Green Day drummer Tré Cool shares most pivotal show they ever played

Green Day drummer Tré Cool has recently reflected on one of the shows that was integral to the band’s success. Despite the recent Woodstock 50 drama, Cool shouts out the festival back in the 90s for giving them a growing platform. 

On a podcast episode with Member Guest, Cool reveals that the commercial aspect of Woodstock ‘94 not only brought attention to the band, but the set’s nature also set them up for one of the most “chaotic” moments in the their history.

Read more: Kevin Lyman shares look at Atlantic City Warped setup

“’94 Woodstock was a complete shit show,” Cool says. “It was a Pepsi-sponsored thing, it was, like, worldwide televised pay-per-view and all that stuff, and every band of significance was there. It was crazy.

“And of course people start going around the fence and sneaking in, and it kind of became mayhem. And then bad weather came and it was raining like crazy and the whole place became a mud pit. It was pretty chaotic, and set up really well for Green Day to take the stage and make all hell break loose.”

Additionally, Cool goes on to describe the atmosphere from the stage. On the podcast, Cool says fans were throwing mud and hitting frontman Billie Joe Armstrong and bassist Mike Dirnt.

“It got all chaotic,” the drummer said. “We kept trying to play, but Billie was getting mud hitting his guitar and Mike was getting it on his bass and hitting him. Luckily my drum set was just far enough back where I was less in harm’s way. It was punk as fuck, and nobody expected that to happen.”

Read more: Riff Raff reveals “first real movie” role is in ‘Sonic The Hedgehog’

Chaos aside, Cool goes on to say the show changed the environment of their live shows. According to Cool, Woodstock ’94 caused their audience to grow.

“It was a crazy set—a set that changed our whole lives, really,” Cool says. “After that day, tons of people were showing up at our shows. That was kind of the pivot moment—that was the green jacket moment for this band.”

You can listen to the podcast episode below.

What do you think of Cool’s recount of Woodstock ‘94? Sound off in the comments below.

See more: 10 concert posters from your favorite bands before they blew up

[envira-gallery id=”199143″]