tim armstrong tour

Tim Armstrong Verified

Similar artists on tour, bandsintown merch.

About Tim Armstrong

• Moscow concerts Moscow concerts Moscow concerts See all Moscow concerts ( Change location ) Today · Next 7 days · Next 30 days
• Most popular artists worldwide
• Trending artists worldwide

• Tourbox for artists

Search for events or artists

• Sign up Log in

• Get the app
• Moscow concerts
• Change location
• Popular Artists
• Live streams
• Deutsch Português
• Popular artists

Tim Armstrong

• On tour: no
• Upcoming 2024 concerts: none

23,290 fans get concert alerts for this artist.

Join Songkick to track Tim Armstrong and get concert alerts when they play near you.

Find your next concert

Join 23,290 fans getting concert alerts for this artist

Similar artists with upcoming concerts

Tours most with, past concerts.

View all past concerts

Posters (2)

Find out more about Tim Armstrong tour dates & tickets 2024-2025

Want to see Tim Armstrong in concert? Find information on all of Tim Armstrong’s upcoming concerts, tour dates and ticket information for 2024-2025.

Unfortunately there are no concert dates for Tim Armstrong scheduled in 2024.

Songkick is the first to know of new tour announcements and concert information, so if your favorite artists are not currently on tour, join Songkick to track Tim Armstrong and get concert alerts when they play near you, like 23290 other Tim Armstrong fans.

Last concert:

Concerts played in 2024:

Touring history

Most played:

• San Diego (2)
• Los Angeles (LA) (2)
• Seattle (1)

Appears most with:

• Amon Tobin (2)
• The Horrors (2)
• Metronomy (2)
• Wild Flag (2)

Distance travelled:

Similar artists

• Most popular charts
• API information
• Brand guidelines
• Community guidelines
• Terms of use
• Privacy policy
• Cookies settings
• Cookies policy

Get your tour dates seen everywhere.

• But we really hope you love us.

The ordeal and salvation of Tim Armstrong, ‘the Bob Dylan of punk’ went into rehab to form Rancid: ‘It was like a Rocky movie’

The singer and guitarist, currently touring for the group’s latest album, has surprised everyone by reuniting for a new project this year with jesse michaels, his former bandmate from three decades ago in operation ivy.

These are good times for nostalgic nineties punk fans. As NOFX (bidding farewell) and Blink-182 (returning) are once again packing out venues, while Green Day have been completing their tour and album, Rancid joined the party in June with Tomorrow never comes . This is their first album in six years and it has been backed by stellar reviews and an international tour. This was not the only delight this year for fans of Tim Armstrong (Albany, California, 57 years old). April brought the surprise release of Raid , the debut song from a new group called Doom Regulator for which Armstrong has teamed up with Jesse Michaels, a bandmate going back 34 years in the short-lived, yet legendary Operation Ivy. This was a closing of the circle both belated and cathartic for a special artist, who Brett Gurewitz of Bad Religion called “the Bob Dylan of punk,” who transformed his personal redemption into an artistic undertaking.

Possibly the most influential one-record band since the Sex Pistols, Operation Ivy were the first flagship band of 924 Gilman Street, the Berkeley (California) venue that gave birth to Green Day and The Offspring and set the scene for the resurgence of the genre. This was yet another attempt to jump on stage by Tim Armstrong and Matt Freeman. They were buddies with a passion for music who had ended one group after another because they couldn’t find anyone who would take it as seriously as they did. Freeman volunteered to take out the trash to obtain free admission to Gilman concerts. It was there that they met Jesse Michaels, son of a writer and university professor, who was the charismatic and intellectual figure they were looking for.

With Michaels as singer and lyricist, the group instantly took off. “When I saw how much all those people enjoyed Operation Ivy at Gilman, I knew that it was going to be as significant in their memory as seeing The Avengers or Bad Brains was for my generation,” said Jello Biafra, legendary Dead Kennedys vocalist, in the 2017 documentary Turn It Around: The Story of East Bay Punk . Inspired by the second wave of ska in the U.K., the so-called 2 Tone genre, Operation Ivy launched a third wave with their own music by fusing the genre with punk, where they were pioneers together with The Mighty Mighty Bosstones, also from the U.S. “Their enthusiasm gave the initiative a revolutionary quality. Their music [Operation Ivy’s] was more than a love letter from the United States to English groups like The Specials, The Beat and The Selecter,” wrote the music critic Ian Winwood in his 2018 book Smash!: Green Day, The Offspring, Bad Religion, NOFX, and the ‘90s Punk Explosion , where he also places their only album, Energy (1989), at the same level as Bad Religion’s Suffer (1988) in terms of the revival of the scene.

The band fronted by Michaels and Armstrong, featuring Matt Freeman’s unique bass style of using scales and arpeggios, transformed Gilman’s inclusive community and attracted a diverse crowd of young fans. “It made sense for them to sing of unity [in reference to their song Unity ] because they were generating that feeling,” said Devon Morf, singer of the band All You Can Eat. “The ska crowd was at first wary of Gilman, but after Operation Ivy came along, you started to see people in suits and ties.” They soon got involved too. In addition to their anti-racism proclamations, just as Freeman had previously been a garbage collector, Armstrong followed in their footsteps when neo-Nazis began to crowd the band’s venues (in a space for less than 300 people on some nights, 1,000 were packed in) and, as recounted in Turn It Around , he politely asked them to leave, with a baseball bat in his hand.

Operation Ivy were the first Gilman band to tour the country, following calls from all over the U.S. for them to perform at local venues. They did so by using an old car with a wooden trunk, built by Armstrong’s father, to transport their equipment and sleeping in squats. Following the release of their only album by their self-managed label Lookout Records, which sold 2,000 copies in its first year and went on to sell over a million copies, the tickets always sold out. As a result, Lawrence Livermore, the label’s founder, passionately urged music journalists to attend one of Operation Ivy’s performances at the Gilman to bear witness to the emerging musical sensation.

But the pressure had taken its toll on Armstrong, who succumbed to alcoholism and drugs and began to perform poorly in concert. Operation Ivy had only been around for two years, but the band suddenly decided to end the project. The support group for their farewell concert, Green Day, achieved huge success shortly after.

“Let’s get to work”

“They were really artistic, very Berkeley, with lots of ska-punk energy. Along with singing, Jesse Michaels designed the logos, T-shirts and album art. Their shows were exciting, and boys and girls loved them,” journalist Jack Boulware, co-author with Silke Tudor of the 2009 book Gimme Something Better , on San Francisco Bay Area punk, says. When asked if Operation Ivy had continued they could have achieved the sort of mass commercial acceptance that fate had in store for Green Day, Boulware remains skeptical: “Green Day didn’t come out of a college setting, but out of the culture of small-town rockers. They weren’t as esoteric as Operation Ivy, they were called to play in stadiums, with that very distinct and present sound.”

The official reason for Operation Ivy’s break-up was that both Michaels and Armstrong felt that their time was up. “I don’t know why we felt that, but it was a very organic thing. I don’t regret how long it lasted, I think it was perfect,” said Michaels in Turn It Around . However, Lawrence Livermore, one of the contributors to the Smash! book, challenged this story by claiming that it was Jesse Michaels who left the band, leaving his bandmates devastated. “Jesse was from a different background than the other two [Tim Armstrong and Matt Freeman]. They were working class and everything was about playing music. Jesse was more of a dilettante, he’s still a working artist, although now he paints and writes. His attitude was like ‘I’m going to try to get into a band; I’ll see if it’s fun or not. Ok, it’s not that much fun anymore, so I’m gonna something different.’ It’s the privilege of coming from a middle-class background. Tim and Matt couldn’t get their heads around it — why blow the opportunity to do something great?” he explained.

