Green Day to play All Things Live in Dubai UAE in January 2025

[MillenniumFan]

16 hours ago, Hermione said:

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

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. 

[JellyTime]

9 hours ago, GreenDayJunkie86 said:

Hopefully Green Day will open the Dubai government's eyes. I doubt it, but it would be awesome if they played Bobby Sox. Even better play the video 👀

I'm afraid this "government" have already seen more dramatic things than Bobby Sox video 

[Miko]

Nobody should be happy about Green Day performing in Dubai. If you ignore all the punk elements Green Day still have in their system (or whatever is left of that today), this is just money talking, big corporate move that I thought this band would never do and it's sad to see how they're willing to chase the bag and sacrifice their beliefs at the same time.

Also no one should be expecting them to perform any songs that might be too offensive. This is gonna be Greatest Hits 2.0 show to play it as safe as possible and this show isn't place for protests. I'd love to see them whip out Bobby Sox on this one, but that is absolutely not gonna happen. If you want to protest, you do it by NOT attending in show like this and showing middle finger to said event, not DURING the show by screaming how it's okay to be gay in 2025. That wouldn't achieve anything.

Just extremely disappointed by this. Fucking hell man this sucks.

[Little Boy Named Booze]

When they play in UAE we don't like them but the republicans do.
When they sing ''MAGA'' instead of ''redneck'' we like them but the republicans doesn't.

Let them do want they waaaaaant
 

[GreenDayJunkie86]

I don't like Dubai and what all they think is right, but atleast Green Day will have a great show. I am guessing Green Day is trying to play in places that they barely ever play at or have never played at before, so I guess Dubai is one of them. No matter what the beliefs are there, they just want to put on a kick ass show. 

[stories and songs]

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.

[Hermione]

18 hours ago, stories and songs said:

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.

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.

[pacejunkie punk]

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.

[Miko]

2 hours ago, pacejunkie punk said:

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.

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.

[Tomcat20]

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?

[Hermione]

7 hours ago, pacejunkie punk said:

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.

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.

[Tomcat20]

Got a Fan Pit Standing Ticket for myself.

[Ritz]

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. 

[Tomcat20]

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

 

[Hermione]

8 hours ago, Ritz said:

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. 

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.

[Warszawa]

There is no debate. Dubai sucks as a city. No tranpost, no city planning and no future, all they do is just show off how rich they are. I prefer more urbanistic approach because I am living in Europe and I wouldn't visit Dubai. I could careless if they hate LGBT or not. It is their culture anyways. I am responsible for myself and I wouldn't care if Green day went to Dubai because I am there for their music and not political views. Having said that Green day is 100 percent doing it for money and only money lol. Funny to see you guys getting offended and even funnier to see you guys trying to come up with reasons to justify them. 

[CherryBombs&Gasoline]

Let’s face it: They’re doing this for the money. It’s not about spreading the message of love and equality in an authoritarian state. They’re getting paid and that’s why they’re doing it. 

Obviously, you can’t boycott every country or state whose government potentially undermines your own values. But by playing in Dubai, they actively support the country’s agenda by giving the government what they want: attention. These states are using such events to improve their image. That’s what the World Cup and all these F1 races are for. It’s publicity for the states themselves. And it works. That’s why it’s disappointing to see a band like Green Day doing this. I’m not blaming the people who are going to the show and I’m not going to boycott the band but it’s still somewhat hypocritical.

[Westerberg89]

A lot of virtue signalling on here. Green Day can play wherever they want. The same people on here who are calling for a boycott and saying it's a bad PR move are the same people who won't call out islam but will tear into christianity because it's easy to do so.

The reason that countries in the middle east outlaw homosexuality, is because their religion comes first & their religion / ideology in these countries is islam, which is as far right & as oppressive as it comes when it comes to religion.

Now if you're talking of boycotts, then you can't exclude islam from the conversation.. So either do it properly, call it out for what it is, in the same way you do about other religions or take your virtue signalling elsewhere.

[Hermione]

6 hours ago, Westerberg89 said:

A lot of virtue signalling on here. Green Day can play wherever they want. The same people on here who are calling for a boycott and saying it's a bad PR move are the same people who won't call out islam but will tear into christianity because it's easy to do so.

The reason that countries in the middle east outlaw homosexuality, is because their religion comes first & their religion / ideology in these countries is islam, which is as far right & as oppressive as it comes when it comes to religion.

