Warning Tour

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Lore & Background

The tour's significance lies in its promotion of *Warning*, an album that marked a stylistic shift for Green Day. Building upon its predecessor *Nimrod* (1997), *Warning* eschewed the band's trademark punk rock sound and incorporated acoustic elements and pop and folk styles. Lyrically, the album contains more optimistic and inspirational themes in comparison to the band's earlier releases. The album was also Green Day's first since *Kerplunk* (1991) not to be produced by Rob Cavallo, although he did have a hand in its production and was credited as executive producer. The band initially opted to work with producer Scott Litt, who had previously worked with Nirvana and R.E.M., but disagreements over the album's musical direction led them to bring Cavallo back in. During the album's writing and early recording sessions, Armstrong repeatedly listened to Bob Dylan's 1965 record *Bringing It All Back Home*, which had a major influence over both *Warning*'s musical experimentation and socially conscious lyrics.

In Their Own Story

The band embarked on the *Nimrod* promotional tour, which largely featured more intimate shows with audiences of 1,500 to 3,000 people. By the end of the tour, the band noted that its audience had evolved. 924 Gilman Street, the punk club in the band's hometown that had once banned Green Day after the group signed with a major label, booked bassist Mike Dirnt's side project the Frustrators for a show. Dirnt described the experience as 'a wonderful piece of closure'. Punk rock music was no longer popular in the mainstream because nu metal acts such as Korn, Limp Bizkit, and System Of A Down were experiencing success. According to Studio 880 owner John Lucasey, the band was 'definitely at a very big crossroads'.

Reader's Guide

The tour features a dynamic setlist that weaves together deep cuts from their vast catalog with fresh tracks from *Warning*. The album features more positive and uplifting lyrics in comparison with Green Day's earlier work. Cool noted that, 'It's got the sarcasm, it's got the snottiness, but it's got a little light at the end of the tunnel.' *Warning* also contains more explicitly political themes, as exemplified by tracks such as 'Minority'. This was inspired by Armstrong's fear that presidential nominee Al Gore was going to lose the 2000 U.S. presidential election and that 'someone really conservative' would take office. He recalled, 'We've always tried to keep an ear to the ground and keep our eyes open to what's going on...that's one reason why I was really taking my time writing songs to really [make an impact]. Instead of just writing an overly knee-jerk reaction.'

Did You Know?

• The album *Warning* was leaked onto Napster three weeks before its release, which may have been a contributing factor to its low sales.
• Despite mixed opinions about the band's stylistic change, *Warning* received mostly positive reviews from critics, who praised Billie Joe Armstrong's songwriting.
• The album peaked at number four on the US Billboard 200 and sold 156,000 copies in its first week.
• The band worked on the album two years before entering the studio to record on April 1, 2000, meeting five days a week to write new songs and rehearse old ones.
• The title track features a 'circling bass riff' similar to that of 'Picture Book' by the Kinks.