Tim Armstrong’s addictions escalated severely. In the years following the end of Operation Ivy, he was hospitalized four times because of complications due to alcohol and drug use. Having been disowned by his mother, it was Matt Freeman who stuck by his side by taking him to and picking him up from detox clinics and getting him fed. “We were in the band for two years,” recalled Armstrong in the documentary. “We had a hell of a time. And then it was over. I sat down and thought ‘Shit, I haven’t got a group.’ I broke down. I got really hooked on alcohol. I couldn’t do anything else but drink.”

After unsuccessful attempts to form other groups, with Armstrong out of shape and unable to rehearse on a regular basis, his friend issued an ultimatum. “Matt Freeman said he was tired of me breaking his heart, starting a band together, getting drunk and getting screwed. So we were still going to hang out and play, but he wasn’t going to officially join a new band with me until I was one year sober. He asked me to look after myself and promised me that, when I was ready, we’d do it. So I thought, ‘I’ve gotta get sober. Let’s do it.’” Armstrong joined the Salvation Army and succeeded. An impressed Matt Freeman recapped it on camera as follows: “When he came out, he slowly got his life back on track and was itching to start a band. It was like a Rocky movie — let’s get to work!” The experiences of Armstrong, now lyricist, during his rehabilitation inspired Salvation , the song by the group that was to emerge: Rancid.

“When I got the music, oh I got a place to go”

With Rancid, Armstrong and Freeman enjoyed the popular success that the punk movement was experiencing in the nineties, which they themselves had helped to establish. Joined by the outstanding contribution of guitarist and singer Lars Frederiksen, another reformed alcoholic, Rancid were propelled by the unconditional support of Brett Gurewitz, owner of the quintessential punk label, Epitaph Records. “I told Tim that I adored him, I loved his music, his voice, Matt’s bass and if they ever worked together again, I’d give them a contract without hearing a single note,” Gurewitz said publicly. The producer was so devoted to Rancid that, as well as getting a tattoo of the logo, as related in Smash! Epitaph lost a band of the commercial pedigree in The Offspring because of the group members’ feelings of jealousy at the favored treatment for Armstrong and his bandmates, “Gurewitz’s one true and only love.”

The group reciprocated at a time when the bands riding the wave of Green Day’s success were striking gold with multinationals (with the exceptional perseverance of NOFX), Rancid flinched at the million-dollar offers they received, but remained loyal to Epitaph, who they still release their albums with. They were so sought after that Madonna , a frequent visitor to the group’s concerts in the nineties, sent them nude photos to convince them to sign with Maverick Records, the company she founded. “Rancid had a more rugged profile. They weren’t willing to get on stage in skate shorts or pose for photographers with skateboards. Their music touched on anxiety and loneliness, and the idea that the threats lurking in the mean streets could be averted thanks to the union of a family of outsiders. And their audience loved them,” wrote Ian Winwood, the author.

Influenced by The Clash and Stiff Little Fingers, Rancid elaborated on the fusion of styles that characterized Operation Ivy. “Something happens when a person changes while remaining true to who they really are. We saw that when Rancid performed their first concert,” said Green Day frontman, Billie Joe Armstrong, who is not related to his friend despite his surname and, as a fan of Operation Ivy, he recorded a version of the song Knowledge on his band’s first album. Tim Armstrong only had one relapse in 1996, a year after… And Out Come the Wolves (1995), Rancid’s landmark cult album. “He isn’t the first or the last artist to deal with this kind of pressure by drinking and doing too many drugs,” argued his friend Lawrence Livermore.

Although Rancid has occasionally played Operation Ivy songs on stage and invited Jesse Michaels to join them , there was no indication that Armstrong would be formally reuniting with his former bandmate more than three decades later. Of course, this is not a recreation of the old group. There is no Matt Freeman, an essential element of the band. Doom Regulator’s only song to date, Raid , is a full-blown return to the ska roots that inspired their old line-up. No one has offered any further clarification. The single was released along with an Instagram account with a photo of the four members of the band, along with the lyrics and song credits.

Is this a nostalgic homecoming or the ending of Armstrong and Michaels’ unfinished business? “Who cares what people think?” Jack Boulware asks. “They’ve both achieved a lot since Operation Ivy finished: bands, albums, tours, record labels, songwriting, novels, art exhibitions. Jesse even went back to college. But there’s always going to be a connection between those guys. It’s important to keep doing things.” With an eclectic discography packed with side projects, there is little doubt that Armstrong’s passion for music is the fuel for every one of his adventures. As Armstrong himself proclaimed in Radio , a song that has been a permanent feature in Rancid’s repertoire for the past 30 years: “For when the music hits I feel no pain at all. When I got the music, oh I got a place to go.”

Sign up for our weekly newsletter to get more English-language news coverage from EL PAÍS USA Edition

More information

NOFX singer Fat Mike: ‘Punk is played by cool people, not jerks’

Keep your grubby hands off punk

Archived in.

• Francés online
• Inglés online
• Italiano online
• Alemán online
• Crucigramas & Juegos

• Statistics Stats
• You are here:
• Armstrong, Tim

Tim Armstrong Concert Setlists & Tour Dates

Tim armstrong.

• Tim Armstrong ( Rock singer )

Tim Armstrong at Musack Presents: A Celebration of Terry Hall 2023

• Take Warning
• Edit setlist songs
• Edit venue & date
• Edit set times
• Add to festival
• Report setlist

Tim Armstrong at House of Blues, Lake Buena Vista, FL, USA

Tim armstrong at kroq weenie roast 2007.

• Inner City Violence
• Take This City
• Lady Demeter
• Into Action

Tim Armstrong at Ramones 30th Anniversary Celebration 2004

More from this Artist

• Artist Statistics
• Add setlist

Most played songs

• Cretin Hop ( 1 )
• Hold On ( 1 )
• Inner City Violence ( 1 )
• Into Action ( 1 )
• Lady Demeter ( 1 )

More Tim Armstrong statistics

The Interrupters Rancid Tim Timebomb

View covered by statistics

Artists covered

Operation Ivy Ramones Rancid

View artists covered statistics

Gigs seen live by

11 people have seen Tim Armstrong live.

marcgilliland chuckkelly25 Ynnad666 myshows metalstarfish frizbee9 vivahate86 EdwinPagan mannymarley TronaGuy93 Arfhound

Tim Armstrong on the web

Music links.

• Tim Armstrong Lyrics (de)

Tour Update

Marquee memories: sleater-kinney.

• Sleater‐Kinney
• Apr 7, 2024
• Apr 6, 2024
• Apr 5, 2024
• Apr 4, 2024
• Apr 3, 2024
• Apr 2, 2024
• FAQ | Help | About
• Terms of Service
• Ad Choices | Privacy Policy
• Feature requests
• Songtexte.com

Join us on Social

Billie Joe Armstrong and Tim Armstrong

Billie Joe Armstrong Photo: Theo Wargo/Getty Images, Tim Armstrong Photo: Brian Rasic/Getty Images

Green Day, Rancid frontmen team up as the Armstrongs

Billie Joe Armstrong and Tim Armstrong launch new punk supergroup with charity single

Rest assured, neither punk nor chivalry are dead.

Two iconic punk frontmen with a coincidental last name have launched a supergroup and released a charity benefit single. Billie Joe Armstrong of the GRAMMY-winning band Green Day and Tim Armstrong of Rancid and Operation Ivy, joined by Billie Joe's son Joey and Tim's nephew Rey, have formed a new band, aptly named the Armstrongs.

Their hummable new single, "If There Ever Was A Time," dropped June 14, and according to Spin , 100 percent of proceeds will benefit 924 Gilman , a nonprofit punk/DIY venue in the East Bay where both Rancid and Green Day played in their early days. Hellcat Records will also release physical copies of the single.

