Billie Joe and co. are on the road for a supercharged tour -- and Trump is only stoking their fire further. Green Day blend hits from their extensive career into…
After today’s announcement of the new Green Day record Revolution Radio (due out October 7th and can be preordered from Amazon here), I decided to go back to my archive and post some photos from the Tribeca Film Festival Geezer post-screening concert with Billie Joe Armstrong, Tré Cool, Jesse Malin, Jeff Matika and Joan Jett.
If you were wondering what my opinion was on Geezer, well here it is (in brief). The film attempts to cram every idea into one movie creating a tale of a father maturing in front of our eyes into a comedy of errors with little comedy. The best reason to see it is to hear the two new songs from Armstrong if that is any sort of incentive (since the songs will likely be found elsewhere in the future). Everyone tries, particularly Fred Armisen, to make the film fun but the script just isn’t there. Apparently, since the film won’t technically be released ’til later this year (from what I was told months ago), critics weren’t supposed to review the film. And I really only went to see what Billie Joe would be doing afterwards. Maybe director Lee Kirk will be making some improvements to the final product but, just to give a score to the film that I saw anyways (there are no scores at Rotten Tomatoes yet), I would say Geezer merits a 4 out of 10 (or “unexceptional” on the PopMatters rating scale) at best.
I didn’t know what to expect for the mini-concert but it was fun and included a new song from the film, “Ordinary World” (which is streaming below) and Jett with the band on her song “Bad Reputation” as well as Green Day’s “American Idiot.” Unfortunately, I wasn’t aware of the after party at Malin’s NYC club Berlin but if I had been, I surely would have tried to get in. Check out my photos from the show, a clip and the setlist from the show and after party after the jump.
In 2015, John Brandon of San Fermin, Ty Taylor of Vintage Trouble, Colm Querney, Kellindo Parker (who plays with Janelle Monáe) and Al Kooper (who plays with Bob Dylan) were among some of the musicians I photographed who sent me personal messages to let me know they appreciate my work. It’s a great feeling to have the artists themselves find your work. And though I didn’t hear from her, even Mariah Carey probably saw my work on the Village Voice.
One up and coming band, Secret Weapons, found my photos and reached out, inviting me to come check out their show. After seeing them a few times and getting to know Danny and Gerry, it was great to hear they signed to a label before the year was out. Congrats fellas.
In the same period, I’ve gotten my work published (even if it was just once) in more places, including in and on Noisey, Pancakes & Whiskey, Fangoria, ReverbNation, Rockin’ On, Open Ears, the Sundance Institute and who knows where else.
It helps that I’ve been seeing a lot of music. Although I don’t have an auditor, I try to keep track of what I’ve seen in a year. Returning to the Newport Folk Festival and seeing a ton of great music in Fort Adams State Park was one of the highlights. I look forward to going again in 2016.
What a nice surprise it was to wake up on Wednesday morning and see the email about a ticket sale for a Billie Joe Armstrong (of Green Day) acoustic show happening at The Bowery Electric. What was even more pleasant was that I was lucky enough to secure tickets to the show. It turned out to be the first live performance where Billie Joe Armstrong and Norah Jones performed their two year old Everly Brothers album Foveverly in full (plus “Sure to Fall (In Love with You)” by Carl Perkins), a total of thirteen songs, all the ones they knew together. There were no Green Day songs. There were no Norah Jones songs (which is more funny as I’ve seen her with Puss N Boots twice and now this but not solo). But that’s okay. There was some great tunes and it was an intimate venue. Check out my exclusive photos below (BrooklynVegan should have a few others they’ll get up sometime soon) the jump and be sure to buy Foreverly. And please follow me on social media accounts and share the link to this page!