Liberty Lunch

Austin American-Statesman: "It's the last night of October, and there are endless opportunities for Halloween fun and late-night intoxication in Austin. At Liberty Lunch, Green Day is playing."

Billie Joe Armstrong: "Yeah. I can’t remember the venue, but we were playing in Austin, Texas. It was a 2,000-seater. I was nervous. That’s when I decided to start drinking before shows. It started off with two beers. Then it went to many more after that. Liquid courage – it made me loosen up and not give a fuck."

Banjo Slacks: "Once had the honor of being pulled on stage to play Operation Ivy song on Halloween at Liberty Lunch in ATX."

Tanya: "Halloween night, 1997 Green Day played Liberty Lunch in Austin, Texas. This was the best show that I have ever seen. The band played songs from every album. Some of the songs that I can remember were: Going to Pasalacqua, Paper Lanterns, Knowledge, 2000 Light Years Away, Welcome to Paradise, Chump, Longview, Basket Case, She, When I Come Around, F.O.D., Geek Stink Breath, Brain Stew, Jaded, Nice Guys Finish Last, Hitchin' A Ride, The Grouch, Scattered, and Prosthetic Head. I think that was all. I was directly in front of Billie Joe. During Paper Lanterns, he asked for metal requests, just like always, and played a little of Eye of the Tiger, and some Ozzy, to which I shouted to him. He would play a little of the songs, and then stop. During Knowledge, he asked if anyone played guitar, and pulled up 2 guys from the crowd, one at a time, to come and play "Blue". He was really cool, hugging them and shaking their hands. Billie Joe acted as crazy as he always does, and I was loving every minute of it. The band sounded to me like they were in top form. There is just nothing like Grren Day live. Period. I didn't have a pass to go out to the back to meet them, but a guard walked me right through. I waited until they came out, and there he was. Billie Joe walked up to the crowd. He stood around while people asked him questions. He was so polite and friendly. He signed anything we wanted and gave out hugs. I was very happy about that. :) I told him that his little boy probably looked just like him, and he said, "You wanna see a picture?" I said yes and he took out his wallet and showed us a picture of him. It was so cute. Then he showed another of Adrienne and Joey together. He was so proud. He said Joey was all dressed up that day with his little Lion King costume. He also said that Joey was a better man than He was. He is just a great guy, who loves his family. I just thought that was the most down to earth thing, him pulling out pictures of the family. :) I really like Elvis, and I asked him if he was a fan. He said "Oh yeah, his was the first record I ever bought." (As soon as the show was over, the Elvis song, "Love Me" started playing. I figured he had something to do with that.) :) He also talked about Jason and the webpage. Someone had asked him about it. I kiddingly said that everyone always writes in asking for his email address, and he laughed. I thanked him for staying around and talking with us. I told him that meant alot to us, and he thanked us for being there. He was just so open to questions and didn't mind us gathering around him. You would never think, meeting him, that he was the huge star that he is, so down to earth and friendly. Mike was the exact same way. I told him that it was the best show I'd seen, and he said, "Thanks for putting up with that front row." I said that he didn't even know what it meant to me for them to stand around and talk to us for so long. He reached out to hug me. He was just so very sweet. He had a loaf of bread and he said "Here, here's your payback." He reached in and gave me 4 slices of bread hehe. Then he started throwing it. He was just as nice as he could be. He really listened to what I had to say and I appreciated that so much. I couldn't believe that I was standing around talking to Green Day. Tre had been out there for a couple of minutes, he sort of smashed into all of us hehe. Then I never saw him after that. I met him in San Antonio 2 years ago though, and he was very friendly like the others. They all are just the nicest people you could meet. Sometimes when you meet a star, they act like they don't have time for anybody waiting to see them, and that they are completely bothered by it all. Green Day reminded me of being like some local band, just talking to people after the show. They cared what we said, and really listened. I don't know if they'll see this or not, but I want to say that this meant more to me than I could ever say. I truly admire them, for their great music, and for the great guys they are. "