- (CHEERS AND APPLAUSE) - (BILLIE JOE SCREAMS) Why, hello there! (CROWD ROARS) How are you doing? # I said heeeeeeeeeey oh! (GREEN DAY'S 'BRAIN STEW' PLAYS) (CROWD ROARS) (BILLIE LAUGHS) 'There's people that like to do things the safe way, and that's just never been part of my vocabulary.' # As time ticks by, # still I try. # No rest for crosstops in my mind. # On my own, here we go. # (BAND PLAYS 'BRAIN STEW') 'I don't know. I just` I like to make my own path.' (GUITAR REVERBERATES) But I never thought I'd end up,... you know, doing Broadway. # I walk this empty street # on the boulevard of broken dreams # where the city sleeps, and I'm the only one # and I walk alone. (CROWD SHRIEKS) # I walk alone. I walk alone. Billie Joe's a punk rocker from the East Bay ` working-class kid. WOMAN: Ticket? It's just me. I'm from Rockville, Maryland ` upper-middle-class family, and theatre geek. # I walk alone. I walk alone. 'We have nothing in common. There's absolutely no reason why this should work.' Again, you can be as cocky as you want to. Broadway is such a foreign thing to me. MICHAEL: This is crazy. Tonight, Billie Joe Armstrong will be making his professional theatre debut and his Broadway debut at one time. ALL: (BLEEP) time! The role of St Jimmy, usually played by Tony Vincent, will be played by Billie Joe Armstrong. (CHEERS AND APPLAUSE) (CROWD CLAP RHYTHMICALLY) I can't act. I can't dance. Compared to a lot of these people, I can't even sing. Come on! (CROWD CLAP RHYTHMICALLY) I was thinking to myself, 'What the (BLEEP) are you doing here?' ('AMERICAN IDIOT') # Don't wanna be an American idiot. # Don't want a nation under the new mania. MICHAEL MEYER: American Idiot, the album, exploded on the scene in those really hideous post-9/11 years. # The subliminal mind-(BLEEP) America. All right! It was a fierce stance about the state of America. # All across the alien nation # where everything isn't meant to be OK. 'As a band, we really wanted to make some kind of concept record, 'drawing from, like, 'Tommy' to 'Sgt Pepper'.' England! (CROWD ROARS) Mike Dirnt kinda started it off, and then, we all just sorta joined in, and we were all like, 'This could be really great.' # Well, maybe I'm the (BLEEP), America. To me, bringing American Idiot to Broadway seemed like a really great idea. ALL: # Don't wanna be an American Idiot. # One nation controlled by the media. BILLIE: I'm open to big, crazy ideas, but, you know, I mean, this album is my baby. So I wanna make sure nobody (BLEEP) it up. # Calling out to idiot America. # Welcome to a new kind of tension # all across the alien nation, # where everything isn't meant to be OK. # Television dreams of tomorrow. # We're not the ones who're meant to follow, # for that's enough to argue. # Come on! Captions by Cameron Grigg. Captions were made with the support of NZ On Air. www.able.co.nz Copyright Able 2019 (CROWD ROARS) ('WAKE ME UP WHEN SEPTEMBER ENDS') 'I have never put so much emotion into any record 'like I have into every song that's on American Idiot.' # Summer has # come and passed. There are times where I feel like I get choked up, and I feel like it's hard to sing the next line, because everything comes from some emotional place that I've experienced in my life. It resurfaces every time I play those songs. # Like my father's # come to pass. # Seven years has gone so fast. # Wake me up # when September ends. It was the first time I ever wrote about, like, my father dying. So when I moved out, I was 17, and I started living in warehouses. My dad died when I was 10, so I said seven years, as if it was seven years later. Right. And then, you go to, um... At the end of the last verse, it says 20 years. Right. So it's an adult reminiscing about being a young adult. # As my memory rests, # but never forgets # what I lost, # wake me up # when September ends. # And it just happened to be September? Is that when it was? Yeah. Well, he passed away in September, and it's like` the whole thing is kinda like` it's like... the worst... month of the year, you know? For` I mean, for some weird reason. Some strange, like, coincidence. I mean, whether it's like my parent dying, or... To me, it was all` it was a 9/11 kind of thing, you know? That's what resonated for me. Here's the deal ` when we started really kicking around this idea, we did not know if Green Day would give us permission to do the production. My heart was in my throat a little bit, because I thought, 'What if this doesn't work for them?' When people think of Broadway, they think of 'Everyone's singing and dancing, and life is swell,' and, you know, The Rockettes, or something like that. What we're gonna try and do today is map out the harder stuff. My fear was that it was just gonna be sort of absurd, and not relatable and corny. # I'm the son of rage and love. # The Jesus of Suburbia. # The bible of none of the above # on a steady diet of... At the start of the show, I lead my friends into this catharsis of, 'There's gotta be something else out there. This just can't be all there is 'to this town that is just sucking us dry.' Note to self ` get me the (BLEEP) out of Turdtown. Let's start a war, shall we? War! (CHEERS AND APPLAUSE) ('HOLIDAY') American Idiot, I would say, 90% is sort of based on my life. I just wanted to get the hell out of my town. I wanted to leave with reckless abandon. I didn't care where I ended up, as long as I saw as much as humanly possible. It had nothing to do with where I came from. That's what I was looking for. # I beg to dream and differ # from the hollow lies. # This is the dawning of the rest # of our lives # on holiday. And then break, and we'll just figure out who calls that, and who makes the break. In terms of the way that we plan to tell our story in American Idiot, the closest thing would be opera. # I beg to dream and differ... In opera, you're telling your story through the physical actions and character behaviour that accompanies the singing. 