~A review of the Green Day tour. Billie Joe is “part anarchic children’s entertainer.” Nice photos from Manchester. Pics and vids of the Foxboro Hot Tubs on Green Day Mind.
~After Billie Joe hinted as much on Twitter — and the Rev. just Tweeted again, Sting! — GreenDay.com announced that The Foxboro Hot Tubs will be playing a show at The Garage in London Nov. 1 after the Green Day concert. First come first served. (More on GDC)
~Chicagoland Radio and Media wrote a nice little piece about the Foxboro Hot Tubs in their roundup of the best in music from 2008: “They played the small stages, mingled with small crowds, had fun and made no money. Just like old times.” Read the whole piece here, under Most Fun Album of the Year and Worst Kept Secret Of The Year.
~The Foxboro Hot Tubs were in the year’s top picks in the Detroit News: “While the world eagerly awaits the follow-up to 2004’s American Idiot — one of the decade’s essential recordings — Green Day sneaked out this playful collection of ’50s-style garage rockers.” (More best-of-2008 mentions for the FBHT: best concerts in Phoenix, best albums this year. Via 1039 Sweet Children.)
[ This essay was contributed by Elly. Thanks for sharing it! -Delfina ]
These are frustrating times. Nothing seems to verify this more than the current economic situation. To tell the truth, I didn’t really understand most of it until recently. Now I know the extent of what’s been going on, and once I realized that, I was angry.
Angry because there was no one to blame; angry because good people are losing their homes and money to grossly rich snobs who probably don’t even need it; angry because it makes our country look corrupted and greedy.
So…where does Green Day come into all of this? Well of course, all this frustration led me to thinking about them, and naturally I turned to them for comfort. I realized…with all the problems going on in the world, how can one be optimistic about the future?
I am seventeen (and strung out on confusion), close to the beginning of the rest of my life. Responsibility is right around the corner and I have to start worrying about these kinds of things sooner than later.
While that is true…. I dove into my Green Day albums to find solace; to even forget about the problems we face. My search for a calmed mind eventually led me to the Foxboro Hot Tubs. After grinning my way through “The Pedestrian” (which is the most infectious burst of noise I have ever heard) “27th Ave. Shuffle” came tumbling on. I love that little drum solo; classic Tre…. Anyway, I love this song, and I really think it says so much with so little. Of course, one could say I’m thinking too much about it, that I’m finding something that isn’t there. After all, these songs were written for fun.
But… knowing Billie Joe, there’s always something lurking underneath; something personal or a message that may be overlooked. You may not realize it, might just get lost in those clanging guitars and those vocals… which is perfectly okay. I do it all the time. But what stuck with me was the first line: ‘things are so much harder now/no matter how I try/ junkyard days and toxic waste/ still love is on my mind.’ Of course I didn’t grasp this the first time around; it’s after you establish a love for the song that you find its meaning to you. Anyway, that line really stood out. It made me think about everything, which is why I love the band so much. I began to piece together what I thought was the theme of the song: a young man is troubled by the times around him, with everything bad that is going on in the world, but he still worries about falling in love and being with someone. All he wants is love; he doesn’t care for anything else.
After realizing this, I loved Green Day all the more. They turned this simple little message into something so insightful and a comment on what it’s like in this place and time. I know that I could be looking at it in too grand a scale, but I guess what my main point is, is that this music can not only put you in a good mood - it can take you off the planet, to places you would rather be. It keeps your mind off of such troubling things and helps you get on with your life. I love how something so simple can really affect someone’s life… I know it affected mine.
The Von Pip Musical Express asked various characters in the London music scene for their opinions of the song Mother Mary by the Foxboro Hot Tubs. Though some of the reviews are not very positive, it’s fun to read the impressions of a different set of people than Green Day fans, and some of their comments are pretty funny and offbeat. Some people reading them may find them just as confusing as the Rev’s own blog posts… but I tend to be very amused by silly off the wall commentary. Here’s a sampling, edited. Read the full reviews here.
LINDA HOLLYWOOD (HAVANA GUNS): This is a really sweet and very retro track, a potential summer hit with all the sure-fire ingredients. Singing about drinking too much wine and holding hands, Foxboro Hot Tubs’ “Mother Mary” makes me long for lazing in sunny parks and jumping around in sweaty clubs. This is very different - in a good way. This song may not move mountains but it will fill dance floors and perhaps set a few hearts on fire.
ANDY VON PIP: This isn’t so much punky, as jaunty, it did have me drumming my fingers on the table top, a strange idea though, a multi-platinum selling garage band, pretend to be um, a garage band. Still I shouldn’t really do what everybody does and compare this to classic Green Day, seeing them live “Dookie” era still remain some of the most exciting live gigs ever. Anyway this is initially a little uninspiring but played loud in your convertible on a hot summers day it becomes strangely thrilling. It actually made me want to get a tattoo of a waitress, thankfully I remained resolute.
LAURA TROUBLE (SCREAMING BALLERINAS) : Green Day were my fave band when I was little, I don’t know if that’s embarrassing or not. I’m proud of it. Ha. So they are branching out and experimenting, which I can imagine is a lot of fun. I kind of like the 60’s vibe of the production and the oooo’s and aaaa’s are kind of cool but I think the fact that Billy Joe is singing through his nose spoils it, hahaha. I used to draw pictures of me and Billy on our wedding day! Hurrah. I like it more and more now. . . . Ha.
DOGWOOD: When youngsters get this riotous my usual instinct is to open the window of Dogwood cottage and throw a bucket of water over them. But then I took a look at their myspace pictures and was suddenly beguiled by monochrome photos of the sort of women that you just don’t see at the local butchers anymore. So these American idiots have won a reprieve. On the power of the leggy fifties/sixties ladies on display – Dogwood is willing to accept an apology for the music and let this lot in.
Well, there’s not a lot going on, and I’ve been out of town and am just getting back into things, so here’s a short thirty second video, posted on YouTube by thicksyrup, of the Tubbies emerging from what looks like a downstairs cellar to grace the stage in Dallas. You can’t see much at first, but there’s a pretty good image of the Rev holding up the lit alligator head.
Update: Here’s an even better video of the Tubs playing Mother Mary in Dallas, also by thicksyrup. I still have to decipher everything Billie Joe says, but the belch made me laugh out loud… especially the set up: “Check this out!” A big thanks to Heather.
~If you’re in the mood for a lot of reading, here’s a bunch of reviews of Stop Drop and Roll. They’re all excitedly positive. And of course I have to agree! 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8. “American Idiot will be followed up when the band are good and ready, until then embrace The Hot Tubs. Essential.”
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