Revolution Radio Promotion and Commercial Performance

[Joe.]

1 hour ago, MillenniumFan said:

I don't like how you closely tie commercial success to how good an album is. Personally, I don't think RevRad comes close to their best work, so that definition kind of works to me, but then I love albums like Insomniac and Nimrod, not anywhere near as successful as the big two: AI and Dookie. Commercially, they are most probably past their prime and a third wave of success is very unlikely, but I wouldn't rule it out. I still think they could produce a really good album, hell, I even think they could produce a better album then AI and Dookie. Is it unlikely? Sure. But they're not exactly 70 already (far from it actually). Just because other bands might have followed that general scheme of decline (in quality) like Metallica, Guns 'n Roses etc., doesn't mean they won't produce another great album, nor does it mean that Green Day will. Yes, both an earth-shatteringly good and successful album from Green Day is unlikely, but it's not exactly impossible, that's my point...

I've not directly made the link, it's just an observation that both sales and quality have been on the decline. Of course Nimrod has lower sales and that's still a great album whilst RevRad has low sales and is mediocre. 

They won't ever produce a Dookie level album again - we might get something like 21st Century Breakdown thouggg which would be great

[CherryBombs&Gasoline]

I don't see a decline in quality to be honest. The trilogy was mediocre, that's true, but I think that RevRad is a very good record. It's not AI, but personally, I like it better than some of their older stuff like Warning or 21st CBD. It all depends on the perspective I think ;).

The point is: They have nothing to proof anymore, so I agree with @Scattered Wreck on this point.They don't have to release an album that is as successful as Dookie or AI. Been there, done that. Right now, they could theoretically do what a lot of bands do: don't make any new music and just play the old stuff over and over again (that's what bands like System of a Down or Rammstein are doing at the moment). But they don't. And this is something that makes me proud as a fan. They keep pushing themselves and they keep making new and good music. There is no pressure anymore because they have already proven what they are capable of. And while their new albums don't break any records, they are still moderately successful. They are actually in a quiet comfortable position I think. 

[End Of The World]

4 hours ago, CherryBombs&Gasoline said:

I don't see a decline in quality to be honest. The trilogy was mediocre, that's true, but I think that RevRad is a very good record. It's not AI, but personally, I like it better than some of their older stuff like Warning or 21st CBD. It all depends on the perspective I think ;).

The point is: They have nothing to proof anymore, so I agree with @Scattered Wreck on this point.They don't have to release an album that is as successful as Dookie or AI. Been there, done that. Right now, they could theoretically do what a lot of bands do: don't make any new music and just play the old stuff over and over again (that's what bands like System of a Down or Rammstein are doing at the moment). But they don't. And this is something that makes me proud as a fan. They keep pushing themselves and they keep making new and good music. There is no pressure anymore because they have already proven what they are capable of. And while their new albums don't break any records, they are still moderately successful. They are actually in a quiet comfortable position I think. 

Agreed. I hope this position of "comfortable success" will inspire them to do more experimental works.

[pacejunkie punk]

41 minutes ago, End Of The World said:

Agreed. I hope this position of "comfortable success" will inspire them to do more experimental works.

An acoustic punk record, a rock opera and a power pop trilogy wasn’t experimental enough? 😉

[End Of The World]

54 minutes ago, pacejunkie punk said:

An acoustic punk record, a rock opera and a power pop trilogy wasn’t experimental enough? 😉

Yep, that's true. It may be that I've been listening to Radiohead for too long. Their way of being "experimental" is EXTREME. But effectively, as a punk rock band, Green Day have been experimental enough in the past years.

[Joe.]

1 hour ago, pacejunkie punk said:

An acoustic punk record, a rock opera and a power pop trilogy wasn’t experimental enough? 😉

Pretty much, they've stayed fairly comfortably within their genre of rock/pop punk music - they can certainly expand

[pacejunkie punk]

6 minutes ago, JoeFrusciante said:

Pretty much, they've stayed fairly comfortably within their genre of rock/pop punk music - they can certainly expand

But it’s what they do best. Not sure I’d like it if they went all classical, country or avant-garde freeform jazz.

[Joe.]

2 hours ago, pacejunkie punk said:

But it’s what they do best. Not sure I’d like it if they went all classical, country or avant-garde freeform jazz.

Not really what I'm saying - bands like The Clash pushed themselves and saw the boundaries of their musicality. I hardly expect any "avant-garde freeform jazz" but there's more to music than 3 chord punk music, which I love and Green Day do brilliantly, and it'd be nice and interesting to hear Green Day expand their sound

[Eric]

9 hours ago, JoeFrusciante said:

Not really what I'm saying - bands like The Clash pushed themselves and saw the boundaries of their musicality. I hardly expect any "avant-garde freeform jazz" but there's more to music than 3 chord punk music, which I love and Green Day do brilliantly, and it'd be nice and interesting to hear Green Day expand their sound

Finally someone sees it the way I do  

[Jonas01]

On 6.11.2017 at 10:29 PM, CherryBombs&Gasoline said:

This. Music is highly personal, there's actually nothing that is more irrelevant than sales. If it was about money, the Transformers movies would be better than than the Godfather. 

