Green Day - The Saviors Tour

The stadium advised hydration and rest to cope with the heat, a balmy, mild warmth that felt heavenly to me, having spent most of the summer months in the South Carolina heat. I was in awe to be in a place so entwined with the culture of the city, the culture, and the pop culture of America. It lent an added sense of gravitas to the experience. My family and I were suddenly a part of a tradition of sitting in those exact seats and giving ourselves over to something bigger. 

The first of the opening acts, an up-and-coming punk band, shuffled onto the stage when most people were still scrambling to buy merch or an authentic Chicago hot dog. 

The Linda Lindas were launched into fame in 2020 by a viral video of their performance of the original song, “Racist, Sexist Boy,” at the LA Public Library when the band’s youngest member was only 10 years old. Their youthful energy was the perfect way to start off the night, and the frenetic power of their music quickly got people tapping their feet and banging their heads. Oscillating between screamo and more mainstream pop punk, the girls brought with them, at least for me, a sense of optimism about the future of rock and its use to vent about the frustrations of our time (which are many). The band even debuted a single, titled “Yo Me Estreso,” off their upcoming album “No Obligation.”  

The energy of the crowd only climbed with the second opening act, Rancid. Rancid’s presence not only electrified the stadium with their harsh sound but also emphasized the theme of the tour as a celebration of Green Day’s roots. Rancid and Green Day were born out of the same musical incubator in the early 90s, when the members of Green Day, then teens in Vallejo, California, were inspired by the experimental, pop punk sounds of Operation Ivy – the precursor to what was to become Rancid, based in nearby Berkley. 

However, my personal favorite of the opening acts was The Smashing Pumpkins. Their music is raw and painful in a way that moves me emotionally and onto my feet. “1979” was nostalgic and hard-hitting, and “Disarm” was cutting and beautiful to hear live. As a guitarist myself, albeit amateur, I also have to give a huge shout-out to James Iha, who was amazing to hear and to see in person. The Smashing Pumpkins, too, have a connection with Green Day’s rise to fame. Following Kurt Cobain’s death in April of 1994, The Smashing Pumpkins replaced Nirvana as the headliners at Lollapalooza, where Green Day had its first major performances following the release of “Dookie.” 

When it came time for headliners Green Day to appear, the crowd was suitably energized, and the sun was beginning to dim.  

Billie Joe Armstrong, hair a spiky nest, greeted the crowd with full-throated enthusiasm, equally in awe of Wrigley’s magnetic presence as a venue. The band came out of the gate running and never seemed to stop. Armstrong’s stage presence and infectious joy flushed the audience with energy as the band barreled through “Dookie,” celebrating its 30th anniversary, and “American Idiot” with a wild yet polished fervor. Tré Cool, Green Day’s eccentric drummer, provided a solid rhythmic foundation with flashy fills on top – as well as a hilarious interlude of his “Dookie” mini-track “All By Myself.” Mike Dirnt set the pulse of the show on the bass and provided throaty, powerful backup vocals. 

It was one of the best shows I have ever seen. No one I’ve seen perform live can rival the crowd control and absolute stage presence of Armstrong. “Holiday,” was my favorite live, as well as it is my favorite recorded, but seeing it in person – not screaming the lyrics alone but with thousands of others – brought on a whole new feeling for me. I felt like I could suddenly take on the problems I was facing, the country was facing, and even if we couldn’t fix it, we would be sure to let everyone know how angry we were about it. 

There also inevitably came a few songs where I started tearing up. Concerts have always set me off on a rollercoaster of emotions, and this one, maybe especially, was no exception. Predictably those songs were “Boulevard of Broken Dreams” and “Good Riddance (Time of Your Life)” (the band’s closing number), but there was also a dark horse in the running for most heartfelt. “We Are the Waiting,” packed a lot of pathos, not entirely because of the lyrics or the song, but because of Armstrong’s unwillingness to let it go by without making the crowd acknowledge the present moment we were in. The people we were with, the music we were experiencing, the historic stadium we were standing in – that moment was never going to happen again. 

More than anything, that was what I took away from Green Day’s music and from that concert. Even as punk purists labeled Green Day “sellouts” way back in the 90s, they have never stopped making songs that bring people together. While expressing raw emotion about difficult times and difficult subjects, it can be a form of rebellion in itself to also leave room for joy. 

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Photo Credits: 
Tour Advertisement - https://greenday.com/tour 
Thumbnail - NPR