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/DH1tLUyhd5g" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

Tim Armstrong also just released a new Rancid album in June, Trouble Maker , while Billie Joe continues to tour with Green Day in support of 2016's Revolution Radio . But despite their busy schedules, this new collaboration and charity single prove the boys haven't forgotten where they came from.

For more from music's fringe, check out our coverage of the APMAs from Cleveland

Photo: Courtesy of LØLØ

ReImagined: LØLØ Flips Green Day's "Boulevard Of Broken Dreams" Into An Acoustic Jam

Canadian pop-punk singer LØLØ offers a stripped-down rendition of "Boulevard of Broken Dreams," the GRAMMY-winning smash from her childhood inspirations, Green Day.

Almost exactly two decades ago, Green Day traced the story of a lonely teenager, Jesus of Suburbia, in their seventh album, American Idiot . Its most notable chapter, "Boulevard of Broken Dreams," earned the band Record Of The Year at the 2006 GRAMMYs .

In this episode of ReImagined , Canadian pop-punk singer LØLØ delivers her take on the song, an ethereal acoustic version.

LØLØ is a longtime fan of Green Day. In an interview with Kerrang! magazine, she recalled their single "Good Riddance (Time of Your Life)" as the first song she learned to play. She later told idobi Radio that her 2023 track "omg" was "a bunch of intrusive thoughts jumbled into a song, wondering if I will ever be enough, or ever be as cool as Green Day."

This year, LØLØ released two original singles, "poser" and "2 of us," via Hopeless Records.

Press play on the video above to hear LØLØ's fresh rendition of "Boulevard of Broken Dreams," and check back to GRAMMY.com for more new episodes of ReImagined.

Green Day's 'Saviors': How Their New Album Links 'Dookie' & 'American Idiot' Decades Later

Photo: Cindy Ord / Getty Images for SiriusXM

Green Day's 'Saviors': How Their New Album Links 'Dookie' & 'American Idiot' Decades Later

The punk stalwarts made a U-turn on 2020's 'Father of All'; with its follow-up, 'Saviors,' they're barrelling forward while honoring their past. Here's how Green Day ramped up to it.

Green Day 's new album represents a spiritual link between their past and present. Fittingly titled Saviors , the band's 14th release is wholly in the present while connecting to their lynchpin albums: 1994's Dookie and 2004's American Idiot .

The quartet will tour Saviors — which was released Jan. 19 and shares a title with the tour — in conjunction with the 20th and 30th anniversaries of Green Day's major albums. As with any major milestone, creating a new record as two of their biggest albums aged created a bit of wistful creative confusion. 

"Did I want it to be an old-school Green Day punk record, or did I want to do something that felt more lush and stadiumlike?" leader Billie Joe Armstrong told Vulture. "When we saw it come together, I remembered thinking, Oh, this is the connection. Saviors does feel like a trifecta with Dookie and American Idiot where it feels like a life's work.

"I went from not knowing what the hell I was doing," Armstrong continued, "to going, 'Oh gosh, we managed to bridge the gap between those two huge albums.'"

This summer, listeners can behold the triad: Green Day will perform the relentless, hilarious, melody-stuffed Dookie and stadium-sized, polemical American Idiot in full. Tickets to the international dates — with support from the Smashing Pumpkins, the Hives, the Linda Lindas, and many more — can be found at their website.

With Saviors out in the world, here's a breakdown of the ramp-up to the album.

Their Previous Album Took A Detour, But They're Back On Course

Green Day's last album, 2020's Father of All Motherf—ers — commonly shortened to Father of All… — was arguably their most divisive to date.

"Motown, glam and manic anthemic. Punks, freaks and punishers!" is how Armstrong, bassist Mike Dirnt and drummer Tré Cool described it. Which sums up its 10 frenzied tunes, which add up to a very lean 26 minutes. But at times, Father of All… didn't quite sound like Green Day, but an unpredictable  Frankenstein of retro and modern styles, a feel-bad Black Keys . And, sadly, the pandemic precluded them from proving these songs' mettle live.

Their next album would be tailored to the live experience — consciously or not. 

Saviors Was Almost Called 1972

And in many regards, Green Day decided to go back to their roots with Saviors . In fact, the original title was the year all three men were born.

When Green Day banded together in London with Rob Cavallo — who produced Dookie and American Idiot , among other career highlights — the album had the working title of 1972 .

The album's title track resembles some of the sentiment on American Idiot, Armstrong told USA Today. "Saviors" centers on the feeling of being "desperate for answers and leadership and getting out of the mess we’re in."

Until the end of the recording process, Saviors didn't have its lead single, "The American Dream is Killing Me."

"The American Dream Is Killing Me" Came Late In The Game

Crafted as "a look at the way the traditional American Dream doesn't work for a lot of people" — as the band put it in a statement — "The American Dream is Killing Me" actually dates back to four years ago.

"It was one of the last things we recorded," Dirnt told Rolling Stone . "Rob's like, 'What else do you got?' As we get towards the end of recording, it was two songs. It was that one and 'Father to a Son.' And those two songs, Rob's like, 'Oh, you've got to record those.'"

They're Not Getting Sucked Into The Past

Two albums, from decades ago, performed front-to-back, in stadiums the world over: that could categorize Green Day as a nostalgia act. But Green Day are nostalgic for nothing; rather, they still harbor the ethos of their punk youth. "I still try to maintain that kind of spirit about what we do," Armstrong told People, "which is just being independent and free to express yourself the way that you want." That might mean a surprise set inside a New York City subway station, or announcing their Saviors tour plans on "The Howard Stern Show." 

"I think one of the strong points of this band is we just stay in the moment," Dirnt said to Rolling Stone . "Don't look backwards, and don't look too far forward. Stay in the moment, but appreciate the moment." And the Saviors tour will provide so many moments to remember.

10 Bay Area Punk Bands To Know: Dead Kennedys, Operation Ivy, Green Day & More

Photo: Tim Mosenfelder/Getty Images

From pioneers the Nuns and Crime, to Pinhead Gunpowder and the Donnas, Hickey and Ceremony, the San Francisco Bay Area holds its own against any other punk epicenter.

Punk was punk before punk had a name and, as such, has many great epicenters. From the Ramones, who rocketed out of New York City to London's sneering and spitting Sex Pistols, and Detroit rockers such as the MC5 and the Stooges who set the attitudinal tone for the genre, punk is often considered an east-of-the-Mississippi (and across the pond) phenomenon. 

But that thinking negates the very prolific West Coast, and generations of California uber alles . The San Francisco Bay Area, specifically, is home to a multitude of punk bands — as well as crucial venues like 924 Gilman and the Mabuhay Gardens, and revered pubs including Search and Destroy , Cometbus and Maximum Rocknroll , as well as festivals like Mosswood Meltdown — whose music helped define the genre from the late '70s onward. Detractors best take warning: From pioneers the Nuns, Crime and Flipper, to MDC, Pinhead Gunpowder and Capitalist Casualties, the Donnas, Ceremony and Scary Scare, the Bay's multifarious scene holds its own against any other punk epicenter. 

In honor of a new album from hometown heroes Green Day and major anniversaries of the group's seminal LPs Dookie (1994) and American Idiot (2004), press play and get in the pit with these 10 essential Bay Area punk bands. Welcome to paradise.

The Avengers

Crucial Album: The Avengers a.k.a. The Pink Album

Formed in 1977, San Francisco's the Avengers were among the first wave of Bay Area punk bands and remain legendary for their raw, anthemic tracks (see "Summer of Hate" and "We Are The One") and distinct vocals of Penelope Houston. They hold the distinguished honor of having opened for the Sex Pistols at their final performance at SF's Winterland Ballroom.

The quartet of Houston, Greg Ingraham (guitar), Jimmy Wisley (bass) and Danny Furious (drums) were "by far the coolest and youngest sounding" of Bay punks wrote music critic Byron Coley. "They roared without irony." 

