Green Day Release Nostalgic Documentary of Insomniac Tour
Green Day has given fans a bit of nostalgia to enjoy during the pandemic. They came out with a previously unreleased documentary of their Insomniac tour. The release is perfectly timed to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the Insomniac album which debuted on Oct. 10, 1995.
The footage in the video follows the band on their tour of Europe supporting the release of their fourth album. There is plenty of live footage of the band playing for packed rooms. You can practically smell the sweat when they rip through favorites like “Warning”, “Brat”, “Walking Contradiction”, “Geek Stink Breath” and others.
There are also many punk rock moments such as the time the band decided to drink champagne and eat caviar when one of the shows they were scheduled to play didn’t work out. There are also plenty of scenes of them goofing off on the bus and backstage.
In addition to releasing the video, the band will also be celebrating Insomniac’s anniversary by putting out a double LP reissue on translucent orange vinyl with bonus live tracks from a 1996 show in Prague. However, due to COVID production delays, the vinyl, which can be preordered, will not ship until 20021.
The band is also releasing some classic merch from the Insomniac tour including a 500 piece limited edition Insomniac archival giclee print from Winston Smith who designed the album cover. Sale of the merch will begin on October 12 at 3 PM on the punkrockart.com web site and proceeds from the sale will benefit the Alameda County Community Food Bank.
The band released the following statement about their decision to put out the documentary which can be viewed on YouTube by anyone who wants to see it.
"We wanted to do something special, so here is the biggest glimpse ever into the Insomniac era tours from 1995-96. Never before seen footage from Europe 95 tour and Live concert in Prague shot on 16mm film in Europe 1996 with the fateful last shows on tour before returning home to go back into the studio for Nimrod album sessions."
In other Green Day news, the band has been on hiatus due to the pandemic. Their “Hella Mega” tour, that featured supporting acts Weezer and Fall Out Bay has been rescheduled to 2021.
In the meantime, singer Billy Joe Armstrong has been keeping fans entertained with an online series he calls “No Fun Mondays”. Every week he releases a new cover song that he performs live at home. Favorites include “Manic Monday” by The Bangles, “You Can’t Put Your Arms Around a Memory” by Johnny Thunders and “I Think We’re Alone Now” by Tommy James and The Shondells.
Armstrong is also reportedly writing lots of Green Day music while he’s stuck home with the pandemic. Back in April, it was reported that he already written six new songs for the band.
We all will have to wait patiently for this to blow over before we can hear the new music or see the band live, In the meantime, check out the documentary for your Green Day fix.
