In the 90s, Green Day brought punk to the masses. Sure, it wasn't the first time; the genre had been in the limelight before, slightly undercover, truly revered by only a select few, demonized or exploited by the rest. But Green Day changed all that; this three-chord punk band took the old and made it new again, broke the form to a young, awaiting public who weren't there the first time around. They may have made a few enemies in the process -- diehard fans in the underground punk scene resented their jump to a major label -- but their eventual influence far outweighed the downfalls. Every subsequent variant of punk rock made available to the masses is due, in some part, to the existence of Green Day.
Bred out of the Berkeley punk underground in 1988, Green Day is truly rooted in the independent punk scene. They cultivated a following by simply word of mouth, exercising their performance skills every chance they got. Their self-released debut 1000 Hours in 1989 tore through the thriving North California punk scene like a speeding train; nearly everyone who saw the band perform adored them -- especially Lookout Records, a local indie label who signed the band almost immediately. They released two records with the now-infamous label -- 1991's 1,039/Smoothed Out Slappy Hour and 1992's Kerplunk-- and created a burgeoning fan base of punk fans all over the West Coast
That burgeoning fan base exploded in 1992 when Reprise Records came knocking on Green Day's door. It was an unprecedented concept; major labels had traditionally stayed far, far away from the punk underground, and the scene liked it that way. So when Green Day decided to take the leap from indie to major, it understandably irritated several fans who had been there from the beginning. It was a risk the band was willing to take, however -- and one that paid off, big time.
Green Day's 1994 major label debut Dookie was a success the likes of which no one had fathomed. Propelled by several hit singles and constant MTV airplay, the record went multi-platinum and won several awards, a Grammy among them. The success of this album (combined with a memorable, if not historical, performance at Woodstock 1994) pushed the band's indie-released records to gold or platinum status as well. The band had become an undeniable force; Green Day were punk rock heroes.
Follow-ups Insomniac and American Idiot have only served the drive the band's fame further up the scale, charting several singles and selling multi-platinum in both cases. Constant touring and a famously incredible live performance are one of the culprits behind all this, making Green Day concert tickets a must-have item for any fan of the genre in general. It's a show full of raw energy, chaotic realism; Green Day concerts aren't among the most dramatic or theatrical, but they're certainly the most magnetically charged. Combine classic punk aesthetics with an intense sense of crowd connection and you've got the Green Day concert of a lifetime -- one that they always delivers.