I enjoy this era of their career, it's a great time to be a Green Day fan. As long as the boys are having fun, everything is perfect. 

Thanks  

[Montclare]

New box office numbers-

 

Rank- 39

Artist/Event- Green Day, Catfish and the Bottlemen

Venue- Rose Bowl

City/State- Pasadena, CA

Event Dates- September 16, 2017

Gross Sales- $1,597,843

Attend/ Capacity- 36,912/44,927

Shows/Sellouts- 1/0

Prices- $185.00, $29.00

 

Rank- 155

Artist/Event- Green Day, Catfish and the Bottlemen

Venue- AT&T Center

City/State- San Antonio, TX

Event Dates- September 9, 2017

Gross Sales- $507,639

Attend/ Capacity- 8,820/12,899

Shows/Sellouts- 1/0

Prices- $69.50, $39.50

 

Rank- 158

Artist/Event- Green Day, Catfish and the Bottlemen

Venue- Mattress Firm Amphitheatre 

City/State- Chula Vista, CA

Event Dates- September 13, 2017

Gross Sales- $502,020

Attend/ Capacity- 10,561/19,463

Shows/Sellouts- 1/0

Prices- $69.50, $39.50

 

Rank- 171

Artist/Event- Green Day, Catfish and the Bottlemen

Venue- Austin360 Amphitheater

City/State- Austin, TX

Event Dates- September 8, 2017

Gross Sales- $464,864

Attend/ Capacity- 9,974/12,664

Shows/Sellouts- 1/0

Prices- $69.50, $39.50

 

Rank- 203

Artist/Event- Green Day, Catfish and the Bottlemen

Venue- Isleta Amphitheater

City/State- Albuquerque, NM

Event Dates- September 11, 2017

Gross Sales- $353,471

Attend/ Capacity- 9,673/15,359

Shows/Sellouts- 1/0

Prices- $69.50, $39.50

[CherryBombs&Gasoline]

These numbers are strange. I highly doubt that there were more than 5000 empty seats at some of their concerts. Or even 9000 :O. I'm not sure if I should trust these statistics. 

About experimentation: I wouldn't say that they weren't experimental enough throughout their career. However, it's true that they played it save with RevRad. That's totally understandable though, since the trilogy was a critical and commercial failure and most fans wanted them to go back to their roots. Nevertheless, I hope that their next album is gonna be more ambitious. I don't expect them to make a record of the same quality as AI but I would certainly appreciate if they tried to head towards the AI/21stCBD direction. That also includes the lyrics which I found a bit out of focus on RevRad. I have serious problems to define what some songs are actually about. So RevRad was great, it was the album that this band needed to get back on track and I really love this record. Now it's time to take the next step and expand the sound.

[Joe.]

1 hour ago, CherryBombs&Gasoline said:

These numbers are strange. I highly doubt that there were more than 5000 empty seats at some of their concerts. Or even 9000 :O. I'm not sure if I should trust these statistics. 

About experimentation: I wouldn't say that they weren't experimental enough throughout their career. However, it's true that they played it save with RevRad. That's totally understandable though, since the trilogy was a critical and commercial failure and most fans wanted them to go back to their roots. Nevertheless, I hope that their next album is gonna be more ambitious. I don't expect them to make a record of the same quality as AI but I would certainly appreciate if they tried to head towards the AI/21stCBD direction. That also includes the lyrics which I found a bit out of focus on RevRad. I have serious problems to define what some songs are actually about. So RevRad was great, it was the album that this band needed to get back on track and I really love this record. Now it's time to take the next step and expand the sound.

They've never left their safe zone of three chord punk music - even in 9 minute songs where they put a piano in, and they've written the same lyrics about revolutions for the last ten years. They're incredibly talented musicians so much more can be created by these guys

[CherryBombs&Gasoline]

4 hours ago, JoeFrusciante said:

They've never left their safe zone of three chord punk music - even in 9 minute songs where they put a piano in, and they've written the same lyrics about revolutions for the last ten years. They're incredibly talented musicians so much more can be created by these guys

I'm not sure about that. If you listen to their earlier material like Kerplunk and then compare it with 21st CBD, you can't deny that there's a massive difference. You're right, it's obvious that they have their roots in punk rock and you can hear that in most of their songs, but they definitely expanded their sound through the years. 