'This is the dawning of the rest of our lives.' You're in the city now, so it's like this massive exultation that you've finally arrived here, so sing the sh out of it, and then, your bodies should be, like, just wild and mad. (ALL CHEER, HOOT) # Sieg Heil to the president Gasman. # Bombs away is your ALL: # punishment! # Pulverise the Eiffel Towers # who criticise your ALL: # government! We put this stuff together, and you never really knew if Green Day would dig what we were gonna do with their material. # ...is not a way that's ALL: # meant for me! It was terrifying, and incredibly important to get Billie Joe's OK on it. But we didn't see him again for quite a while, because they were touring in Europe. * (BLOWS AIR) (MAN WHISTLES) ('ARE WE THE WAITING') (STRUMS LOOSELY) # Starry nights, # city lights coming down # over me. We started Green Day when I was about 15 years old. Coming from Berkley, we were always exposed to different politics, where people were really confrontational. So, around 2003, because of what was happening in the administration and what was going on in the war in Iraq, we started to take more of a personal stance. (CROWD SHRIEKS) I remember going on this walk, and then thinking, 'I'm the son of rage and love ` the Jesus of Suburbia.' Those two lines right there, for me, were, 'Oh my God, here we go.' # And screaming, # 'Are we, we are,... Those two lines came out, and they excited me and scared the living piss out of me at the same time. # Rage and love ` # story of my life. # The Jesus of # Suburbia is a lie. # And screaming # Are we, we are... I remember cranking that record as loud as it would go, and really just feeling understood. # I don't care. For me, coming of age in post-9/11 United States, there was this sense of sadness, and this disillusionment. ('I DON'T CARE') # Hearts recycled, but never saved # from the cradle to the grave. # We are the kids of war and peace,... If you really took the time to sit with the lyrics, they're wonderfully poetic. I am the king of (BLEEP)! (CROWD CHEERS) Billy is writing about the world of suburbia and convenience stores, and those things that you grew up with that you hate so much. MICHAEL: I've never seen a cast connect to their characters in such a profound way. These characters are sort of us ` extensions of us. I've gone through those periods of time where I've just felt this desperate longing to get out into a bigger world than this. You just feel like, you know, you're just sinking into quicksand. ('JESUS OF SUBURBIA') Everybody! CROWD: Whether it has to do with romance or with politics, I'm just trying to figure things out. A theme of mine is just kinda, you know, sort of just being, you know, lost in chaos. (PLAYS 'LAST NIGHT ON EARTH' ON PIANO) (RESTARTS SONG) (PAUSES, RESTARTS) When I came on board, the question was 'How do we take this iconic album 'that primarily is sung by one person, and create characters and stories 'for a number of different people?' So, after the` (VOCALISES MELODY IN FALSETTO) It modulates right here. I love your falsetto. (LAUGHS) (MUMBLES MELODY IN FALSETTO) Me and Barry Gibb. 'For example, the song Last Night On Earth is going to be this moment' where Johnny and Whatsername are shooting up on drugs in a very romantic way. So, already, that image of romantically getting high (LAUGHS) was in my head, and I thought, 'Well, how can we make this... 'How can we make this a trippy love ballad?' I can make lines that are going... (PLAYS AND VOCALISES HARMONY LINES) And I was on the train one day, and I started thinking about it, and I just thought, 'How about a Wall of Sound beautiful vocal arrangement, kind of in the style of The Beach Boys?' These beautiful falsetto harmonies just raining down on them. (CHOIR HARMONISE) # I text a postcard, sent to you. And I remember saying to Michael, I said, 'This is kinda crazy, and it's gonna take a while 'for them to learn, but I promise you, if it sounds anything like in my head, it's gonna be worth it.' You take turns singing, right? 'We put this stuff together, and today, we have to show Green Day.' (CHOIR HARMONISE) Baritones ` you guys can really ease up on the volume there. (CHOIR HARMONISE) # I walked for miles 'til I found you. ALL HARMONISE: # You-ou-ou-ou. With Last Night On Earth, they won't know what song it is when we start. It doesn't have any of the signature chords or instrumentation. So when Declan starts singing, # I text a postcard, sent to you. # Did it go through? # I think they're gonna be like, 'Oh my God, that's the song?' CHOIR LEADER: Hey, Michael? Yeah? 'We have to get the go-ahead from Green Day, or the show is over. 'They're one of the biggest rock bands on the planet.' They're not gonna sign a piece of paper that says, 'Oh, yeah. You seem like a good guy, 'and I liked your play, so, here. Go do whatever you want.' They need to make sure it's something that they can really get behind. Whoo! (ALL LAUGH) This one ` um, this is an` uh... You'll know this song when you hear it. OK. CHOIR: # Do, do, do, do, do, do, do, do. # Do, do, do, do, do, do, do, do. (ALL HARMONISE) # I text a postcard, sent to you. # Did it go through? # Sending all my love to you. # You, you, you, you, you. # You are the moonlight of my life # every night. # Giving all my love to you. # You, you-ou, you, ooh. # My beating heart belongs to you. # Ooh, ooh. Ooh, ooh. # Ooh, ooh. # I walked for miles 'til I found you. # You, oo-ooh. You, you. You, you. You, you. # I'm here to honour you. # Ah. # If I lose everything in the fire, # Did I ever make... # it through? (CHOIR HARMONISE) (LAUGHS) (SONG ENDS) Oh my God! That's so... (APPLAUSE) (LAUGHTER, INDISTINCT SHOUTING) Oh my God! That was... That was (BLEEP)ing sick. (LAUGHTER) That was so good. That was incredible. Right? That was so good. I was sitting next to Billie Joe, and I was so nervous, and at the end of it, he just grabbed my leg and squeezed, and told me how beautiful he thought it was. So I was happy on two fronts ` we're telling our story, and, as importantly, the band is happy. (LAUGHS) Man. I mean, it's like... You know, I was just` I was floored. Soon as I was able to hear it that way, I was completely into it. I could visualise it. It's like, 'Oh, this can work.' I didn't want to, like, do it without` Yeah, play with it. And then, you know, I kinda do it like how I did on the record, which has nothing to do with the way you guys are gonna do it whatsoever, but, I mean, it'd be cool. The band not only gave us permission to do the show ` they've encouraged us with great enthusiasm, and with a kind of... appetite to hear their songs in a really different way. ('HOLIDAY') Say hey! # Hear the sound of the falling rain # coming down like an Armageddon flame. # Hey! # The shame, the ones who died without a name. # And hear the dogs howling out of key # to a hymn called Faith and Misery. # Hey! # And bleed, the company lost the war today. ALL: # I beg to dream and differ # from the hollow lies. # This is the dawning # of the rest # of our lives # on holiday. # Hey! (CROWD CHEERING) The representative from Jingletown has the floor. # Sieg Heil to the president Gasman. # Bombs away is your # punishment! # Pulverise the Eiffel Towers # who criticise your # government! # 'Bang, bang', goes the broken glass, and # kill all the (BLEEP) who # don't agree! # Trials by fire, setting fire # is not a way that's # meant for me! # Just cos # Hey, hey, hey, hey. # Hey, hey, hey, hey! # Just cos, because we're outlaws, yeah! Holy shit! # I beg to dream and differ # from the hollow