Green Day have officially invaded New York City for a week of intimate shows and special appearances heralding the arrival of their epic rock opera 21st Century Breakdown. Over the weekend, Billie Joe Armstrong, Mike Dirnt and Tré Cool took the Saturday Night Live stage and ripped out strong renditions of “Know Your Enemy” and “21 Guns.” Video of the two performances — which had Billie Joe perched on his monitors and the crowd clapping along — is unavailable, but so far Green Day’s other appearance on the show (for a sing-along of Billy Joel’s “Goodnight Saigon”) is online.

The band joined host Will Ferrell during the song’s third verse, with Paul Rudd, Tom Hanks, Anne Hathaway, SNL vets Amy Poehler and Maya Rudolph, Norm MacDonald and Rock Daily favorite Artie Lange all air-playing instruments through the final chorus. We will say this: If Hathaway is ever cast in a rocker biopic, she has a lot of research to do in terms of playing a guitar. With Ferrell back in the fold, the episode also brought back the much-loved Jeopardy sketch, with Tom Hanks appearing as Tom Hanks and MacDonald returning as Burt Reynolds.

For New Yorkers who missed Green Day’s performance, don’t worry: The San Francisco punks will be all over the Big Apple this week. The band’s invasion kicks off in earnest tonight as the band return to their club roots with a concert at the Bowery Ballroom; tomorrow they rock a MySpace secret show at Webster Hall. Green Day’s Manhattan Stand wraps up with a show at the PC Richard Theatre on May 20th and a Good Morning America performance at Central Park’s Rumsey Playhouse on Friday, May 22nd.

And of course, Green Day will be appearing on the cover of Rolling Stone all week long. We’ve got Q&As with Armstrong, Dirnt and Cool, behind-the-scenes video and photos from the cover shoot and much more. For all the goods, check out our new issue hub.

Related Stories:

• Tre Cool on Growing Up Punk and Finding Green Day’s Groove
• Billie Joe Armstrong On the Fire and Freedom Behind “21st Century Breakdown”
• Mike Dirnt on Green Day’s Dark, Drunken Path to Rock & Roll Glory