The Avengers first and only release in their original lineup was a three-song EP from 1977, We Are the One . Released in 1983, four years after the Avengers broke up, The Pink Album compiles demos, tracks cut with new members, and takes from sessions recorded with the Pistols' Steve Jones. 

Dead Kennedys

Crucial album: Fresh Fruit For Rotting Vegetables

Perhaps the early punk band most synonymous with San Francisco, the Dead Kennedys formed in 1978 as a quartet with Jello Biafra on vocals. The group was a staple at Mabuhay Gardens and other local venues, performing in a more "traditional" style before veering into hardcore and thrash in later years. 

As their name might infer, Dead Kennedys' music was often political and provocative — filled with satire about authority, national politics and the scene itself. San Francisco Chronicle columnist Herb Caen panned the group in a 1978 column, writing "Just when you think tastelessness has reached its nadir, along comes a punk rock group called The Dead Kennedys which will play at Mabuhay Gardens on Nov. 22, the 15th anniversary of John F. Kennedy's assassination." Some stores refused to sell the Kennedys' albums and, in the mid '80s, the band's Frankenchrist album became the center of an obscenity trial (which resulted in a hung jury).

Dead Kennedys released four albums and an EP before breaking up in 1986, and each release sounds a bit different. While your preference may vary based on your affinity for hardcore, their 1980 debut album Fresh Fruit For Rotting Vegetables is a classic. Featuring their best-known tunes "Holiday In Cambodia," "California Über Alles" and "Too Drunk To F—," Fresh Fruit embodies a spirit of tongue-in-cheek brutal hookiness that flows through the Kennedys' entire discography. 

After multiple credit and royalty-based legal battles, Dead Kennedys reformed and performed without Biafria in the early 2000s. Biafria remains a musician, spoken word artist, and political activist.  Drummer D.H. Peligro — who joined the Kennedys in 1981 and was featured on three albums, later reuniting with the group in 2001 — passed away in 2023.

Crimpshrine

Crucial box set: Free box

Pioneers of the East Bay punk scene centered in Berkeley around the venue 924 Gilman, Crimpshrine was the brainchild of (pre)teens Aaron Cometbus — who also founded a popular, eponymous zine and would play with Pinhead Gunpowder — and future Op Ivy vocalist Jesse Michaels. The friends named their band after a girl with blonde, crimped hair. 

In a brief period, Crimpshrine would lay the groundwork for the East Bay punk sound typified by Green Day, Operation Ivy and others; as record label Numero Group eloquently put it, Crimpshrine sounded "melodic but full of feedback, and a singer who sounded like he gargled glass." 

Although the band first formed in 1982, Crimpshrine cut their first demo in '87 and released their debut EP, Sleep, What's That? , on the local Lookout Records. That and other releases — several split EPs, a second solo EP titled Quit Talkin' Claude… , and a single full-length, 1989's Lame Gig Contest — weren't as political as the Bay's punk forefathers tended to be. Rather, Crimpshrine penned fast, personal tracks that touched on friendship, romance, loneliness, homelessness, and drugs.  

Operation Ivy

Crucial album: Energy

Operation Ivy's ska-infused punk sound and raucous performances (mostly at 924 Gilman) led them to become one of the East Bay's most influential punk bands. Named for a nuclear weapons testing program code name and featuring Crimpshrine's Michaels on vocals alongside Tim Armstrong (also on guitar), Op Ivy quickly developed a cult following.

"The kind of ska Operation Ivy played was totally new territory. It went way beyond having punk elements," Aaron Carnes wrote in In Defense Of Ska . "Some Op Ivy songs were power-chord punk blasters; others were upbeat-driven ska songs. But it wasn’t a dance party. It was unleashed, unapologetic punk-rock fury." 

Op Ivy were only together for two years, but played 185 shows, recorded 32 songs and even more demos. More than 30 years later, the band's sole studio album, 1989's Energy , is still a vibrant and resonant record of how punks constantly turn it around. Op Ivy's final show — fittingly at 924 Gilman, months after being offered a major label deal that they ultimately turned down — was also Green Day's first performance. 

Crucial album: Dookie

Perhaps the biggest punk band to come out of the Bay, Green Day requires very little in the way of introduction. The four-time GRAMMY winners (and 17-time nominees) have been rockin' since 1987 when they were students at Pinole Valley High School. Originally performing as Blood Rage and then Sweet Children, Green Day first debuted under their new name during a show with Operation Ivy at 924 Gilman. 

Although OGs and Gilman devotees would certainly know the band's 1990 debut album 39/Smooth and the following year's Kerplunk , Green Day's third album was their first true crest into the mainstream. Released in February 1994, Dookie nearly topped the Billboard 200 and netted now-canonical hits "Longview," "Welcome To Paradise," and "Basket Case." The album also netted the trio of   Billie Joe Armstrong , Mike Dirnt and Tre Cool a GRAMMY Award for Best Alternative Music Performance. Today, it's sold over 15 million copies.

For the next 30 years, Green Day wormed their way into punk and not-so-punk earholes. The band's slew of hit singles and resonant albums further mainstreamed the genre, but consistently kept their unique sound. The band made their GRAMMY stage debut in 2005, performing "American Idiot" (which celebrates its 20th birthday in 2024 ) and the following year took home the golden gramophone for Record Of The Year for the thoughtful "Boulevard of Broken Dreams." That wasn't Green Day's final win at Music's Biggest Night: 2009's 21st Century Breakdown won Best Rock Album at that year's GRAMMYs. 

Although a lesser group could easily rest on their laurels, Green Day continues to put out new music. Their most recent release — and fourteenth studio album — Saviors offers 15 tracks of pop-punk goodness that prove the band are nowhere past their prime. They're also still true to their roots: Armstrong and Dirnt still live in the Bay and invested in local businesses (Dirnt was co-owner of Rudy's Can't Fail Cafe and Armstrong was one of the co-owners of local shop Broken Guitars (now Oakland Guitars).

Crucial album: …And Out Come The Wolves

Op Ivy's Tim Armstrong and Matt Freeman formed Rancid in 1991. They brought on Lars Frederiksen a few years later and, with a few lineup changes in the interim, are still going strong 30-plus years later. The group released their 10th album, Tomorrow Never Comes , in June 2023 and performed during that year's Punk Rock Bowling .

A cornerstone of the East Bay scene, Rancid picked up where Op Ivy left off, further fusing ska and punk with Armstrong's gravy talk-sing vocals at center. The band's lyrical themes followed suit as well, dealing in introspection, anti-authoritarianism and politics, with plenty of spotlight given to the Bay Area's scene. 

While there's plenty to choose from over a three-decade, double-digit album career, the output from Rancid's early years remains the most resonant. Sophomore album Let's Go and 1995's …And Out Come The Wolves are ska-punk masterpieces, with the latter's "Time Bomb," "Ruby Soho" and the musical chronicle "Journey To The End Of The East Bay" are a resonant salad years soundtrack. Released further into their career, Indestructible and Let The Dominoes Fall bring a bit more pop-punk into the game. 

Multiple members of Rancid have ventured into solo projects and new groups, including Frederiksen's eponymous Lars Frederiksen and the Bastards , Armstong's A Poet's Life project with L.A. reggae outfit the Aggrolites, brief project with Billie Joe Armstrong the Armstrongs , and punk/rap-rock supergroup the Transplants, which featured Travis Barker , Rob Aston, Armstrong and current Interrupters guitarist Kevin Bivona.

Crucial album: Faster, Frightwig, Kill! Kill!

Precursors to the riot grrrl movement, all-female group Frightwig left a lasting mark on both San Francisco and early '90s alt-rock/punk. (In fact, Kurt Cobain is wearing a Frightwig t-shirt during Nirvana's "MTV's Unplugged" sessions.) Founded in the early '80s by teen San Franciscians, Frightwig spent over a decade "screaming and shredding their way through glass ceilings and unapologetically leaving behind a pile of shards," according to their website.