lies. # Hey. # This is the dawning of the rest # of our lives... # Hey. # This is our lives on holiday. # (ALL VOCALISE) # Hey! Hey! Hey! Hey! # Hey! Hey! # (CHEERS AND APPLAUSE) We're just trying to create a vessel for this... this event to happen inside of, and to create as much potential for, um,... for all kinds of action to happen, whether it's the video action, or the physical action. (MACHINERY BUZZES) So I made a very large room which, ultimately, became a room of 40ft walls. The scene shop has layered in all the things that we printed digitally. And now that we're here in the space, what I want to try and do is make it feel like a real place, and I always like to say, like, giving it its soul. This one is, like, Will's room. Yeah. Oh. So this is gonna get full of CDs. What I'm starting to do is to put things in the nooks and crannies where the actors will kind of see them as they're living here ` things that the audience will never see, but that the actors will kind of discover as they're here and working. All right. So, um, now, why don't we move this square? MICHAEL: We have a team of designers who are all after the same vision. Too clean? Yeah. Just a little clean. To the medical... The challenge is to create an image of chaos on stage. BILLIE JOE: It's like writing a simple song, you know? Eleanor Rigby is a simple song, but it doesn't mean that you can (BLEEP)ing do it, you know? There's... You know, and what Christine Jones does with the set is almost the same thing. It's able to go take you to all these different places, but what you're looking at is a warehouse full of fliers. ('TOO MUCH TOO SOON') * ('BOULEVARD OF BROKEN DREAMS') # I walk this empty street # on the Boulevard of Broken Dreams # where the city sleeps, # and I'm the only one and I walk alone. # BILLIE JOE: American Idiot is based on my life and old friendships. The story's all about the character, Jesus of Suburbia, wanting to figure things out and step up and-and-and, you know, stand for something that he believes in. It's about learning the hard lessons. # Sometimes, I wish # someone out there will find me. # But till then, I # walk alone. # (BAND PLAYS SONG) If you study musicals, they talk to you about 'I want' songs ` that song at the top of the show where a character expresses their wants for the evening. So, in terms of this, I wanted to think about, 'Well, where is that moment?' # I want adventure in the great, wide somewhere. (LAUGHS) # I want it more than I can say. # (LAUGHTER) Boulevard of Broken Dreams is kind of Johnny's 'I want' song. We get into his character. # I'm walking down the line # that divides me somewhere in my mind # on the borderline # of the edge and where I walk alone. # Your face should be out for the 'I', but it can be right on it. 'I', you know? OK. Cool. I play a character called Whatsername. (LAUGHS) And, um... Whatsername is a woman who Johnny meets when he's in the city. ('BOULEVARD OF BROKEN DREAMS' PLAYS) They have an immediate, exciting, and sparky energy with each other. OK, hold. That's good, isn't it? Johnny primarily sings Boulevard of Broken Dreams, but we found a way to bring Whatsername into that song, so we establish the romance at that point. Awesome. Thank you. # I walk alone, I walk alone. There's this beautiful melodic line that the guitars play in the turnaround between chorus and verse, and it's the (VOCALISES MELODY), which I find so evocative. And I actually took that, and I put it in the strings at the beginning of the song, cos I wanted to really set up that motif, because, later on, she sings it in the last chorus. # Sometimes, I wish someone out there will find me. # Ah-ah, ah-ah. Ah-ah, ah-ah-ah. So, we feel their worlds intertwined a little bit. # ...walk alone. # Ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah. CHORUS: # Ah-ah, ah-ah. # Ah-ah, ah-ah-ah. # Ah-ah, ah-ah. # My shadow's the only one that walks beside me. # I walk a` # Ah-ah, ah-ah. # My shallow heart's # I walk a` # the only thing that's beating. # Ah-ah, ah-ah. # I walk a` # Sometimes, I wish # Ah-ah, ah-ah. # I walk a` # someone out there will find me. # I walk a` I walk a` # Ah-ah, ah-ah-ah.] # Till then, I walk alone. # # I walk a` I walk a` I walk a` I walk a` # I walk a` I walk a` # # Ah-ah, ah-ah-ah. # Did it feel a hair too fast just now? Carmel, are you clicked on that? Yes. Oh, we can bring the tempo back if you want, a little bit. Maybe like two? Yep. What are you clicked at? 159. Can we try 157? # She's a rebel. She's a saint. # She's the salt of the earth, and she's dangerous. # She's a rebel, vigilante... So, if this is what it's supposed to be, I think it's really good. # ...destruction. From Chicago to Toronto, Yeah. # she's the one that they call 'Ol' Whatsername.' # She's the symbol of resistance, Yeah. # and she's holding on my heart like a hand grenade. I always wanted, like, some form of community. BOTH: # Is she dreaming what I'm thinking? So, if we could just do that each time... To have that in the rock world is rare. Same power strikes, but just do all down strikes? Oh, OK. Play all down strikes just on that (HUMS 'AMERICAN IDIOT') (PLAYS 'AMERICAN IDIOT') You have a Facebook? Yeah. I've just kinda seen that world for the first time. It's terrifying. It is weird, man. Billie Joe's so famous, and he is so careful to protect his family from so many people who want a piece of him. I'm lucky to have a cell phone right now. But he's really carved out a very private life for himself and his family, and you can't have that and be involved in a show. The minute you're in a show, you are part of that extended family ` for good or bad. For both, right? MAN: Billie, is that right? He's right. Bon appetit. (LAUGHS) ('EXTRAORDINARY GIRL') I haven't experienced that sort of camaraderie, you know, with people and making friends like that in a long time. STEVEN: Everyone was on the same level. Like, there was one night people started picking things up and jamming, and then, all of a sudden, we started playing. And then, Adrian had the photo booth also, and so, there was bonding going on. Pretty wild bonding going on in that booth. (CAMERA SHUTTER CLICKS) I think it just grew from there. # She's # an extraordinary girl # in an ordinary world, # and she can't seem to get away. Any audience ` they only observe a quarter of the playing space, and there's three quarters from their heads that go up to the top. I wanted to make sure that was part of our playing space, and not to kind of rule that area out. The pop back is on the two of that fourth bar. # She's all alone again, # wiping the tears from her eyes. I thought it was gonna be easier. I was like, 'Oh, I can do this. This is easy. This is nothing.' But... (LAUGHS) I don't know. # From the one called Whatsername. Two, four... # She's going home again, # wiping the tears... It's difficult, because not only am I flying, but I'm also singing. # Some days, he feels like dying. But it's my job to show comfort, so we can deliver the story. Because it's not about the flying ` it's about the story. # An extraordinary girl. # (CHEERS AND APPLAUSE) (WOLF WHISTLES) Because all the material has already been written, and is being sung, we can't change what they're saying. Johnny's walking through New York... So we had to figure out how to plot out a real story, and make them three-dimensional characters. Johnny is the vulnerable one that gets` never had a family. Right! 