Oct
17
Sat • 1987
Set 1:
-
#1 Crazy Train
-
#2 La bamba
Show Notes
First show as Sweet Children after changing their name from Blood Rage. Incomplete setlist. Some fan sites list '1,000 Hours', 'Best Thing In Town', 'Dry Ice' and 'My Generation' on the setlist, but we're unsure where this information originates from.
Rolling Stone: "These days, Billie Joe Armstrong and Mike Dirnt are more accustomed to playing venues like Madison Square Garden. But back on October 17th, 1987, the pair's first-ever show was a one-night-only affair at Rod's Hickory Pit, a BBQ joint in Vallejo, California. They likely landed the gig because they had a serious in – Armstrong's mom was a waitress at the restaurant. The performance, under the name Sweet Children, apparently went well enough to get the two invited back – reportedly, both later worked at Rod's as busboys."
Billie Joe Armstrong: "We played La Bamba. Mike sang it" (KROQ interview, 10/2019)
Billie Joe Armstrong: "...There was little side room, and we played in there twice."
David Armstrong: "It was definitely more of a family thing, but the crowd was big. My mom had thirteen brothers and sisters. There were maybe a handful of punks there." (Nobody Likes You by Marc Spitz, page 45)
George Cole: "When they did their first gig at Rod’s in the Banquet Room, his guitar was being worked on so he borrowed my Stratocaster which had a humbucker pickup and I just came in there and I had to show them how to do a soundcheck. I said ‘ok you’re the bass player you stand on the side of the high hat, ok you’re over there, let’s balance your sound’. They said “What’s a soundcheck?” and I said ‘watch, you stand there, ok, let’s get the drums, we match the bass to the level of the acoustic drum and match your guitar to that blah blah blah’ and that’s their first gig and you know what, they were good on their first gig. Not great but there was something there." (<a href="https://greenday.fm/news/george-cole-reflects-on-teaching-green-day-his-old-blue-guitar/">GreenDay.fm Interview</a> - 02/2021)
Rolling Stone: "These days, Billie Joe Armstrong and Mike Dirnt are more accustomed to playing venues like Madison Square Garden. But back on October 17th, 1987, the pair's first-ever show was a one-night-only affair at Rod's Hickory Pit, a BBQ joint in Vallejo, California. They likely landed the gig because they had a serious in – Armstrong's mom was a waitress at the restaurant. The performance, under the name Sweet Children, apparently went well enough to get the two invited back – reportedly, both later worked at Rod's as busboys."
Billie Joe Armstrong: "We played La Bamba. Mike sang it" (KROQ interview, 10/2019)
Billie Joe Armstrong: "...There was little side room, and we played in there twice."
David Armstrong: "It was definitely more of a family thing, but the crowd was big. My mom had thirteen brothers and sisters. There were maybe a handful of punks there." (Nobody Likes You by Marc Spitz, page 45)
George Cole: "When they did their first gig at Rod’s in the Banquet Room, his guitar was being worked on so he borrowed my Stratocaster which had a humbucker pickup and I just came in there and I had to show them how to do a soundcheck. I said ‘ok you’re the bass player you stand on the side of the high hat, ok you’re over there, let’s balance your sound’. They said “What’s a soundcheck?” and I said ‘watch, you stand there, ok, let’s get the drums, we match the bass to the level of the acoustic drum and match your guitar to that blah blah blah’ and that’s their first gig and you know what, they were good on their first gig. Not great but there was something there." (<a href="https://greenday.fm/news/george-cole-reflects-on-teaching-green-day-his-old-blue-guitar/">GreenDay.fm Interview</a> - 02/2021)