Expectedly, the trio and sometimes quartet received a fair amount of attention for simply being young women in punk. They were known to turn the tables by inviting male fans onstage to dance and be ridiculed while playing "A Man's Gotta Do What A Man's Gotta Do."

"We really wanted to play with what the status quo of womanhood was supposed to be visually and also sonically. That’s part of our mission, to really challenge what people think about what a woman is supposed to look like and to do," guitarist/vocalist Mia d’Bruzzi later told SFGate.

The group — which experienced a number of lineup changes in its initial 12-year run — played many of San Francisco's major punk venues and toured with locals Flipper and Dead Kennedys, as well as Butthole Surfers, Sonic Youth, and Bikini Kill. Raw, noisy, feminist and tongue-in-cheek, the trio recorded two full albums — 1984's Cat Farm Faboo and Faster, Frightwig, Kill! Kill! two years later — and several EPs before disbanding in 1994.

In 2023, a reconstituted Frightwig (with the expectation of long-time drummer Cecilia Kuhn, who died in 2019), released We Need To Talk . The 11-track album is a more polished, rollicking zip through the life of a 60-something empowered punk, with defiant tracks like "Aging Sux"  and "Ride My Bike," political takes such as "War On Women," and a re-recording of their popular "A Man's Gotta Do."

Crucial album: 24 Hour Revenge Therapy

Although formed in 1986 at NYU and briefly relocating to L.A., San Francisco’s Mission District is Jawbreaker’s spiritual home. (The band were even on two Bay Area labels: San Rafael-based Shredder and San Francisco’s Tupelo/Communion.) Despite often being labeled “emo punk," Jawbreaker has been always been so much more; the band's clever, personal and relatable lyrics courtesy of guitarist/vocalist Blake Schwarzenbach and their superb rhythm section with drummer Adam Pfahler and bassist Chris Bauermeister resonated with audiences throughout the West Coast. 

After moving to the Bay in 1991, Jawbreaker released Bivouac (1992) followed by fan-favorite 24 Hour Revenge Therapy (1994). The group were invited by Nirvana to open six shows on their 1993 In Utero tour, after which rabid fans and the underground music press were wary of Jawbreaker "selling out" and signing to a major like Green Day. Jawbreaker vehemently denied the possibility of signing to a major label in print interviews and even from the stage.

But by 1994, the group had signed to DGC and the backlash was immediate. Former fans would buy tickets to their shows just to turn their backs to the band while flipping them off. Their major label debut, Dear You , was a much slicker production and sold poorly. Despite a messy breakup in 1996, Jawbreaker remained underground legends and their 24 Hour a touchstone for generations of punks (emo and otherwise). In 2017, Jawbreaker reunited with a seven-song unannounced set at East Bay venue the Ivy Room and have been performing regularly ever since.

Crucial album: The Art Of Drowning

Today considered a pop-punk or emo group, East Bay outfit AFI have masterfully shifted between punk subgenres for three decades. Founded in the Northern California city of Ukiah before relocating to Berkeley in 1993, the (current) quintet of Davey Havok, Jade Puget, Hunter Burgan and Adam Carson were fixtures at Gilman and elsewhere in the East Bay, initially leaning into a hardcore sound. 

There's a little something for everyone over the course of AFI's 11 albums. Mid-'90s releases Answer That and Stay Fashionable , Very Proud of Ya and Shut Your Mouth and Open Your Eyes are snotty, speedy and cheeky punk, exemplified by songs like "I Wanna Get a Mohawk (But Mom Won't Let Me Get One)" and "He Who Laughs Last." Black Sails In The Sunset marked a move to darker sounds and melodic vocals, while 2000's The Art Of Drowning is dripping in horrorpunk themes and could be considered the group's take on the Misfits. Their commercial high point at the time, Drowning provided a dark counterweight for listeners coming of age in the early aughts world of pop-punk.

Future releases leaned into post-hardcore and emo: Sing the Sorrow , Decemberunderground and Crash Love , ushering the band further into the mainstream. AFI's last release came in the form of Bodies , an album of typically poetic lyrics, gothic imagery and attempts at a new wave sound. 

Shannon and the Clams

Crucial album: Sleep Talk

Less straight-ahead punks than the majority of this list, Shannon and the Clams are proof that punk isn't a specific sound so much as an attitude. Fronted by powerful vocalist Shannon Shaw, the quartet released their first album in 2009 and soon gained attention in the Bay and beyond for their meld of punk, garage, R&B and doo-wop.

Their sophomore record, Sleep Talk , is filled with Ronettes-eque yips, surf guitar and memorable chanting choruses. Throughout, the record oscillates between whining early '60s style ballads ("Done With You"), snotty vocalized bops ("The Cult Song") and fuzzed-out ragers ("Toxic Revenge") reminiscent of early Ramones — an excellent showcase of the band's range of interest and ability. 

The expansion of punk and garage continued through Shannon and the Clams' well-titled further releases: Dreams in the Rat House (2013), Gone by the Dawn (2015), Onion (2018), and Year of the Spider (2021). True to prolific form, Shaw is involved in several other projects, most notably Hunx and His Punx and a magnificent solo project steeped in country and blues produced by Dan Auerbach .

5 Women Essential To Punk: Exene Cervenka, Poly Styrene, Alice Bag, Kathleen Hanna & The Linda Lindas

Photo: Frank Micelotta/Getty Images

24 Songs Turning 20: Listen To 2004's Bangers, From "Yeah!" To "Since U Been Gone"

Ready to feel old? Put on this playlist of hits that made 2004 a year of belt-along jams and unforgettable hooks, including Daddy Yankee's "Gasolina" and Ashlee Simpson's "Pieces Of Me."

A quick Google search of "top 2004 songs" can be summarized simply: What a time to be alive.

While it was arguably the year of Usher — who scored four Billboard Hot 100 chart-toppers in 2004, including the year's biggest song, the Lil Jon - and Ludacris -assisted "Yeah!" — there were countless hits that have aged impeccably. Even 20 years later, there isn't a dance floor or karaoke bar that wouldn't go wild for J-Kwon's "Tipsy" or Kelly Clarkson 's "Since U Been Gone."

Whether you were jamming to them on your iPod Mini or ripping them off of Limewire, revisit 24 tracks that made an impact — and still serve up the vibes 20 years later.

Listen on Spotify, Amazon Music, or Apple Music below.

• 1 Green Day, Rancid frontmen team up as the Armstrongs
• 2 ReImagined: LØLØ Flips Green Day's "Boulevard Of Broken Dreams" Into An Acoustic Jam
• 3 Green Day's 'Saviors': How Their New Album Links 'Dookie' & 'American Idiot' Decades Later
• 4 10 Bay Area Punk Bands To Know: Dead Kennedys, Operation Ivy, Green Day & More
• 5 24 Songs Turning 20: Listen To 2004's Bangers, From "Yeah!" To "Since U Been Gone"

• Album Release Calendar
• Festival Guide
• Heavy History

Rancid Announce Their First Album in 6 Years, Share New Song ‘Tomorrow Never Comes’

And out comes the Rancid — the Tim Armstrong -led punk band on Tuesday (April 18) announced their first album since 2017. At the same time, they shared the title track from the upcoming effort — out June 2 — called "Tomorrow Never Comes."

Ready for the first Rancid LP since Trouble Maker ? Since then, Armstrong's worked with his other act the Transplants , teamed with Green Day 's Billie Joe  as the Armstrongs , and acted in the Jordan Peele -narrated Twilight Zone , among other things.

Near the bottom of this post, see the cover art and track listing for Tomorrow Never Comes , followed by the "Tomorrow Never Comes" lyrics and video.