'Michael Mayer saw something in what I do that no one has ever really been able to make sense of ` 'not in the rock world.' Whatsername ` I always wished Whatsername had a name. And so, I just trusted him. I knew that what he was doing was... was cool. ('WAKE ME UP WHEN SEPTEMBER ENDS') Four, five, six, seven, go. One. We kept working to make the story clear through the choreography. Soft. (INDISTINCT) Steven had an idea that the chorus in When September Ends would do a kind of ballistic searching for slumber, almost under the stage floor, and it was thrilling to watch. (CHORUS HARMONISE) # Like my father's come to pass, # 20 years has # gone so fast. # Wake me up... But when we put it all together, it became very clear that it was almost too much, and it was taking away from the simplicity of the story of these three guys. (CHEERS AND APPLAUSE) Yeah, I think I wanted to put all the whistles and bells on it, and, actually, when we watched the whole thing, there's literally a moment that described everything. And as long as we held on to that moment right in front of us, the nugget of the sequence, everything else was able to fall away. ('WAKE ME UP WHEN SEPTEMBER ENDS') We've ended up with a version that's got more stillness than anything else, which is the last thing I thought it would have. But working on it over the... over the weeks, then looking at the whole show, it's one of the pieces that I'm most excited about. # She puts her makeup on # like graffiti on the walls of the heartland. # She's got a little book of conspiracies right in her hand. # She is paranoid ` # endangered species headed into extinction. # She is one of a kind. Well, she's the last of the American girls. # # She's a rebel. # When you're doing a new show, it's really important that you try it out somewhere before you bring it to New York. Who do you have coming tonight? I've got my mom... and my sister. What you wanna do is give yourself an opportunity to put a show on its feet with full production values and learn what you can. I guess I'll dress! Put your damn smock on! You wanna make sure it's the cast that you want. You wanna work the kinks out. Oh, shit! My nails aren't dry. And you wanna try it out in front of an audience. I usually am angry when the audience comes for the first time. I'm like, 'You know, I've been having a great time here in rehearsal, and now, you're gonna come 'with all your opinions.' So I'm like, '(BLEEP), the audience is coming.' That sound right? ALL: # 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 5, 6, 7, (BLEEP). But I don't feel that way at all. I just can't wait to, like, just get them there and, like, see what happens. ALL: # ...2, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8. # You know? And I have no idea what's gonna happen and what it's gonna be like. And, uh, so that's incredibly... That's incredibly thrilling. So, just, like, bring it. Like, come on, (BLEEP). What? * ('AMERICAN IDIOT') # Don't wanna be an American idiot. Go. Lights, 10. # Don't want a nation under the new mania. Go. Lights, 11. Go. By opening night at the Berkeley Repertory Theatre, the story that we had was three guys in a shitty little suburb decide that they're gonna get out. So, I lead my friends into a farewell to our little town. # Everyone's so full of shit. # Born and raised by hypocrites. # Hearts recycled, but never saved # from the cradle to the grave. # We are the kids of war and peace, # from Anaheim to the Middle East. BOYS: # We are the stories and disciples of... ALL: # The Jesus of Suburbia! BOYS: # Land of make believe... We're all getting ready to leave. Will's girlfriend is pregnant. I'm like, '(BLEEP)' She's like, 'Oops. We have this problem.' # I don't feel any shame. I won't apologise. # When there ain't nowhere you can go. 'So, I end up having to stay at home.' ALL: # ...when you've been victimised. # Tales from another broken... # home! # # You're leaving. # You're leaving. # ('HOLIDAY') Tunny gets to go, but Will is trapped in his suburban wasteland. # I beg to dream and differ # from the hollow lies. ALL: # Hey. JOHNNY AND TUNNY: # This is the dawning of the rest of our lives... We turn the scaffolding into a bus, and we tip it over and head off to the big city. # ...on holiday. # # Hey! (CHORUS VOCALISE) # Hey! Hey! # Hey! Hey! # Hey! Hey! # MICHAEL: Johnny takes to the city like a troubadour. He meets up with St Jimmy. # One, two, three, four! St Jimmy is basically everything Johnny kind of wishes he was. # My name is Jimmy, and you better not wear it out. # Suicide commando that your momma talked about. # King of the 40 thieves, and I'm here to represent # the needle in the vein of the establishment. He's this rush of adrenaline, whether it's through drugs or sex. REBECCA: When Johnny meets Whatsername, their relationship is just wild and sexual. # I text a postcard, # sent to you. # Did it go through? # Sending all my love to you. But then, St Jimmy starts to ruin him through drugs. MICHAEL: Meanwhile, Tunny has gone down to Times Square and enlisted. ALL: # ...on Novocaine. ('GIVE ME NOVOCAINE') He gets shipped off to the Middle East, and he loses a leg in battle. Michael really stuck to the heart of the album, and then, he created new characters. JOHN: I find all of those characters very relatable. Those people remind me of my friends, and they remind me of myself. MICHAEL: At the end of the show, Johnny has gotten off drugs and comes home clean and sober. ('WE'RE COMING HOME AGAIN') ALL: # Home! # We're coming home again... Tunny has come back without a leg, but with a loving girlfriend, and Will finally tries to initiate a relationship with his ex-girlfriend and their child. # And in the darkest night, # if my memory serves me right, # I'll never turn back time. # Forgetting you, but not the time. # It's not Norman Rockwell. This is a portrait of America today. (CHEERS AND APPLAUSE) (CHEERING CONTINUES) They knocked it out of the park, as they say. It was amazing. (CHEERS AND APPLAUSE CONTINUE) We've had a month and a half of rehearsals for this, so we were really ready for tonight. Um, but having a crowd that was on board with us like that is a phenomenal feeling. You know, please, please like it, and then, part of me was like, 'You know what? 