Now if you're talking of boycotts, then you can't exclude islam from the conversation.. So either do it properly, call it out for what it is, in the same way you do about other religions or take your virtue signalling elsewhere.

The people saying it are calling out Islam based censorship/"morality" laws. Literally nobody is claiming it has nothing to do with Islam. But there's a big difference between people in a country being Muslim and a country enforcing oppressive laws based on Islam/religion or based on anything for that matter. The issue here isn't the religion itself but the way it is legally enforced in this particular country.

[Westerberg89]

5 hours ago, Hermione said:

The people saying it are calling out Islam based censorship/"morality" laws. Literally nobody is claiming it has nothing to do with Islam. But there's a big difference between people in a country being Muslim and a country enforcing oppressive laws based on Islam/religion or based on anything for that matter. The issue here isn't the religion itself but the way it is legally enforced in this particular country.

‘The issue isn’t with Nazism itself but the way it is legally enforced’

Some people have mush for brains.

[Hermione]

46 minutes ago, Westerberg89 said:

‘The issue isn’t with Nazism itself but the way it is legally enforced’

Some people have mush for brains.

This is about Green Day playing the country, not about attacking an entire religion. People personally practicing a religion has nothing to do with the topic, the only relevant part is the laws that relate to this Green Day show. I think religion sucks as a concept lol, but that doesn't mean everyone who practices religion sucks and should be attacked for it. If the issue was people in the country being religious/conservative then there'd be calls for them not to play half the US too - the difference between a religiously conservative US state and this religiously conservative country is laws, not what religion it is.

The specific issue here is religion (and censorship of government critical views) being legally enforced by a government which creates human rights issues. But there's nothing Green Day can do about that, so the even more specific issue that relates to this show being discussed is just whether it's right for them to play a show in this country. It isn't a discussion about the entirety of Islam/organised religion lmao. 

[luketrebilliemike]

27 minutes ago, Westerberg89 said:

‘The issue isn’t with Nazism itself but the way it is legally enforced’

Some people have mush for brains.

Ah Godwin's law there. 
 

many religions have elements that are now not socially acceptable to western philosophy. There is also many different strands of the same religion. Lumping them all together ignores that. 

The Christian fundamentalists are completely different to many other Christian groups. Not everything the fundamentalists do such as the harassing people getting abortains means that other Christian’s agree with that.  In the same way that there are many Muslims who are fine with queer  people. 

 

 

[ricardoverde]

On 5/7/2024 at 3:45 AM, JellyTime said:

I'm afraid this "government" have already seen more dramatic things than Bobby Sox video 

Hahaha totally.

I can understand a band doesn't play in certain countries because of their policies, that's fine, just as some have done several years ago with Israel. But I also understand that many civilians are not to blame for that...

 

And why nobody talk about The Offspring is play there too? More than 30 years and finaly they are playing shows together... but in Africa and the UAE 😆

[pacejunkie punk]

3 hours ago, Hermione said:

This is about Green Day playing the country, not about attacking an entire religion. People personally practicing a religion has nothing to do with the topic, the only relevant part is the laws that relate to this Green Day show. I think religion sucks as a concept lol, but that doesn't mean everyone who practices religion sucks and should be attacked for it. If the issue was people in the country being religious/conservative then there'd be calls for them not to play half the US too - the difference between a religiously conservative US state and this religiously conservative country is laws, not what religion it is.

The specific issue here is religion (and censorship of government critical views) being legally enforced by a government which creates human rights issues. But there's nothing Green Day can do about that, so the even more specific issue that relates to this show being discussed is just whether it's right for them to play a show in this country. It isn't a discussion about the entirety of Islam/organised religion lmao. 

I still think by that logic they shouldn’t play Texas or Florida because of the laws violating the human rights of pregnant people. 

[Westerberg89]

Missing my point completely. You can't act all righteous & make out that they should boycott the show, when you yourself won't speak out against the religion which rules the area.

You'll stand there and call out Christianity & how bad you think it is, but you won't do the same about the most oppressive, far right religion, currently out there. These countries are the way they are, because they put their religion at the forefront of everything. What it says in their holy book, is what they are governed by. 'Attacking people' ? what exactly do you think you're doing when you call out other religions? You don't think that you're attacking somebody when you call out Christianity?

Laughable really.

Green Day can play wherever the hell they want, but i'm still against islamic laws & the religion itself because it opposes everything that I stand for. But i'm happy to call the religion for what it is. And I ain't gonna stand here & call for half assed boycotts like some on here. If you're gonna do it, do it properly....