"Heart Like a Hand Grenade"

Heart Like a Hand Grenade

I just came home from what I believe was my first "Girls night out" in Seattle!!

Gina and Nicole are also Green Day Fans, and the three of us went out to dinner, then to a movie theater to see the first night of screening of the "Heart Like a Hand Grenade" documentary of the making of Green Day's "American Idiot".

American Idiot? Yes, this documentary was filmed over 11 years ago.

I'm unclear why it was only released now - there aren't many details about it available online.

Here's a paragraph from the Director's Statement:

After the recording was finished, the band booked a small theatre and performed the album in its entirety, and footage from that show is included in the film (Fun fact! This was eleven years ago, folks, and the camera phone was not invented so this is the only way you can see clips from this legendary concert!) This movie is like a “fly on the wall” art house piece. It is the first time Green Day allowed someone into the studio to film them. I am so happy I answered Billie’s phone call. This was eleven years ago, and the film you are about to see has never been seen. It became a lost film -- an urban legend in some ways. Some fans thought it was not real and that it was some sort of prank that the band and I created. Now, finally, the little film that could is being released.

For the record, I loved it. It's really neat to be treated to this footage from the pinnacle time in the band's history. This album would catapult their careers into a whole new level, and we get to see them record it, not knowing how successful it would become.

I love watching the three guys in this band interact and play together.
They really need to tour again so we can see them perform live again.

On a side note, the theater experience tonight was very fun. The movie showed in a teeny theater in Seattle with only one screen. Very much an art-film venue. The theater was about half full - a decent crowd - and everyone there was really into it. Fun crowd.