'We're making a piece of art. We're putting it out there to the world.' I'm hoping the future is Broadway, which is something I've never touched. I have never been on Broadway before, so this would be huge. (ALL LAUGH) I felt sort of validated as a songwriter. My melodies felt validated. You know, people don't really talk about these things like that in the rock world so much. You know, it's either a good song or it's a bad song, or it's, you know, does it rock? Is there a riff? Where's the hook? Where's the blah blah blah blah? You can do better. Just saying. Excuse me? You're preapproved for a secure Gem car loan and you're still winding the windows down by hand. You won't miss out when you find the car you want, with approval before you buy and a rate from 9.99% fixed per annum. You can do better too. I ride a bike. You can do better with Gem, powered by Latitude. Apply today. VOICEOVER: Hey, Auckland, which of the Youi 40 ways to save would work best for where you live? Grey Lynn, close to the city, is where Ava lives, so number 1 of 40 - "Don't drive to work" - could be best for her. Do a car insurance quote at youi.co.nz. * Here we go. (BOTH PLAY '21 GUNS') When Tom Kitt put his spin on it, we were able to sort of create sort of a dialogue I think I've been waiting to have my entire life. ('21 GUNS' CONTINUES) So after we yanked Billie Joe into our world, he turns around and invites us into the world of Green Day. (BLEEP) The cast was in Berkeley doing the show every single day, and playing 21 Guns every day. We were on tour playing 21 Guns at the same time. So we said, 'Well, why don't we just do this thing together? Like, let's do a recording.' The challenge with 21 Guns is that it has so many different layers to it. (PLAYS '21 GUNS') (MOUSE CLICKS) (PLAYS HARMONY OF '21 GUNS') So, we had to keep track of how they're supposed to fit when we were recording one at a time. (PIANO PLAYS, METRONOME TICKS) (ALL PLAY '21 GUNS' HARMONY) # Do you know what's worth fighting for # when it's not worth dying for? # Does it take your breath away, # and you feel yourself suffocating? (MOUTHS LYRICS) # Does the pain weigh out the pride? # And you look for a place to hide? For me, recording and producing is psychological. # You're in ruins. (WHISPERS INDISTINCTLY) (STRINGS PLAY) One more. All right. Let's do one more, Rebecca. # Did you try to live on your own You have to wait for the person to get into their comfort zone. One more! # when you burned down the house and home? One more. # Did you stand too close to the fire? Yep. That's it. Do it again. # Like a liar looking... And then, all of a sudden, she's got a voice that can bring you down to your knees. # ...from a stone. # Yeah! Nice. Sorry, my heart is beating faster than` (ALL LAUGH) Take a deep breath. Awesome. Just relax. Whoo! # One. # 21 guns. # Lay down your arms. # Give up the fight. SOFTLY: God damn. She sounds so good. Yeah. (STRINGS ACCOMPANY) # 21 guns. # Throw up your arms # into the sky. # You and I. # (FULL BAND PLAYS, STOPS) Wow. Hey, Christina? Yes? Just simple, like, rhythmically. # You and I. # OK. You're sort of holding it on the note a little bit. OK. Yeah. Just go right into it. OK. Great. Maybe I should stop clenching my fist. (ALL LAUGH) I'm, like, holding on to every note. (LAUGHS) That might help too. That might help. Yeah. # ...from a stone. # When it's time to live and let die # and you can't get another try. # Something inside this heart has died. # You're in ruins. CHORUS: # You're in ruins. # One. # 21 guns. # Throw up your arms # into the sky. # You and I. # (ALL HOLD NOTE) That was awesome. Except, can we do one without sunglasses (?) (LAUGHTER) I don't think we're there yet, babe. (WHOOPING, APPLAUSE) Nice. That was cool. The new arrangement of 21 Guns made me sort of re-fall in love with the song. You know, I think some of these versions are better than what we recorded. * ('LAST OF THE AMERICAN GIRLS') # She puts her makeup on # like graffiti on the walls of the heartland. # When the Grammys asked Green Day to perform at the show, Billie Joe immediately said, 'Well, I want to do it with my cast.' Here they are. Hey! It's the Grammy party. Grammy party's over here! Grammy party! I thought your hair might be down, and sort of like that. Should we put that up? It's really great to make us a deal, instead of... It's a little too much fabric, though. Oh! Yes! You're a firebird. Oh my God. It's the Grammy outfit. (STRINGS PLAY WARM UP) When we opened in Berkeley, there was a lot of interest in bringing the show to New York. And so, we are at the Grammys,... and we find out that we're definitely going to Broadway. So not only do we get to perform with Green Day on the Grammy Awards; we get to actually say that we're gonna be on Broadway. Really, like... It's nuts. Yeah, it's crazy. (LAUGHS) MAN: Show 'em your talent, buddy! Show 'em your talent. That's the talent! I don't know if you guys have done award show things, or anything close to it, but it's like` It's kinda basically playing to cameras more than it is playing the crowd. Cos everybody's a (BLEEP)ing zombie. Yeah. Like, everyone's nominated, like, white-knuckling it the whole time, you know? Like... (LAUGHS) So that's one thing we figured out a long time ago. In the beginning, three punks created a rock masterpiece called American Idiot. Their dreams live on, and American Idiot has become a stage musical about to hit Broadway in a big way this March. Here to set off 21 Guns together, the cast of American Idiot and Green Day! (CHEERS AND APPLAUSE) ('21 GUNS') # Do you know what's worth fighting for, # when it's not worth dying for? # Does it take your breath away, # and you feel yourself suffocating? # Does the pain weigh out the pride? CHORUS: # Ah. # And you look for a place to hide? # Ah. # Did someone break your heart inside? # You're in ruins. # One. # 21 guns. # Lay down your arms. # Give up the fight. BOTH: # One. # 21 guns. # Throw up your arms # into the sky. # You and I. (CHEERS AND APPLAUSE) # When you're at the end of the road # and you lost all sense of control, # and your thoughts have taken their toll. # When your mind breaks the spirit of your soul. # Your faith walks on broken glass, # and the hangover doesn't pass. BOTH: # Nothing's ever built to last. # You're in ruins. # You're in ruins. # You're in ruins. # One. ALL: # 21 guns. # Lay down your arms. # Give up the fight. # One. # 21 guns. # Throw up your arms # into the sky. # You and I. # Did you? # Did you try to live on your own, # When you? # when you burned down the house and home? # Did