Puppet Punks and Pool Noodles: Green Jello Brings Chaos to Buffalo

Bill Manspeaker, frontman of Green Jello, returned to Buffalo to celebrate his birthday at Nietzsche’s. Rowdy concertgoers filled the small venue, impatiently moshing through four opening acts: Cruix of Tournament, Abandoned Trains, Bastard Bastard Bastard, and Living Brain Dead. Around one in the morning, fans erupted with shouts of ‘Green Jello sucks!’ and ‘Happy Birthday, Bill!’ as Manspeaker strutted into the venue.

Green Jello, the self-proclaimed ‘world’s worst band,’ brought their oversized Halloween inflatables, which spilt off the stage and into the crowd, immersing fans in a one-of-a-kind punk show experience complete with pool noodles, puppet masks, mosh pits, and complete darkness.

Green Jello is a comedy punk rock band that formed in 1981 but didn’t rise to fame until 1993 with the release of “The Three Little Pigs” from their album “Cereal Killer Soundtrack”. The album featured Danny Carey on drums and Reverend James Maynard Keenan as the voice of the Three Little Pigs—both of whom would soon form the band Tool. As Green Jello’s fame grew, the owner of the Jell-O trademark sued the band for infringement and won. Green Jello was then forced to rebrand as Green Jelly and re-release their albums under the new name.

Today, they are still officially known as Green Jelly, but you’ll find flyers, merch, and other materials using the original Green Jello logo. Their “Cereal Killer Soundtrack” is back on the Billboard charts, reaching number six, right below Weird Al.

Utter chaos erupted in the venue as fans donned puppet masks of characters from the band’s songs and pop culture icons like the Three Little Pigs, the Big Bad Wolf, the Cow God, Rambo, Toucan Sam, and SpongeBob, to name a few. Puppet mask wearers were encouraged to join the show. When the lights went out, the room exploded into a frenzied mosh pit. Pool noodles were tossed into the crowd as Bill urged everyone to wave them in the air and smack the band with them.

Green Jello tours nationally and can be found at small venues and private parties, where Bill brings the puppet punk show to your house, boat, or location of choice. Bill has a core band that travels to every show, but also includes rotating members from around the globe who join for local performances and sell merch to help fund their travels, making Green Jelly / Jello the world’s largest worst band ever.

Photo’s (c) Bethany Couture