READ MORE:  Why Marc Maron Doesn't Like Tool

Tomorrow Never Comes is produced by Brett Gurewitz, the Epitaph Records founder and longtime Rancid collaborator who also plays guitar in Bad Religion . Tomorrow Never Comes arrives this summer via Epitaph and Armstrong's own Hellcat Records.

The new song, per a press release, highlights Rancid's "collective ear for melodic rock hooks and catchy, sing-a-long choruses … complete with the familiar wailing guitars and punishing punk rock rhythms that have solidified Rancid as the legends they are."

Pre-order Tomorrow Never Comes at this link . Visit Rancid's official site here . Find Rancid's scheduled tour dates for this summer below.

Under the info, see a list of rock and metal bands touring in 2023. Get  Loudwire's newsletter and the  Loudwire app  for rock and metal news.

Rancid, Tomorrow Never Comes Album Artwork + Track List

1. "Tomorrow Never Comes" 2. "Mud, Blood & Gold" 3. "Devil in Disguise" 4. "New American" 5. "The Bloody & Violent History" 6. "Don't Make Me Do It" 7. "It's a Road to Righteousness" 8. "Live Forever" 9. "Drop Dead Inn" 10. "Prisoners Song" 11. "Magnificent Rogue" 12. "One Way Ticket" 13. "Hellbound Train" 14. "Eddie the Butcher" 15. "Hear Us Out" 16. "When the Smoke Clears"

Rancid, "Tomorrow Never Comes" Lyrics

No judge, no jury, no civil rights Show up on the line, get ready to fight Run the streets and seize the night Mow 'em fucking down Everyone know it's all about hate Take control, go eliminate Bite the bullet, go seal the fate Mow 'em fucking down Don't you tell me about tomorrow Cause tomorrow will never come Gonna cheat, steal and borrow Cause tomorrow never comes Tomorrow, tomorrow Tomorrow never comes Tonight the wheels fell off the hustle Show no mercy hired muscle Now a thirst for fight and scuffle Mow 'em fucking down Running smart not running scared Ended up where no one dared A war like this no one is spared Mow 'em fucking down

Rancid, "Tomorrow Never Comes" (Video)

Rancid summer 2023 tour dates.

May 28 – Las Vegas, Nev. @ Punk Rock Bowling June 2 – Rimini, Italy @ Slam Dunk June 3 – Ljubljnana, Slovenia @ Media Ctr June 4 – Linz, Austria @ SBAM Festival June 6 – Warsaw, Poland @Letnia Scene June 8 – Hyvinkaa, Finland @ Rockfest June 9 – Solvesborg, Sweden @ Sweden Rock June 10 – Stockholm, Sweden @ Annexet June 12 – Berlin, Germany @ Columbiahalle June 13 – Wiesbaden, Germany @ Schlachthof June 15 – Vitoria, Spain @ Azkena Rock June 16 – Clisson, France @ Hellfest June 17 – Dessel, Belgium @ Graspop June 20 – London, U.K. @ OVO Wembley June 21 – Manchester, U.K. @ O2 Victoria June 23 – Ysselsteyn, Netherlands @ Jera On Air June 24 – Munster, Germany @ Vainstream June 25 – Tabor, Czech Republic @ Mighty Sounds Sept. 21 – Louisville, Ky. @ Louder Than Life Oct. 8 – Sacramento, Calif. @ Aftershock

Your Guide to Rock + Metal Bands Touring in 2023

More from loudwire.

• Manage Account

Watch Operation Ivy’s Tim Armstrong & Jesse Michaels Reunite to Perform ‘Take Warning’

The performance took place at a private concert for charity group Musack.

By Dave Brooks

Dave Brooks

• Share this article on Facebook
• Share this article on Twitter
• Share this article on Flipboard
• Share this article on Pinit
• + additional share options added
• Share this article on Reddit
• Share this article on Linkedin
• Share this article on Whatsapp
• Share this article on Email
• Print this article
• Share this article on Comment
• Share this article on Tumblr

See latest videos, charts and news

Rihanna Reflects on A$AP Rocky Grabbing Her Butt at the 2012 MTV Video Music Awards

Trending on billboard.

Guests were treated to beer from Musack’s sponsor, Fall Brewing Company, including their limited edition Enjoy Yourself IPA.

Oct. 14 featured live performances, including sets from Bite Me Bambi and Fishbone before an all-star set with surprise guest artist Tom Morello, who performed “The Ghost of Tom Joad.” A rotating all-star backing band led by JG (Mighty Mighty Bosstones) featured songs from The Specials, Fun Boy Three, and The Colourfield as well as the surprise Operation Ivy song.

Surprise performances have become a Musack tradition. A surprise Operation Ivy reunion from the 2022 Musack Rock n’ Roll Carnival saw the band performing “ Sound System .”

The Specials’ last U.S. performance was at Musack’s 2022 event. Video of “Gangsters” from that show can be found here . Learn more at Musack.org .

Get weekly rundowns straight to your inbox

Want to know what everyone in the music business is talking about?

Get in the know on.

Billboard is a part of Penske Media Corporation. © 2024 Billboard Media, LLC. All Rights Reserved.

optional screen reader

Charts expand charts menu.

• Billboard Hot 100™
• Billboard 200™
• Hits Of The World™
• TikTok Billboard Top 50
• Song Breaker
• Year-End Charts
• Decade-End Charts

Music Expand music menu

• R&B/Hip-Hop

Culture Expand culture menu

Media expand media menu, business expand business menu.

• Business News
• Record Labels
• View All Pro

Pro Tools Expand pro-tools menu

• Songwriters & Producers
• Artist Index
• Royalty Calculator
• Market Watch
• Industry Events Calendar

Billboard Español Expand billboard-espanol menu

• Cultura y Entretenimiento

Honda Music Expand honda-music menu

• Consequence

Operation Ivy’s Jesse Michaels and Tim Armstrong Form New Band

Listen to Bad Optix's debut single, "Raid"

Former Operation Ivy bandmates Jesse Michaels and Tim Armstrong have reunited to form a new band called Bad Optix. For their debut single, they’ve shared a song called “Raid” through Armstrong’s Hellcat Records. Listen below.

The origins of Bad Optix trace back to March 2021, some 32 years after Operation Ivy’s breakup. After initially meeting up “purely with the intent to reconnect,” the duo soon found themselves working together on new music. To round out the lineup, Michaels and Armstrong recruited drummer Joey Castillo (Circle Jerks, The Bronx) and Spencer Pollard (Trash Talk).

“As soon as we started writing together, we found that we had the same collaborative energy that we had in the past, so it was natural and fun just to keep going,” Michaels said in a statement.

Last year, Michaels and Armstrong reunited at Los Angeles’ Musack Rock and Roll Carnival, where they performed Operation Ivy’s “Sound System.”

Editor’s Note: See where Operation Ivy ranks in our list of the 100 best pop punk bands .

Personalized Stories

Around the web, latest stories.

Sublime With Rome Announce Final Album, Unveil "Love Is Dangerous": Stream

April 5, 2024

Porno for Pyros Unveil “Fingernail,” Their Final Song Ever: Stream

Dolly Parton Shares Emotional Cover of Tom Petty's "Southern Accents": Stream

Wisp Breaks Down New EP Pandora Track by Track: Exclusive

The Avett Brothers Pay Homage to Growing Up a “Country Kid” on New Single: Stream

Gustaf Break Down New Album Package Pt. 2 Track By Track: Exclusive

J. Cole Responds to Kendrick Lamar on Surprise New Album, Might Delete Later

Suppressing Your Feelings? Chappell Roan Wishes You “Good Luck, Babe!” on New Single: Stream

Operation ivy's jesse michaels and tim armstrong form new band.