you? # Did you stand too close to the fire? # Ah. # Like a liar looking for forgiveness... # from a stone. MICHAEL: There's something about a Broadway musical that is magical. # And you can't get another try. As jaded as we might get in this profession, there's something about hearing the words 'Your show is going to Broadway' that is just an undeniable thrill. ALL: # One. # 21 guns. # Lay down your arms. # Give up the fight. # One. # 21 guns. # Throw up your arms # into the sky. # One. # 21 guns. # 21 guns. # Throw up your arms # into the sky. # You and I. # (CHEERING, WHISTLING) (INDISTINCT CHATTER, LAUGHTER) # Nobody likes you. # Everyone left you. # They're all out without you, # having fun. (SIRENS WAIL IN DISTANCE) (HORNS HONK) MICHAEL: We don't know what to call it. It's not an opera, really, and it's definitely not your parents' Broadway musical. So I don't know how it's gonna go down. BILLIE: The thing I was worried about is I wanted to make sure that people had open minds. When you're bringing your family to go see something on Broadway, it's hard to kinda go, 'Now, do I feel like being challenged right now? 'Or do I want, like, a, um,... a nice little fairy tale?' American Idiot is like... It's a cold reality. * Hi! (CHUCKLES) Oh, yes! Yes, yes, yes. I Skyped with Hoggett this morning. (CHEERING) He sends all his love. He's gutted not to be here. (LAUGHTER) He's just gutted. But I described to him, basically, the adjustments that Lorin and I are making, and he thinks that all sounds great, so gear up. What will be required will be even more than what was required prior. Here we go! # I lost # my faith to this. As soon as the Grammys are over, we are starting up right away. Everything about this day is so (BLEEP). What else is (BLEEP)? There's an incredible amount of stress. It's Broadway, and so, we really are under the microscope. ('ST JIMMY' PLAYS) What we found in Berkeley was that we had a lot to do still to improve the story. ALL: # St Jimmy! # As well as the staging, the choreography and the arrangements, casting is a gigantic part of it. # It's beating out of time. Billie and I wanted someone who had a kind of all-American nature, even though the character of Tunny has become very pissed off and aggressive and hostile. Hey, Stark? Stark and Johnny. The most important thing for you is that the subtext is '(BLEEP) land of me, 'but (BLEEP) leave!' Do you know what I mean? Don't worry about the steps. Just plug into what that energy is. # We are the kids of war and peace, # from Anaheim to the Middle East. BOTH: # We are the stories and disciples of... ALL: # The Jesus of Suburbia! # Land of make believe, # and it don't believe in me. # Land of make believe, # and I don't believe. BOYS: # I don't care! # Whoo. Whoo. Whoo. # I don't care! # Whoo. Whoo. Whoo. # I don't care! # Whoo. Whoo. Whoo. # I don't care! # BILLIE: It's a trip to see your life experiences being interpreted on stage. Let's start a war, shall we? Still think about when you're here, as you turn around here. There's Tunny, in his naive way. So that first step is commitment. # Take the pressure from the swelling. # There's Will ` the guy who wasn't really quite ready to be a grown-up. You know, I've learned that lesson the hard way. # Give me a long kiss goodnight # and everything will be all right. # Can I give you some other things to think about? Yeah, absolutely. And Johnny, with all of his wanting to stand for something that he believes in. # St Jimmy's coming down across the alleyway. And then, he gets blindsided by himself. # Coming at you on the count of one, two` # One, two, three, four! And St Jimmy is just` he's just a bad (BLEEP). # My name is Jimmy, and you better not wear it out. # Suicide commando that your momma talked about. St Jimmy is part of myself. # The needle in the vein of the establishment. You know, everyone's got their demons. Like, we're all creatures of habit. It's hard to shake that stuff. (EXCLAIMS) Billie Joe, just like all of us, has his dark side. # St Jimmy! The side that's self-destructive, manipulative, charismatic, but dangerous to himself and to others. ('ST JIMMY' CONTINUES PLAYING) # My name is St Jimmy ` son of a gun. # I'm the one that's from the way outside. # St Jimmy. 'There's a parallel between, you know, me going to New York for the show 'and what happened in American Idiot.' # I'd really hate to say it, but I told you so. # So shut your mouth before I shoot you down, boy. # St Jimmy. But this time, it's almost like a second chance to do it the right way. # I'm the resident leader` Everybody! # It's St Jimmy, # and that's my name! # (JAUNTY PIANO) # Give my regards to Broadway. (MUMBLES MELODY) # Give my regards to old Broadway, (SINGS GIBBERISH IN TUNE) # and tell them I'll be there e'er long. # 'I'll be there e'er long'? I think that's what it is. We gotta look this up. Yeah, look it up. (PLAYS 'JEOPARDY' THEME MUSIC) I love the St James Theatre. It's got such a fantastic feeling when you walk in. There's something grand about it. 'Give my regards to old Broadway, and say that I'll be there e'er long.' You have the gorgeous, ornate architecture inside, in the decor. And then, there's American Idiot. I love that juxtaposition. We're watching TV, and we'd be on tour, and Mike goes, 'How do you know this shit?' And I'd just say, I learned it when I was a little kid. Cos here, you know, it's such a... # Are we a pair? # Me here, at last on the ground, # you in mid-air # Send in the clowns. # When I was a little kid, from the ages of, like, four and a half until I was about 14, I took, like, vocal lessons. But I never told any of my friends, like, because it was... It was, um, just something that I did, and I was just learning music, and, you know, maybe it wasn't the most masculine thing or whatever in the world. # Why can't they be like we were ` # perfect in every way? # What's the matter with kids today? My mom would take me around and sing, like, at convalescent hospitals, and I would sing anything from, like, Frank Sinatra, Al Jolson, George M Cohan. It would just be, like` It's stuff that this woman ` Mrs Fiataroni ` she would teach me, and I didn't` I think it just kind of got ingrained in my head. I wonder if that has had some impact. It must have. Yeah. On the way that you write songs. If you take a song like Wake Me Up When September Ends, which is, you know, one of the penultimate moments of the show, one of the penultimate moments of the album, you know? And this progression... (PLAYS 'WAKE ME UP WHEN SEPTEMBER ENDS') ...which, you know, is so beautiful. And it feels to me like A Chorus Line ` What I Did For Love. (PLAYS 'WHAT I DID FOR LOVE') (CHUCKLES) Wow. That's a good one. And then, you have this major to minor,... which, you know... One is here to stay, two does that and drifts away. So it is. It is all` I mean, it's melodic, and it's... # Major to minor. # You know what I mean? It's the... You know. It comes extremely from this whole tradition. Yeah, yeah. Well, I think the, like, album making, or the art of it for me is, like, that it takes you on a ride and the songs speak to each other. (PLAYS 'SHE'S A REBEL') (BOTH LAUGH) OK, that's a stretch. That's that. (LAUGHS) (LAUGHS) I don't know how to explain how Billie Joe and I, who come from such different worlds, manage to have such a fruitful collaboration. To me, what's so interesting is that it's that Tin Pan Alley stuff. 