The question is how much change you want from a band. Look at Linkin Park: they started as a Nu-Metal band and their latest (and presumably last ) album was pure pop music. So they experimented a lot, but the outcome is...well, let's say questionable. 

Paramore did a better job imo. After Laughter has not much to do with what they did in their earlier years but it's still a very good record. 

But Green Day is a rock band. They always were a rock band and they will always be a rock band. What sort of change do you expect from them? They experimented more than most other artist in this genre. And to be honest, I think it's important that a band sticks to their roots to some degree. Change is good, but it's all about finding the right balance. This is something that Green Day managed to do and other artist, like LP, didn't. 

So do I want their next record to be more risky? Sure! But that doesn't mean that they have always played it save throughout the years.

[gaslight13]

4 hours ago, JoeFrusciante said:

They've never left their safe zone of three chord punk music - even in 9 minute songs where they put a piano in, and they've written the same lyrics about revolutions for the last ten years. They're incredibly talented musicians so much more can be created by these guys

Just at a quick glance of their discography, I count about 6-7 songs that directly or very loosely talk about revolutions. And half of them are on Rev Rad, so I'm not sure where you're getting the idea that it's an overused theme. He's written far more songs about self destruction/drugs, depression, love, etc. He does use a lot of apocalyptic themes on a couple albums but even that is largely metaphorical and the actual subject matter is much more personal, not a call to arms. The only 9-ish minute song in the last ten years is Forever Now (unless I'm overlooking one) and yes it mentions wanting to start a revolution, but as a nod back to the title track. Rev Rad overall has a much more direct approach than anything he wrote previously so that's a big change in and of itself. 
 

2 minutes ago, CherryBombs&Gasoline said:

I'm not sure about that. If you listen to their earlier material like Kerplunk and then compare it with 21st CBD, you can't deny that there's a massive difference. You're right, it's obvious that they have their roots in punk rock and you can hear that in most of their songs, but they definitely expanded their sound through the years. 

The question is how much change you want from a band. Look at Linkin Park: they started as a Nu-Metal band and their latest (and presumably last ) album was pure pop music. So they experimented a lot, but the outcome is...well, let's say questionable. 

Paramore did a better job imo. After Laughter has not much to do with what they did in their earlier years but it's still a very good record. 

But Green Day is a rock band. They always were a rock band and they will always be a rock band. What sort of change do you expect from them? They experimented more than most other artist in this genre. And to be honest, I think it's important that a band sticks to their roots to some degree. Change is good, but it's all about finding the right balance. This is something that Green Day managed to do and other artist, like LP, didn't. 

So do I want their next record to be more risky? Sure! But that doesn't mean that they have always played it save throughout the years.

I agree with this. I mean, they managed to reinvent themselves without completely losing the influence/sound of their early material, and they did it well. And even then, every record since AI hasn't been just like AI. The trilogy (whether you think it's good or not) is totally different, and Rev Rad is different as well even if it revisits the political side of things. Changing for the sake of change can lead to total crap. The last thing I want is for them to start putting out dance music or something. 
 

[Christian's Inferno!]

I definitely encourage experimentation for their next album. RevRad was a safe album which is fine, as long as the rest of the albums they release are just more of the same. The trilogy had some experimentation with songs like Kill the DJ and Nightlife. Despite what certain people think, I think their experimentation in the trilogy was for the most part great! 21CB is definitely their most unique album musically imo, even if it did follow the "rock opera formula" of AI. Musically, it is the most diverse when compared to their original albums like 39/Smooth, Kerplunk and even Dookie.

I guess one of the main reasons I prefer GD's 2000's material more than their 90's stuff is because they experimented more. While Nimrod is considered an experimental album, and it was at the time, listening to it now just feels like a regular GD album. It was certainly much more different than the albums before it, but every album they've created since have had hints of Nimrod-esque music.

[RedundantIdiot]

I've started listening to Rev Rad again after going through a period of not listening to it. I wanted to go longer without listening to it, but I'm seeing The Killers tomorrow night so I'm doing a hiatus of not listening to The Killers before I see them, which is why I played Rev Rad. Songs like Bang Bang and Rev Rad are every bit as infectious as they were when I 1st heard them, I like Say Goodbye and Outlaws more now than what I did when I 1st heard them, and Forever Now is my favourite long GD song. It sucks that more people haven't bought the album but I still feel that it's in GDs top 5 albums. 

[Joe.]

9 hours ago, CherryBombs&Gasoline said:

I'm not sure about that. If you listen to their earlier material like Kerplunk and then compare it with 21st CBD, you can't deny that there's a massive difference. You're right, it's obvious that they have their roots in punk rock and you can hear that in most of their songs, but they definitely expanded their sound through the years. 

The question is how much change you want from a band. Look at Linkin Park: they started as a Nu-Metal band and their latest (and presumably last ) album was pure pop music. So they experimented a lot, but the outcome is...well, let's say questionable. 

