One thing is absolutely certain: Green Day and its fan base, in a joint effort, have perfected the art of the surprise show (alternatively called the secret show). There are plenty of bands out there who, for reasons beyond their control, could not pull off a surprise show. Green Day fans are an interesting breed; they are willing to travel across the country or even across the world at the post of a tweet to support their band. The same commitment is a rare thing among other fans.

Surprise shows are a great thing for Green Day as well. They serve as a vehicle to test new material, or get back into the swing of performing after a long hiatus. Furthermore, the fair weather fans who'd recognize hearing "Basket Case," "Good Riddance (Time of Your Life)," and "Boulevard of Broken Dreams" at most are weeded out at surprise shows. The fact that everyone in the room wouldn't rather be anywhere else in the world adds an unspoken type of (dare I say) magic that makes these intimate celebrations as special as they are. This editorial list contains my top five surprise shows, in terms of how much they meant to Green Day's music and career as a whole.




[pic=CBGB's: No real photos from show, see video!]092213_rsz_screen_shot_2013-09-22_at_94950_pm.jpg[/pic]Green Day walked into the hallowed punk shrine that is CBGB's not knowing they'd play that night. Two days before, Green Day had received eight awards at the California Music Awards, and then travelled to New York City for appearances with Howard Stern and David Letterman. The band was at CBGB's to watch longtime friend (and ex-D Generation member) Jesse Malin's new band, Bellevue.

Over the course of the night, Billie Joe, Mike, and Tré consumed a fair amount of alcohol, and decided that they wanted to perform at the historic club. After the last band of the night had finished their set, Green Day took the stage and played 12 songs (plus covers and requests) on borrowed instruments. The impromptu gig finished sometime after 2:00 A.M. Bands such as The Ramones, The Talking Heads, The Cars, Iggy Pop, Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers, and Blondie all played at CBGB's in their infancy. The Ramones especially have always been adored publicly by the band. It was only fitting that Green Day, a band who never fails to acknowledge and pay respects to its roots, should perform on the very stage which spawned them.

Watch a performance of "Going to Pasalacqua" from this show

View setlist, show info, and photos from this show.

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