Billie Joe Armstrong and Mike Dirnt formed a band called Sweet Children in California when they were 14 (or 16, depending on where you look). Once they added a drummer named Al Sobrante, they changed their name to a moniker you might just recognize, unless you've been living under a rock for quite some time - Green Day.

The term Green Day came from a slang term for smoking marijuana. Lead singer Armstrong actually had the nickname "two dollar bill" since he used to sell it in high school for that price.

In 1989, they were signed to a label named Lookout! Records and released their first EP entitled 1,000 Hours. In 1990, Tre' Cool joined the band to drum and soon became a permanent drummer.

Now, 16 years later, Green Day has been through the northern California underground punk scene and survived a few letdown albums and had some boomers, but has persevered to their current status as a world-famous punk rock band since 2000. In 2000 after the release of their album Warning, many fans and critics declared the Green Day was dying a slow death, but wouldn't live much longer.

The band fought through the criticisms and crash of Warning, as well some other obstacles. The members dealt with some infighting and fixed their own conflicts. Then the master tapes for their newest album (20 tracks in all) were stolen. They still persevered, starting over from scratch and creating a new album, American Idiot, which released in 2004. This album drew on much of the political unrest of the time (the title track became very popular around the release of the album). American Idiot debuted at number one on the Billboard charts, the first ever Green Day album to do so. It has been billed as a "punk rock opera," but whatever you would call it, it signaled the band's rise from near-death and they changed everything from their wardrobe and hairstyles to the instruments they play.

Now, they've released Bullet in a Bible, the CD and DVD of two live shows from the Milton Keynes National Bowl in London, England. The album is a performance of mostly singles from American Idiot with some songs from other albums mixed in, like "Longview," "Minority" and "Good Riddance (Time of Your Life)." The group's popularity has clearly gone international if this album's background noise is any indication. Their reception (they rocked a crowd of more than 130,000 screaming fans) can signify that they have completed the journey from the despondent children of punk rock to the distorted guitar voice of political discontent throughout the world. For any who disagree with that statement, listen to their performance of "Minority," and hear the words of Armstrong: "Remember one thing - regardless of who the powers that be are, the people that you elect, the people that I elect into office, remember, you have the (expletive) power, we are the (expletive) leaders, don't let these (expletive) dictate your life or tell you what to do."

The album itself is actually very good, the music a refreshing mix of new and old that long-time fans are sure to delight in, as well as fans who (you can admit it, it's not a sin) have been won over by American Idiot. Don't throw away or store away the DVD, either - in many ways it will be more of an experience than listening to the CD. When you watch 130,000 plus with arms in the air and rocking out to popular Green Day tunes, you'll be reminded of watching groups like Queen rocking European audiences. If you want a scale of what 130,000 people is in a big group, consider the paid attendance of this year's Super Bowl was 78,125. So the concert totals nearly doubled that of the largest sporting event held in America. To put it succinctly, in the words of Rolling Stone magazine, Green Day has "conquered the world." To see a band perform its songs live is an entirely different animal than sitting in a room listening to the album. The experience is something entirely different, because music that gets to your ears also comes alive before your eyes, if the band is truly committed to making powerful music. Green Day has revitalized a commitment to this musical experience, and it shows on the DVD. Armstrong and Dirnt frequently take off running across the stage, engage the audience on numerous occasions, and the performance is full of those moments when you can feel the blood running in your veins and heating up from passion.

Grab a copy of Bullet in a Bible if you're a Green Day fan. Grab a copy of Bullet in a Bible if you like to see great performances. Just grab a copy of Bullet in a Bible.