'I think it's because both of us, at our hearts, are entertainers.' This is not just about drugs. Yeah. Cos here, you know, it's such a metaphor for... In my rock world, things get so competitive that, sometimes, it's` you get into a mode where people become discouraging. This was just a different feeling. It was almost if people were... You know, I don't wanna over-romanticise about it, but everybody was sort of encouraging each other, and, you know, it's New York. It's not like... It's not some bullshit Hollywood crap, you know? * The whole theatre thing is really seductive, and it's just inspiring too. # I let my blood like bullets over Broadway. Every day, I had this disciplined ritual where I would just write about anything. Doesn't matter what it's about. It doesn't have to even make sense. # With broken legs and roses over New York. I would just write something. It would be 30 seconds. It would be 40 seconds. It would be two minutes. I just had this momentum where I'm just, like, writing songs. I would do that during the day, and then, I would end up going to the show at night. # ...of mind. # It's my own private suicide. I just felt like a sponge, and I just kinda sucked everything up. So, what I'm gonna do is look at swapping you guys out. I just want to make sure it doesn't translate as 'he's the father.' Today is our final rehearsal. MAN: Going into the second set. # Nobody's perfect, and I stand accused. We're gonna do all of our last little picky notes. We're gonna try new things for the last time. What would be better is if you were up here-ish. This ballet thing's not... Uh-huh. From, uh, 'Jimmy died today.' I don't think it should be busy. No. Will! OK. Hold. So, Carmel, we're gonna make a small adjustment. So it will be 'Oh, shit. This is my life.' (MIMICS GUITAR RIFF) As opposed to a question. Oh, shit. This is my life. # I'm the son of rage and love. # The Jesus of` # Hold there. Can we have the cast in the house, please? Full cast in the house, please. The time has come. The show is now yours, so fly with it. We're in spectacular shape. I couldn't be prouder of it. It's such a weird feeling, because since, you know, since the beginning, we've been working and working and shifting things, and finding it. But, um, we found it, and it's fantastic. (APPLAUSE) # Where'd you go? Go. Go. Go. ('ROCK AND ROLL GIRLFRIEND') Jeez. # I got a rock and roll band. # I got a rock and roll life. # I've got a rock and roll girlfriend, # and another ex-wife. # I got a kid in New York. # Ooh, wah-oh-oh. Ooh, wah-oh-oh. # Wah-oh, wah-oh-oh. Wah-oh, wah-oh-oh. # I got a kid in the Bay. # Oh! # I haven't drank or smoked nothing in over 22 days. # So get off of my case! # Off of my case! # Off of my case! # I'm here to welcome you to the Gypsy Robe ceremony for opening night on Broadway of American Idiot! (CHEERS AND APPLAUSE) Everyone who's making their Broadway debut tonight, come here to the centre of the stage. (CHEERS AND APPLAUSE) The Gypsy Robe tradition began in 1950 when a chorus dancer in Gentlemen Prefer Blondes sent a dressing robe to the Imperial Theatre, where Call Me Madam was opening, with a note, proclaiming, 'The robe had been worn by all the Ziegfeld Beauties, 'and would bless their show.' The Gypsy Robe is awarded to a member of the chorus who has the most Broadway musical chorus credits. The honoured gypsy puts on the robe, circles the stage three times counter-clockwise, and the show is blessed. (CHEERS AND APPLAUSE) It would be our pleasure to see the Gypsy Robe for American Idiot presented to... Andrew Call. (RAPTUROUS CHEERING, APPLAUSE) (LAUGHS) (LAUGHS) Congratulations. ('LETTERBOMB') (CHEERS AND APPLAUSE CONTINUE) (FANS SHRIEK) (LAUGHS) I always looked at Broadway as being some sort of impossible dream. It is my goal. It is my dream, and I'm living it right now. It feels so good. (CROWD CHATTERS) These actors ` they put so much passion and heart into what they're doing. I heard Liza Minnelli's coming tonight. LIZA MINNELLI IMPRESSION: Oh, you punk kids were just terrific! I loved what you were doing ` all that stomping around on stage. It was simply inspired! Woke up today, thinking, 'OK. It's just another show. It's just another show.' But it's not just another show. It's American Idiot on Broadway, you know? (SIGHS) (FANS SHRIEK) It was really strange to see Donald Trump. I was like, 'What the (BLEEP) are you doing here? Really?' Two, one. Green Day is used to the stage, but now, they're coming to Broadway. I'm Anne Craig. Coming up, I'm taking you inside their brand new musical, American Idiot. It's showtime! MAN: Did you ever think you could hit here? Uh... (SIGHS) I've been working for this for 30 years. So I hoped I would make it. (CHUCKLES) The application of eyeshadow is a very, very delicate procedure. I don't believe in it so much, but, um... I've never felt so lucky in my entire life. You deserve it, man. Thanks. (CHUCKLES) Thanks. Opening night, baby! It's gun metal grey. Excellent. I had to. TOY: I love boys. They're stupid! (MOUTHS) Just, like, I don't know what to expect. ('TALES FROM ANOTHER BROKEN HOME') It's kind of helpful to be, like, 'You know, I can handle it.' I'm saying this, and now I'm thinking, 'OK, you're definitely jinxing yourself right now.' PA: This is your 15 minute call. And now, we're at 15 minutes. It's time to unleash this on New York, guys. ALL: One, two, three, it's (BLEEP) time! (APPLAUSE) MAN ON TV: Breaking news involving an earthquake` WOMAN: A tornado has hit` RYAN SEACREST: This is American` ('AMERICAN IDIOT' PLAYS) (CHEERS AND APPLAUSE) # Don't wanna be an American idiot. # Don't want a nation under the new media. # And can you hear the sound of hysteria? # The subliminal mind-(BLEEP) America. The reaction was amazing. One hardcore Green Day fan was like, 'Oh my God.' I go, 'It's not what you thought it was gonna be, was it?' And he was like, 'Not at all.' # Television dreams of tomorrow. And then, I heard someone say, 'I guess this was inspired by a rock band or something like that?' I mean, they had no clue what Green Day was. And that was really