Paramore did a better job imo. After Laughter has not much to do with what they did in their earlier years but it's still a very good record. 

But Green Day is a rock band. They always were a rock band and they will always be a rock band. What sort of change do you expect from them? They experimented more than most other artist in this genre. And to be honest, I think it's important that a band sticks to their roots to some degree. Change is good, but it's all about finding the right balance. This is something that Green Day managed to do and other artist, like LP, didn't. 

So do I want their next record to be more risky? Sure! But that doesn't mean that they have always played it save throughout the years.

Compare an album like Combat Rock or London Calling to any Green Day album: there's a mixture of reggae, disco, hip-hop, rock and straight up punk music in there - I'm not expecting a carbon copy or a full on rap track (wtf is nightlife) but they can experiment and move away from a sound which has been pretty consistent their entire career

[Jonas01]

Just saw this... Look at the video here. You clearly see a camera man but is it just a regular guy who record for the screens on stage or ... ? 

 

https://www.instagram.com/p/BbXTAyRnnjg/?taken-by=batmansmom

[MillenniumFan]

No, from the venue most likely. I've been watching plenty of YouTube videos of the band and at larger venues there's usually a few cameras set up. This is all live feed. Like I have said previously, I think if they were explicitely recording for a live album, they'd have a camera crane up as well for crowd shots and alternative camera angles and I haven't yet seen any of that. They'd also most likely have cameras on stage, which they clearly don't have here... I really don't know if they're recording any of the live feed and if they do record, what they intend to do with the footage, but that's the general question @TimmyChunks said he'd quite like to ask the band when he has the opportunity (i.e. what is recorded, how much is stored, what do they intend to do with the audio/video etc.).

[Jonas01]

Look at this... It just makes me smile so much. The crowd going crazy during Bohemian Rhapsody... So nice. Argentina. Just imagine a whole show featuring every song during the night... Oh god ... But won’t happen  

Sti

3 hours ago, MillenniumFan said:

No, from the venue most likely. I've been watching plenty of YouTube videos of the band and at larger venues there's usually a few cameras set up. This is all live feed. Like I have said previously, I think if they were explicitely recording for a live album, they'd have a camera crane up as well for crowd shots and alternative camera angles and I haven't yet seen any of that. They'd also most likely have cameras on stage, which they clearly don't have here... I really don't know if they're recording any of the live feed and if they do record, what they intend to do with the footage, but that's the general question @TimmyChunks said he'd quite like to ask the band when he has the opportunity (i.e. what is recorded, how much is stored, what do they intend to do with the audio/video etc.).

What they should do of course is to make a awesome LIVE DVD+ALBUM from South America and let Eagle Rock produce the movie. If that happens i can die peacefully 😂

[UNICORN VOMIT]

Oh god that pit looks so good & so hectic

[Hero_Of_The_Hour]

I'm fairly sure that they're making some kind of documentary of this tour. They had a director on the road with them (who works for Oprah and also does independent documentaries) while in Europe on the first leg of the European tour. Now they have (most likely hired) a private jumbo jet with Revolution Radio emblazoned on it, at the very end of the world tour, for no obvious reason and undoubtedly at great expense and I'm sure it's going to be incorporated into the documentary about the world tour. You know that shit looks "cool". This is all my theory and feel free to ignore it as all I'm sure of is that they had the director with them.

[Beerjeezus]

36 minutes ago, Hero_Of_The_Hour said:

I'm fairly sure that they're making some kind of documentary of this tour. They had a director on the road with them (who works for Oprah and also does independent documentaries) while in Europe on the first leg of the European tour. Now they have (most likely hired) a private jumbo jet with Revolution Radio emblazoned on it, at the very end of the world tour, for no obvious reason and undoubtedly at great expense and I'm sure it's going to be incorporated into the documentary about the world tour. You know that shit looks "cool". This is all my theory and feel free to ignore it as all I'm sure of is that they had the director with them.

Can I ask what's your source? 

[Daddy.]

1 hour ago, Hero_Of_The_Hour said:

I'm fairly sure that they're making some kind of documentary of this tour. They had a director on the road with them (who works for Oprah and also does independent documentaries) while in Europe on the first leg of the European tour. Now they have (most likely hired) a private jumbo jet with Revolution Radio emblazoned on it, at the very end of the world tour, for no obvious reason and undoubtedly at great expense and I'm sure it's going to be incorporated into the documentary about the world tour. You know that shit looks "cool". This is all my theory and feel free to ignore it as all I'm sure of is that they had the director with them.

The amount of insider knowledge and theory's you have shown in the past has been a bit unsettling, this stuff might be confidential and not to be released yet. While it is fun to speculate (which is what this forum has a reputation for) some stuff is best left to be a surprise.