• Album Streams
• Upcoming Releases
• Film Trailers
• TV Trailers
• Pop Culture
• Album Reviews
• Concert Reviews
• Festival Coverage
• Film Reviews
• Cover Stories
• Hometowns of Consequence
• Song of the Week
• Album of the Month
• Behind the Boards
• Dustin ‘Em Off
• Track by Track
• Top 100 Songs Ever
• Crate Digging
• Best Albums of 2023
• Best Songs of 2023
• Best Films of 2023
• Best TV Shows of 2023
• Top Albums of All Time
• Festival News
• Festival Outlook
• How to Get Tickets
• Photo Galleries
• Consequence Daily
• The Story Behind the Song
• Kyle Meredith
• Stanning BTS
• In Defense of Ska
• Good for a Weekend
• Consequence UNCUT
• The Spark Parade
• Beyond the Boys Club
• Going There with Dr. Mike
• The What Podcast
• Consequence Uncut
• Behind the Boys Club
• Two for the Road
• 90 Seconds or Less
• Battle of the Badmate
• Video Essays
• News Roundup
• First Time I Heard
• Mining Metal

Theme Weeks

• Industrial Week
• Marvel Week
• Disney Week
• Foo Fighters Week
• TV Theme Song Week
• Sex in Cinema Week

Follow Consequence

• Cover Story

The Interrupters announce new album In The Wild, share lead single In The Mirror

The Interrupters’ highly-anticipated new album In The Wild “takes you on a journey throughout Aimee’s life and every song is a deep delve…”

The Interrupters are back! The Los Angeles ska punk titans have confirmed details of their new album In The Wild, and shared lead single In The Mirror.

The full-length – the follow-up to 2018's Fight The Good Fight – is due out on August 5 via Hellcat / Epitaph Records, with the band sharing that, “We put so much love into this album. Produced by our very own Kevin Bivona, this album takes you on a journey throughout Aimee’s life and every song is a deep delve. We recorded almost the entire record in our home studio during the lockdown which as we all know was a turbulent time for everyone. The making of the record allowed us to have purpose and to rid our closets of all the skeletons lurking. Humbled and honored to have features from Tim Armstrong, Rhoda Dakar, Alex and Greg from Hepcat, and The Skints.”

Meanwhile, Aimee Interrupter explains of new track In The Mirror: “I fell into so many self-destructive patterns trying to come to terms with my childhood. I spent so long trying to run from the pain. No matter how far I ran, there I was… I realised I needed to make peace with who I saw in the mirror.”

Watch the video below:

See the full In The Wild tracklist:

1. Anything Was Better 2. As We Live (feat. Tim Armstrong & Rhoda Dakar) 3. Raised By Wolves 4. In The Mirror 5. Kiss The Ground 6. Jailbird 7. The Hard Way 8. My Heart 9. Let 'Em Go 10. Worst For Me 11. Burdens (feat. Alex Désert & Greg Lee of Hepcat) 12. Love Never Dies (feat. The Skints) 13. Afterthought 14. Alien

And the album cover:

Read this: Aimee Interrupter: "I've suffered... I've had to fight for survival... but it's all been worth it"

Check out more:

Now read these.

Here’s the clash finder for Slam Dunk Festival 2024

The Slam Dunk Festival 2024 clash finder is here! Get planning your day at Hatfield or Leeds (or both!) now…

Sum 41 have announced their final North American tour

It’s happening… Sum 41 have revealed a whole bunch of final headline shows in North America, with their Tour Of The Setting Sum wrapping up in Canada early next year.

Green Day announce huge global 2024 stadium tour

Celebrating 30 years of Dookie and 20 years of American Idiot, Green Day will be on the road all across the world next year on The Saviors Tour.

You Me At Six, Waterparks, I Prevail, The Interrupters and more for Slam Dunk Festival 2024

Slam Dunk has announced its first batch of bands for 2024 and it’s looking stacked!

The 50 best albums of 2022

The Kerrang! verdict on the 50 albums that shaped 2022.

The Cover Story

The Interrupters: “I started singing as an act of rebellion – it made me feel like I could take my power back”

When lockdown hit and bands were forced to face a new reality, Aimee Interrupter was confronted with an old one. Reckoning with the trauma of her past, The Interrupters’ vocalist faced her demons head-on after years of turning away, coming out the other side to create the most introspectively powerful album of their career. Trigger warning: Physical and emotional abuse.

The big review: The Interrupters – In The Wild

Ska-punk heroes The Interrupters take on the world, and a troubled past, on triumphant fourth album In The Wild.

From Tim Armstrong to Mark Ronson: The icons who inspired Aimee Interrupter

Aimee Interrupter is a ska hero. But who are the hero’s heroes? She told us about the people who inspire her…

The best of Kerrang! delivered straight to your inbox three times a week. What are you waiting for?

Explore the world with tourHQ

• Destinations
• I am a Guide
• I am a Traveller
• Online Experiences
• Currency (USD)

The epicenter of modern Russia, Moscow booms with shiny new skyscrapers, the bulbous onion domes of the tsars and politically-rich Red Square. Explore the metropolis with a tourHQ guide.

Search Cities in Russia

Moscow Tour Guides

Jorge De Reval

I am a happy, enthusiastic, amusing Spanish guy. Lively and hyperactive. Recently became qualified ...

Julia Koval

Hello!My name is Julia and I work as a guide last 4 years, but before together with my friends we ...

Ekaterina Smirnova

Please note: I'm away from Moscow June 11-26, 2021. I am a native Muscovite but traveled ...

Vasil Valiev

Occupation: Senior guide-translator. Guiding since 2012 in Altai mountains, North of Russia ...

Marina Spasskaya

Hi there! My name is Marina and I'm a licensed Moscow city guide.Moscow is like ...

Greetings from Saint Petersburg. This is your private tour guide Ali in Saint Petersburg. I was ...

Maria Deulina

Dear friends,My name is Maria, I am a licensed guide about Moscow. Being a native Muscovite I have ...

Ashraf Rabei

My name is Ashraf ...I'm graduated from faculty of tourism and hotel guidance department, in Egypt ...

Hengameh Ghanavati

My name is Hengameh Ghanavati. Im a licenced international tour guide since 2014 and I have ...

Todd Passey

We are a cooperative of highly experienced, certified, professional guides. Each guide takes ...

Tim Brinley

Young at heart, adventurous, organized, good people skills, a good speaker, entertaining, ...

Nikolay Borkovoy

Hace 32 años nací en la ciudad de Moscú. Tengo experiencia trabajando como guía turístico en ...

Anika Socotra-International

Our mission is to provide you with the kind of holiday you want: where you can relax in wonderful ...

Al'bina Andreeva

Moscow guide&photo! Feel Putin vibes and explore the enigmatic Russian soul through history ...

The sprawling, mind-boggling metropolis of Russian Moscow has long been one of the theatrical stages on which the great dramas of Europe and Asia have been played out in grand style. Burned by Napoleon in 1812, immortalised by Tolstoy, utilised by the Bolsheviks and championed as a bastion of heroic defiance by the post-war communists, it’s almost hard to believe just how defining the historical events that found their home on Moscow’s streets have been. Moscow tour guides will easily be able to mark the major must-see landmarks on the map, from the onion-domed orthodox Saint Basil's Cathedral, to the political powerhouse of Red Square just next door, while others will be quick to recommend a ride on Moscow’s famous subterranean metro system, or a visit to the UNESCO-attested Novodevichy Convent on the city’s southern side. But Moscow is a city also in the throes of a cultural wrangling between the old and the new. Creative energies abound here: Boho bars and pumping super clubs now occupy the iconic mega structures of the old USSR; high-fashion outlets, trendy shopping malls and luxurious residential districts stand as testimony to a city that’s now the undisputed playground of the world’s super-rich, while sprawling modern art museums dominate the cultural offering of the downtown districts north of the Moskva River.  

