Warning is my favorite Green Day album, and has been since the day it came out, but yeah, they were trending in the wrong direction commercially and in the mainstream. I was a sophomore in high school when Warning came out and Green Day were definitely becoming the 'oh, you still listen to that band?' kind of band. I very clearly remember American Idiot coming out when I was in college and that was 100% a relaunch of the band's stardom. I couldn't believe at the time how well it was being received and how huge it was getting after a good 6-7 years of the band trending in the wrong direction. Obviously, it was well deserved as AI is my second favorite GD album, but to this day, I can't really recall a band getting that much more popular after being a band for well over a decade that had already been very, very popular.
2004 was the year of long-running rock bands suddenly experiencing outsized success. American Idiot reinvigorating Green Day's career; "Float On" giving Modest Mouse a legitimate pop hit after they'd been around for over a decade; U2 with that iPod commercial...
Totally, kind of crazy to have put out an incredible greatest hits album before some of their eventual biggest hits ever. Also shoutout to Maria and Poprocks & Coke now that I'm thinking of it
That's not my recollection at all. It came out my freshman year of college and I remember "Minority" and "Warning" at least getting a ton of play, they would even show the videos on the TV's in our main campus cafeteria.
My god All that you cant leave behind sold 12 million albums and Atomic Bomb sold nearly 10 million. Wow.
Is it weird to think that the tour might be doing better if they shot a little lower with the direct support and had slightly cheaper costing? On paper, a bill with Green Day, Rancid, and say... Alkaline Trio, Jimmy Eat World, the Gaslight Anthem, or whoever might actually draw better because there's probably a whole lot more crossover. I just know I have like, five people in my direct circle who are passing because they either like the Pumpkins a lot more than Green Day and want a longer set... Or who like Green Day but don't want to sit through an hour of the Pumpkins.
I feel like they could have added more 'buzzy bands'. White Reaper, Turnstile, Maggie Rogers, Wet Leg, etc. Idk if any of those would've significantly boosted STADIUM sales, which I thought was ambitious from the start, but they would've drawn more than Smashing Pumpkins in 2024. This feels like the start of a comeback, too. Likely coming back from one of the lowest points in their career. Green Day is buzzy again, but not massive like they once were. Idk if they could get back to that, but if they could, it likely would still be maybe another album cycle away.
Ya no interest in the tour at all, particularly given the insane prices and random choice to have Smashing Pumpkins on it.
I think the bill makes perfect sense in like... 1997. But only one of the two bands has had any hits in the 21st century.
I don't think it was either, but the level of cultural saturation that they had at that point was pretty unique. "Vertigo" on the radio and on TV; the U2 iPod; debuting a song on The OC; winning album of the year at the Grammys. All pretty unheard of stuff for a band of their age at that point.
I just checked Cinci and Pittsburgh dates and, granted we are 7 months out, but there are a LOT of seats left.
I'm a spoiled brat and going to all 3 alt/rock stadium tours this summer (Foo Fighters, Blink 182, Green Day). Feel like The Hives and Smashing Pumpkins should swap places but that would probably make the Foo show too stacked.
The late announcement of AI & Dookie being played in full feels very similar to the 2019 blink/lil wayne tour becoming the "Enema Anniversary" tour way after it was initially announced and sales were bad.
You could've read the rest of my post. Neither are The Linda Lindas, but it would help have a more buzzy tour to have more bands that are actually being talked about.
I don't honestly know what slam dunk opener Green Day could have brought out. Someone like The Black Keys honestly might make more sense than the Pumpkins.
I just listened to AI front to back for the first time in many years. Goddamn it's so great. Damn near perfect.
A ticket broker friend here (Dallas) told me it's a very hot ticket here. Good seats are reselling for $750+