they are having fun.  I guess in a career as long as this, and hopefully with more to come, there will be good and not so good phases for most long-term fans.

Yeah, while initially the album wasn't what I was hoping for (especially that god awful cover art) I have been enjoying the music from the beginning more so than not (as they say 2 out of 3 ain't bad).
Regardless of whether or not people like the album, I think we can all agree that the band has really been upping their game in live performances since RevRad and it seems to be even more so the case here.

[Rumpelstiltskin2000]

Another article here:

https://www.riverfronttimes.com/musicblog/2020/01/27/haters-gonna-hate-but-green-days-st-louis-performance-was-rad

Haters Gonna Hate But Green Day’s St. Louis NHL Performance Was Rad

Everybody has been crying all over the internet all weekend about both of Green Day’s performances on Saturday for the NHL All-Star Game. And most of those people are just haters who don’t know how to have fun.

When it was announced that Green Day, Official Band of the NHL, was performing outside the Enterprise Center for free in addition to playing the televised event inside, St. Louis fans couldn’t believe their luck.

Green Day is a legendary punk band for older fans and a hugely impressive entity to people who care about things like Grammy awards and success on Broadway. In addition to decades of successful albums and tours, a musical based on the band’s 2004 album, American Idiot, has been a smash success and has brought the band’s music to a whole new worldwide audience.

At this point, Green Day is basically the Rolling Stones of punk: If they show up in your town, you’d be smart to attend so you can see how it all should be done. Professionals are professionals for a reason.

With this in mind, many longtime fans braved the cold and throngs of St. Louis hockey hoosiers (we call them “Bloosiers” on the south side) to catch a glimpse of these revolutionary pros. We all wondered how it was going to go down and if the crowd would mix well. Hockey is the official sport of punks, after all, so we had high hopes.

The event had been advertised as a “performance,” not as a full concert. The band was also playing inside (on ice) later during the televised All-Star Game, so the performance on stage outside was mostly just to provide the TV cameras with “rocking” footage of the high-energy band.

One block at 14th and Market was closed off, and fans had to enter a couple of hours early to get through security and claim standing spots to wait for the band. The crowd was very cold outside in the January air, but it was a nice mix of young and old, punks and sportos.

Just before the band came out, ruddy ol’ Brett Hull wandered down the front steps of the Stifel Theatre to greet and film his many fans. We maybe would’ve rather seen Jon Hamm, but this celebrity sighting perked us all up a bit and shook us out of our frozen stiffness.

Then Green Day took the stage and blasted through three songs (“Know Your Enemy,” “Bang Bang,” and “Fire, Ready, Aim”) for the thrilled crowd before slipping off of the stage and back into the front door of the Stifel. As a goodbye and an apology, singer Billie Joe Armstrong slid up to the microphone and said “We’re Green Day! We’ll see you in the summer time, all right?”

Confused fans started chanting for the band to return and they thought it worked for a minute when Green day came back to the stage a few minutes later and again played “Fire, Ready, Aim” (which is so damn catchy that it should’ve been a Hives song) for the cameras with Armstrong explaining on mic that the NHL said that the crowd wasn’t “going crazy enough” the first time around. Fans down front were happy to oblige for this encore, bouncing up and down and clapping to the beat.

Before they began that, though, the band took a minute to give the true fans a few sing-along lines of “J.A.R.” and “She.” Respect.

Without the repeat song, the performance of the three songs clocked in at just under ten minutes and the whole thing was over in less than 30 minutes in total. Many cheers turned to boos, but really mostly only in the back of the crowd. The front of the crowd was packed with fans who stood in line outside for hours and were happy to catch the band for free, if just for a while.

But you know haters gonna hate, so tons of hockey whiners took to Twitter to cry about the length of the performance that they didn’t pay one penny to see and then everybody freaked out even more on Green Day online later when they, uh, liberally sprinkled their televised performance with curse words.

Judging by what the band had to say about it on social media, however, they were just having fun with the whole thing. See Green Day’s posts below, followed by other reactions and posts from all of the babies who need their blankies.