Tell us your destination, date, and group size.

Our team of travel experts and guides will design a tailored itinerary just for you., enjoy your trip with peace of mind knowing everything is taken care of..

Say Goodbye to Travel Stress

Choose Currency Close modal

• USD US, dollar
• GBP British Pounds

Cookie icon We use cookies!

We, and third parties, use cookies for technical and analytical purposes, for marketing purposes and for integration with social media. For more information, refer to our Privacy Policy and Terms of Consent.

By clicking on 'I agree', you consent to the use of these cookies.

Inside Tim Robinson’s ‘I Think You Should Leave’ Tour: Unaired Sketches, Paul Rudd and Why Patrick Stewart Turned Down a Role

By Ethan Shanfeld

Ethan Shanfeld

• ‘Curb Your Enthusiasm’: Jeff Schaffer and Susie Essman on Rewriting ‘Seinfeld’ History, Bruce Springsteen’s ‘Floor F—er’ Signs and Why Larry David ‘Is Going to Keep Working’ 22 hours ago
• Larry David Has ‘Never Analyzed’ His Own Work: ‘I’m Not an Intellectual. I’m Just an Idiot From Brooklyn’ 3 days ago
• Earthquake Hits New York City, New Jersey With 4.8 Magnitude 4 days ago

SPOILER ALERT: This story contains minor spoilers of Tim Robinson ‘s “ I Think You Should Leave ” live show, including general descriptions of unaired sketches .

“I Think You Should Leave” went live Tuesday, April 2, when creators Tim Robinson and Zach Kanin brought their beloved Netflix sketch comedy series to the stage at New York’s Beacon Theatre.

Nearly 3,000 fans showed up for the mysterious, sold-out show, many of them revealing their allegiance to the comedy cult with Dan Flashes button-downs and Corncob TV tees — if you know, you know — and yelling out lines from “I Think You Should Leave” that have been immortalized in gifs and memes.  

Brooks Wheelan, who overlapped with Robinson and Kanin during their time on “Saturday Night Live,” opened the show with five minutes of stand-up before a giant screen began playing an extended version of “Has This Ever Happened to You?,” a sketch from the first episode of “I Think You Should Leave,” in which Robinson plays a low-tier attorney advertising to people who have been bizarrely wronged by a pair of exterminators.

Then, to much fanfare, Robinson and Kanin took the stage, which was designed like a living room, and explained the format of the night. They would bring out special guests to watch sketches that were scrapped from the series and determine whether they should have made the cut. Spoiler alert: every sketch was met with a baffled, unanimous: “Why didn’t you put that in?” Oh, and there was also a bird mascot named Tori, who would prance onstage and harass them every half hour.

It’s a classic “I Think You Should Leave” sketch reminiscent of “Job Interview,” in which Robinson goes to great lengths to prove a push door actually goes both ways. The audience went wild for “Done Deal,” and Richardson’s verdict was: “It should have been in the program.”

The next guest was Seth Meyers, who jokingly assured Robinson and Kanin that he fought hard for their ideas as head writer of “SNL” before ribbing them about a “Jurassic Park” sketch they pitched, which “would have been great for 1993.” Then they screened the next unaired sketch, which was ironically not the only one of the night that involved dinosaurs. “Dino Talk” is honestly hard to explain, but it involves a strange man attending a lecture while playing mind games with the random people seated next to him, played by Kanin and “The Bear” star Lionel Boyce.

Meyers said of the sketch, “There’s a lot I like,” and pointed out that the reason they probably didn’t include it in the show is because, like “Focus Group,” it includes a guy with an unplaceable accent messing with Kanin. Robinson said they initially offered the main part to Sir Patrick Stewart, but he didn’t understand the concept and passed. “He’s dead to me,” joked Robinson.

Patti Harrison, another recurring favorite on “I Think You Should Leave,” came out next to discuss “Movie Set,” in which Robinson and Richardson play bickering background extras on the set of a horror movie. Robinson’s job is to deliver a burger to Richardson, who makes a bold creative choice to do a “stinky” gesture when handed the food in each take. This, obviously, really upsets Robinson, and the pair begin arguing through their teeth. 

Robinson’s rationale for not putting “Movie Set” in the series was that it’s “too hard to understand,” to which Meyers laughed: “You have literally the most challenging sketch show ever made. Your audience will follow you anywhere.”

The next guest was Bruce Buckles, whom Robinson introduced as a random improv student in New York trying to break into the business. He said he is the founder of a new improv company called Buckle Up Comedy, which doesn’t yet have a physical space. As the night went on, Buckles fawned over the onstage talent and backhandedly praised Meyers as one of the “Top 3 Weekend Update hosts.”

His addition seemed appropriately bizarre, dosing the audience with a fair amount of uncomfortable laughter. But it turns out — and I’m sorry to shatter the illusion — that Buckles is just a character played by comedic actor-writer Brendan Jennings. I know this because his performance was so believable that after the show I had to research whether Buckles was real.

Of the remaining unaired sketches, there was “Event Space Walkthrough,” in which Robinson must fake a phone call but has no idea how to; “Dino Guy,” which casts Robinson as a paleo-enthusiast who goes to war against a little kid playing with toy dinosaurs; and “Barney’s,” which stars Biff Wiff as a disgruntled diner owner who, in order to drum up business, renames menu items to stuff like “Big Bra Water” and “Eyes Roll Back in My Head Blowjob Burger.” (Robinson said that last one didn’t make the cut because “the jokes seemed too obvious.” The audience disagreed.)

Guest after guest praised each sketch, and Robinson and Kanin hilariously failed to come up with a single good reason why they were cut from the show. As laughter roared from the balconies, you could almost sense a slight tinge of regret on the co-creators’ faces.

Still, exhibiting unseen sketches in front of an audience with celebrities providing live commentary — rather than, say, throwing them up on YouTube — is pretty genius. By letting us peek into the “I Think You Should Leave” vault, Robinson and Kanin deepen the show’s lore, building the comedy equivalent of B-sides and rarities. It won’t be long before die-hard fans declare their favorite sketch as the extended cut of “Has This Ever Happened to You?” — or the second unreleased one about dinosaurs. And it’s only a matter of time before bootleg iPhone videos of the sketches trickle onto Reddit and Twitter, and the jokes rot fans’ vocabularies.

Before the night ended, Robinson and Kanin screened an extended version of “He Layeth on High,” starring the late Fred Willard as a funeral organist, plus a clip from an unreleased sketch about a dance competition show that eliminates contestants who check their pockets to make sure their wallets haven’t fallen out. Wrapping up with the help of comedian and musician Whitmer Thomas, Robinson led the Beacon in a karaoke singalong to the fan-favorite power ballad “Friday Night.”

It’s curious that “I Think You Should Leave” has yet to be renewed for a fourth season by Netflix. Given the show’s low budget and treasure trove of unreleased material, Ted Sarandos should be begging Robinson and Kanin for more episodes — and maybe he is! But the day of the live show, it was announced that the comedy duo landed an HBO pilot order for their series “The Chair Company,” about a man who finds himself investigating a far-reaching conspiracy at work, and a couple of years ago they sold another pilot to the network called “Computer School.”

Robinson and Kanin are busy, and they may or may not choose to return to the world of “I Think You Should Leave.” But if the live tour proves anything, it’s that there are legions of fans clamoring for more sketches, and that even the leftovers knock it out of the park.

More From Our Brands

Arizona supreme court revives total abortion ban, inside a $5 million villa at the four seasons resort nevis, nbc sports looks to top $1.25 billion in paris olympics ad sales, the best loofahs and body scrubbers, according to dermatologists, the beach boys docu trailer recounts decades of ‘fun, fun, fun’ and turmoil — watch and get disney+ release date, verify it's you, please log in.