Green Day - The Saviors Tour
In 1982, two 10-year-old boys met in the cafeteria at Carquinez Middle School in the small, East Bay town of Crockett, California. In that fateful instant, Billie Joe Armstrong and Michael Ryan Pritchard, later known as Mike Dirnt, would bond over their love of music and the feeling that they were outsiders meant for something more. Together, they learned how to play guitar and bass and by 15, they had formed the band Blood Rage, later renamed Sweet Children.
From backyard parties to the train tracks at Christie Road in Armstrong’s hometown of Rodeo, they performed anywhere they could. Soon, they were ushered into the mecca of the underground punk rock and hardcore scene at 924 Gilman Street, better known as Gilman. Gilman is a still-operating DIY punk venue that has raised some of the best punk bands, including Green Day, Pansy Division and Operation Ivy. Touting the motto, “no sexism, no racism, no violence, no homophobia” on the front door, this was the place people could go to be themselves. As word spread about Gilman, it became a legendary place that kids across the country yearned for as bands like Sweet Children found themselves within its hallowed halls.
Armstrong and Dirnt renamed their band Green Day in 1989, in time for the release of their debut EP, 1,000 Hours, followed shortly by the release of their first album, 39/Smooth. In 1991, drummer Frank Edwin Wright III, better known as Tre Cool, officially joined the band to complete the group.
Under Green Day, the trio has released 14 studio albums, four live albums and four compilation albums. As of 2024, they have sold over 75 million records worldwide and have been nominated for 20 Grammy Awards. In 2010, their magnum opus 2004 album American Idiot was converted into a Broadway musical, which was nominated for three Tony awards. They have been cited as the inspiration behind a diverse array of bands like All Time Low, Bad Religion, 5 Seconds of Summer, and Against Me!, and have been inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Both their 1994 record Dookie and American Idiot appeared on Rolling Stone’s list of the 500 Greatest Albums of All Time.
American Idiot is a hero’s epic concept album following a lower-middle-class anti-hero named the Jesus of Suburbia. It was inspired by the growing political unrest occurring across the world post-9/11. In the heart of the Bush administration and the invasion of Iraq, the country was divided. The album speaks to disillusionment with the American Dream and heavily criticizes the country’s consumerism, social dysfunction and the ongoing war during the 2004 election. Cool, previously stating he did not feel it was the band’s place to “preach” to their audience, now stated that he hoped this record would inspire kids to vote Bush out, or, in his words, “make the world a little more sane.”
However, the band was also divided while writing this record. After the release of their 2000 record Warning, the master tracks for their unreleased album Cigarettes and Valentines were stolen and would not be recovered for another decade. With over 10 years under their belt, they were burnt out and had unresolved issues in their working relationship. They were unsure whether to continue playing together or break up and knew they had to completely shift directions. Ultimately, they decided to forego the idea of re-recording the album and embarked on the ambitious record. It would be the greatest thing they had ever done and American Idiot would launch them to new levels of stardom.
In celebration of the 30th anniversary of Dookie and the 20th anniversary of American Idiot, as well as the release of their latest studio album Saviors, Green Day has spent the summer on the Saviors World Tour. Each night, they play both Dookie and American Idiot in their entirety in addition to some of their biggest hits from their other albums.
I went to see them on September 18 at Chase Field in Phoenix, Arizona.
The air was electric as the crowd waited for them to come on. The stadium was sold out for the night, filled with people who had been with Green Day since the beginning and others who had joined more recently. Still, everyone knew all the words. This was my third time seeing them, but my mind was again blown like I was seeing them for the first time.
I began listening to Green Day at 3 years old when American Idiot was released. My brother is six years older than me and somehow convinced my parents to buy the album for him at Hot Topic when it came out on September 21, 2004. From that moment on, he would make them play it on every car ride, no matter the distance, while those songs became the soundtrack to some of my earliest memories. I didn’t know it at the time, but they were my first-ever favorite band.
Before Green Day came on stage, Bohemian Rhapsody came over the loudspeakers before transitioning into Blitzkrieg Bop by the Ramones. Their pink bunny mascot came on stage wearing an Arizona Diamondbacks jersey to excite the crowd during this song. Before long, he exited and the stage lights came down again. The screens lit up to display a compilation of the band’s music videos to show the evolution of their career.
The stage lights came up again and Armstrong, Dirnt, and Cool launched into The American Dream is Killing Me from Saviors before transitioning into the first track from Dookie. The energy onstage was mirrored in the crowd's fervor as they made their way through the album and played some of their most iconic songs, including Longview, Welcome to Paradise, Basket Case and more. Now in their 50s, the band knew how to work the crowd and bring intense energy to the entire 50,000-capacity stadium. While they had stunning visuals and pyrotechnics (as well as an inflated balloon shaped like the plane from the Dookie cover art floating above the crowd mid-set), they could have commanded the stage entirely without them. During the album’s closing track, All By Myself, written and performed by the band’s drummer, Cool commanded the stage solo while Armstrong and Dirnt stepped offstage.
Once the song was finished, Cool returned behind his drum kit to start the drumline of Know Your Enemy from their 2009 album 21st Century Breakdown. The rest of the band returned and began to play. This is one of my favorite Green Day songs and I have always felt that 21st Century Breakdown is criminally underrated. They paused in the middle of the song to scan the crowd for a fan to bring on stage for the song’s breakdown. This is something they frequently do on their tour to connect with their audience. Armstrong brought up a girl dressed in an outfit from the American Idiot era when the band frequently dressed in all-black outfits with red ties. After hugging the band, this fan was handed the microphone to sing her heart out along with Armstrong. She was met with applause from the audience before being escorted off once the song was over.
The band saved space for a few more of their iconic songs, including Minority and Brain Stew, before launching into American Idiot. The crowd cheered as all of the nostalgia of this record came flooding over us. The joy on the band’s faces was evident as they made their way through hits like Boulevard of Broken Dreams, She’s a Rebel and Wake Me Up When September Ends. Written to commemorate the passing of his father, Armstrong stated, “It’s that time of year,” before beginning the song. The crowd lit up with phone flashlights and old-school lighters, enjoying the song’s tender reflection on the passage of time. Soon, the album’s final track, Whatsername, was played and Armstrong simply said, “And just like that… 20 years.”
For the final two songs, they played Bobby Sox from the Saviors album and Good Riddance (Time Of Your Life) from their album Nimrod. It was bittersweet to know the night was coming to an end, but it made me grateful for all of the memories I’ve associated with Green Day throughout my life. I hope that there are many more Green Day albums and tours to come. It has been an honor to watch them evolve for the past 20 years. In fact, it’s been the time of my life.
Written By Tessa Brainard
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