Hey, Green Day, don’t think that we’re a city of whiners. Add us to your Hella Mega summer tour with Weezer and Fall Out Boy and we’ll show you how much we can bounce when it’s not 30 degrees outside. You can bring your unicorn. It will be fun. Call us.

Lots of tweets follow here

[jengd]

Ha, great article and gotta love some of the Twitter nonsense.   It would be great PR if GD did add a St Louis date now though.

[pacejunkie punk]

4 hours ago, Yosuke Hanamura said:

One one hand, I can understand that people would be upset that they didn’t play longer. Considering they froze their asses off for hours to see the band, and that the NHL false advertised it as a concert.

On the other hand, they saw Green Day perform for free, witnessed the debut performance of Fire, Ready, Aim, half the crowd was dead, there was most likely a miscommunication between the NHL and the band (so it’s not their fault) and some fans (myself included) are paying a fuckin’ premium to see them on the Hella Mega Tour. Sooo, with that said:

😄 Believe me I get it. And I wasn’t upset at all, just explaining my confusion over the whole thing in the moment. But it was still a cool experience and a chance to get a glimpse of them months ahead of the tour so I’m grateful for that and don’t regret going. (And I’m also shelling out a premium to see them in the summer)

[Beerjeezus]

I have a feeling this might be one of their most polarizing performances in a long while, maybe ever I see comments that they (or specifically Billie) sounded great and others that say they sounded absolutely awful. It's like we didn't see the same performance.

[Thatsername]

21 minutes ago, Beerjeezus said:

I have a feeling this might be one of their most polarizing performances in a long while, maybe ever

I think it's already safe to say that this is one of their most polarizing eras in a long while, maybe ever😂 And maybe that was exactly what they wanted.

[Beerjeezus]

1 minute ago, Thatsername said:

I think it's already safe to say that this is one of their most polarizing eras in a long while, maybe ever😂 And maybe that was exactly what they wanted.

That's also true I'm sort of enjoying the chaos, while at the same time hoping it's intentional

[Beyza]

29 minutes ago, Beerjeezus said:

I have a feeling this might be one of their most polarizing performances in a long while, maybe ever I see comments that they (or specifically Billie) sounded great and others that say they sounded absolutely awful. It's like we didn't see the same performance.

After watched the whole show, I'm on the positive side. I think it was great cause I really like the energy. Billie looked like really having fun and happy, I think the audience also felt that and all really enjoyed so they created a great atmosphere. I don't think he currently has problems like in 2012, we can't be sure of course but I'm sure that he seems way better now

[Guest]

4 hours ago, jengd said:

 I understand if people don't like it, that's perfectly reasonable and legitimate, but don't make it into something it's not because you don't like it!  I really don't see where all the "this doesn't feel right" thoughts are coming from.  

"This doesn't feel right" based on what? 😂
I've also said that Basket Case performance sounded different but I've never thought it was the same situation as IHeart '12 
I think you can sing differently a song on purpouse 

[Beerjeezus]

9 minutes ago, Melodramfool said:

"This doesn't feel right" based on what? 😂

Based on FEELINGS. Some of us have those 

[jengd]

41 minutes ago, Melodramfool said:

"This doesn't feel right" based on what? 😂
I've also said that Basket Case performance sounded different but I've never thought it was the same situation as IHeart '12 
I think you can sing differently a song on purpouse 

The feelings things, I don’t know, I’m not getting any bad feelings but I am seeing it from others in the forum but everyone is different and yes, of course each performance is not going to be identical, sometimes they will be very different.  I thought they looked and sounded great.

[Guest]

40 minutes ago, Beerjeezus said:

Based on FEELINGS. Some of us have those 

Sure. I think I have them too 😂
But like, I would not coming to big conclusions after watching a video. 
If what you think happens then you should worry about it 

[Beyza]

18 hours ago, Beerjeezus said:

wiggered

Is that a word Billie made up? If so what does it mean exactly lol