exciting, because it was reaching a whole new audience. ('AMERICAN IDIOT') (SONG ENDS) Amazing performances, incredible energy. Not like anything else on Broadway. Our next guests star in the acclaimed new Broadway musical based on the Green Day album of the same name. From the looks of things tonight, I can tell you this show is going to attract a whole new crowd right here on Broadway. OK, here's the deal ` and this is the honest-to-God truth ` I don't read the reviews. I really don't. WOMAN: American Idiot is getting phenomenal reviews. MAN: Great reviews. I know that we got some ecstatic notices. MAN: Almost the best thing I've ever seen on Broadway. And some notices that were carping about this or that. (CROWD CHEERS) But I will say that audience response was over the top. It was crazy. It was just wild. Uh... You know, I was just` All day, that electricity, that excitement, and just sort of everything felt like it was on fire. * (CHEERS AND APPLAUSE) (DRUM BEAT) Billie Joe went from being moderately interested to... getting more intrigued... (CHEERS AND APPLAUSE CONTINUE) ...to becoming passionate about what the whole Broadway vibe was. (CHEERS INTENSIFY) So, by the time I suggested to him that my secret dream was that, someday, he would play St Jimmy, he couldn't` I saw a little light behind his eyes ` a flicker of excitement. He said, 'Oh, really? You think so?' I'm like, 'Uh-huh.' And the next day, he called and said, 'Oh my God, are you serious about this? I'm shitting.' # My name is St Jimmy. I'm a son of a gun. # I'm the one that's from the way outside, now. # A teenage assassin executing some fun # in the cult of the life of crime, now. The first day I rehearsed, Michael goes, 'Oh,... There's something I forgot to tell you. 'This is gonna be really awkward at first.' And it was really awkward. Don't look at the girls until the scream. OK. Just be focused on him. They don't even penetrate your consciousness. OK. I was really, really nervous about whether I could do it at all. He didn't want the press to come. He didn't want people to talk about it. It was absolutely hush-hush. Do you mind, just for me, to see it again? So, we'd sneak him into a theatre, where we would rehearse. See how cool that looks? But she does that all in one. You stop yourself. Just today. WHISPERS: She's a professional dancer. (LAUGHS) (LAUGHS) But yeah. Just... Are you asleep? I was nervous about acting in general, you know? Like, the silent moments. The stillness in parts. I'm not used to doing that at all. It's dead silent, and your brain's going, (MAKES WHIRRING NOISE) You know? You know,... WHISPERS: Stay still. (CHUCKLES) Don't say anything. You know? That part was hard. # Ooh. He was freaked out. He didn't know if he'd be any good. JOHNNY: Is life imitating me, or is rage imitating life? I feel like a civil war, like a knife in the eyes. I've got an axe to grind, and it is splitting my head open. No friends, no girls. (AUDIENCE CLAP RHYTHMICALLY) I need both. # St Jimmy's coming down across the alleyway. (CHEERS AND APPLAUSE) # Up on the boulevard, like a zip gun on parade. # Light of a silhouette. # He's insubordinate. # Coming at you on the count of one, two` # One, two, three, four! (CHEERS AND APPLAUSE) # My name is Jimmy, and you better not wear it out. # Suicide commando that your momma talked about. # King of the 40 thieves, and I'm here to represent # the needle in the vein of the establishment. # I'm the patron saint of the denial, # with an angel face and a taste for suicidal. Wow! # Cigarettes and ramen and a little bag of dope. # I am the son of a bitch and Edgar Allan Poe. # Raised in the city in the halo of lights. # Product of war and fear that we've been victimized. # I'm the patron saint of the denial, # with an angel face and a taste for suicidal. BOTH: I'll give you something to cry about! CHORUS: # St Jimmy! ('BOULEVARD OF BROKEN DREAMS') In the old days, coming from, sort of, an underground scene, there were a lot of bands that you would watch that were your friends' bands, and things like that. You know, everyone would sort of feed off each other and have fun, but at the same time, be, you know, learning. (CROWD ROARS) Once Green Day took off, we started losing that. We were losing friends. Which is fine, you know? I mean, it's like, you only need a few. But it's, um,... It's uh... It gets, uh` It just became difficult to sort of find, um... kindred spirits in that way. (MAN LAUGHS) Which charity is this for? (LAUGHTER) Mine! When the cast came along, I started to feel it again, and I've always wanted that. I've always been almost... almost naive about it, where I wanted to make those kinds of relationships. Did we get it? Did we get it? And it didn't happen in rock and roll music. It happened in theatre. That's the thing that sort of, uh, blindsided me. # My name is St Jimmy, I'm a son of a gun. # I'm the one that's from the way outside, now. CHORUS: # St Jimmy! # A teenage assassin executing some fun # in the cult of the life of crime. # St Jimmy! # I'd really hate to say it, but I told you so. # So shut your mouth before I shoot you down, ol' boy. # St Jimmy! # Welcome to the club, and give me some blood. # I'm the resident leader of the lost and found. # St Jimmy! ALL: # It's comedy # and tragedy. # It's St Jimmy, # and that's my name! # And don't wear it out! (SONG ENDS) (RAPTUROUS CHEERS AND APPLAUSE) (CHEERS AND APPLAUSE CONTINUE) ('WHATSERNAME') # Seems that she disappeared without a trace. # Did she ever marry... Did I tell you about how many times I've been reprimanded for... (CHUCKLES) That was the best. Your bad behaviour? I know! # I made a point to burn # all of the photographs. One night, I grabbed a bottle of whiskey and then took a sip of it, and then, um... And I remember you going` you were like, 'You can't do that.' Right. You know? It was like, 'note'. And I was, like, my note was, 'Don't get bottle of whiskey, bring it on stage.' (LAUGHS) # Now I wonder how Whatsername has been. Then, the naked cowboy happened, and then everything was off to the races. And then another time, I ran out and grabbed a bunch of Twizzlers, and I threw it at the whole crowd, and they were like, 'Yeah!' I was like, 'Oh, that was pretty cool.' And then... And then, all of a sudden, I had, you know,... 'Here comes Tom Holtz walking back', and he was like,... He goes, 'Um... 'Do you` Uh... (LAUGHS) 'There's this thing going on on the stage, 'and, um... (LAUGHS) 'It's... You can't run off of it, (LAUGHS) 'because it's... it's really disruptive 'to what's happening on stage.' And I go, 'So, you don't want me to throw Twizzlers at people any more?' (LAUGHS) Captions by Cameron Grigg. Captions were made with the support of NZ On Air. www.able.co.nz Copyright Able 2019