Location:
The Palace in Hollywood, USA
Date:
December 12, 1997
Notes:
Incomplete setlist
Dustin Rowdie: "Billie was taking requests for metal songs. He played a little of . He then asked if anyone wanted to hear Bush. Everyone started booing and cussing at him. He said that he could play it really well, then he went into Rape Me by Nirvana. It was pretty funny. Same set list, some guy played Knowledge - no big surprise. In case you are one of those curious tell-me-everything types: Billie had black hair, black Dickies and a black polo shirt with a tiger on the back, Mike had black hair, a sleeveless maroon shirt and Tre had green hair and a Nimrod shirt."
Eric Norris: "Halfway through their super-tight fun-filled punk rockin' set they started playing the beginning of Operation Ivy's Knowledge. Billie Joe asked if anyone in the crowd knew how to play guitar and everyone around me was like, 'Me, me, me!' Billie Joe noticed me right away, I believe, because I was wearing a white Green Day Kerplunk! shirt amongst mostly black shirts, and he walked over to me. I was about three people from the front row, and Billie said, 'Hey, I talked to you last night, do you know how to play guitar?' And I said, 'Yeah!' And he replied by asking me, 'How long have you been playing for?' At the time, I had only been playing for two years, but I unrelentingly said, 'Three years.' Billie said, 'OK.' He hesitated, then walked over to the other side of the stage and kept asking if someone could play. I freaked. I was like, 'No way!' I was so close! My heart sank. The next thing I know Billie walks back over as if he was leading me on the whole time, and says, 'You promise you know how to play guitar?' I said, 'Yes!' Then he said, 'OK, if you don't know how to play, everyone here is going to kick your ass!' I said, 'Bring it on.' As if I had so much confidence for only playing for 2 years. Then Billie was like, 'Well, come on up.' I made my way to the barricade where this huge bouncer grabbed me and lifted me up on stage! While this was happening my shoe came off in the process of me getting yanked up to the stage. I thought to myself, oh screw it. I'm on stage with Green Day! So the first thing Billie says to me when I get up there is, 'You promise you really know how to play guitar?' And I said, 'Yes, just show me what key it's in.' (I had played this song maybe only about a handful of times before, it was only three chords.) So Billie puts his guitar, that he nicknamed Blue. The same guitar he started playing when he was 11, the same guitar that I've seen on MTV and live concert footage, and puts Blue over my head and onto me. Right then the crowd started going nuts which made me freak out a bit and also made me realize what was going on, it hit me. I'm on stage with Green Day about to play a song with them. Holy crap! I've got Billie Joe's freaking guitar on! He is the sole reason I learned and started playing guitar and writing music in the first place, and I had on 'my idol's' most iconic tool and probably one of his most sentimental possessions that catapulted him to all of his success, now on my shoulders! The second I heard that crowd, I got really nervous but knew I had to stick to the plan that I was set to do. Billie gave me his pick that he was using and showed me what key the song was in. While that was happening Mike and Tre were playing Knowledge in the background, then I joined in with them. I was so flipping out of my skull excited and nervous. I walked over to Billie's mic and was about to sing the words but right as I was making my way he got to the mic first and started singing, so I subconsciously made my way to the dead center edge of the stage and somewhat confidently did my thing, mouthing the words to Knowledge along with Billie to a sold out Hollywood Palace crowd of about 1,300 people! I could not even fathom this experience even though it was happening right in front of me, to me! Then at the end of the song I remember looking back at Tre and jumping up and landing while hitting the last note of the song. I kind of biffed the last note though, then recovered a little late, oh well. That was good enough for me! The crowd cheered which was cool and I gave Billie his guitar back ... unfortunately. I told him that I was keeping his guitar pick, and he said, 'Of course.' I didn't want to leave the stage, so I stalled by mentioning to Billie that I lost my shoe while getting up to the stage so he asked the crowd, 'Does anyone have Eric's shoe?' A couple shoes got thrown onto the stage but weren't mine, I attempted to put one on as a joke but the shoe was too small. So after that he said, 'Alright, stagedive time!' So I walked all the way back to Tre's drum riser, Tre started the drum roll, and I started running full speed, jumped into the hands of the crowd, and Green Day immediately started into their next song, She. That was my 15 minutes of fame. I got patted on the back by the people that were around me. The last person that patted me on the back, I turned around and this guy was like, 'Is this your shoe?' Sure enough it was my freakin' shoe, I was like, 'Thanks, bro!' I was amazed, all I could do was laugh. This whole experience kind of didn't hit me till I had people coming up to me saying, 'Wow, you rock! You know Green Day?' I was like, 'No, I just got lucky!' After the show when we were leaving to our car, a group of girls took pictures with me and wanted my autograph. I thought it was silly that they wanted an autograph and totally denied them. I guess I was being too punk rock."
