green day tour 2014

Review: Green Day and Smashing Pumpkins take ’90s angst out to the ballpark

Billie Joe Armstrong’s trio played two of its albums in full for the sold-out Target Field crowd.

By Chris Riemenschneider

Journey and Def Leppard will also be repeat players at Target Field when they return there together on Monday, but let’s go ahead and declare Green Day the reigning rockers at the Twins ballpark.

Just as it did when it played Minneapolis’ MLB stadium in 2021 , the anthemic California punk trio hit Target Field on Saturday night with the velocity of a lead-off batter, the oomph of a clean-up hitter and the resilient staying power of a good starting pitcher. This one was another championship showing.

Instead of the more summery and poppy opening acts featured on its 2021 tour, Weezer and Fall Out Boy, this time Green Day came with dark and stormy alt-rock vets Smashing Pumpkins, with whom it first toured in 1994 on the Lollapalooza IV tour.

That choice of co-headliners didn’t kill the fun ballpark vibe. It actually suited Green Day’s game plan for this tour, celebrating the 30th and 20th anniversary of its most angsty and best-loved albums, “Dookie” and “American Idiot.”

Each record was played in full Saturday, resulting in a nearly 2½-hour set. See what I mean about the band showing Jack Morris-like staying power?

The sold-out concert kicked off with what felt like a heartfelt nod to Green Day’s DIY roots. Two other California punk bands about 40 years apart in age, Rancid and teen punks the Linda Lindas, each put on Ramones-paced rapid-fire opening sets.

Rancid had no choice but to hurry. The ska-tinged ruffians had only a half-hour to spotlight boisterous recent tunes such as “Ghost of a Chance” and “Tomorrow Never Comes” alongside ‘90s staples like “Timebomb,” “Ruby Soho” and set highlight “Roots Radicals.” Giving Rancid 10 more minutes would have been way more punk-rock than the time wasted on Green Day’s goofy, extra-long walk-on routine with a dancing bunny mascot.

Pumpkins frontman Billy Corgan sort of looked like a vampire mascot when he took the stage in the summer sunlight looking pale and dressed in a long, black tunic. Despite his look, the Chicago rock guru seemed more jovial and gregarious than usual in the summery ballpark setting.

During “Ava Adore,” Corgan atypically pulled a typical Joe Rockstar trick by pointing to different sides of the audience to cheer. He smiled sweetly, too, as audience members sang along to more tender tunes such as “Today” and “1979.” Seemingly just for fun, he also threw in an industrial-goth-flavored remake of U2′s “Zoo Station” heavily fueled by drummer Jimmy Chamberlin.

Chamberlin and guitarist James Iha are aboard from the original Pumpkins lineup, but the band has taken on a more ‘80s-metallic vibe with two new female auxiliary band members who matched Corgan’s dark attire. Grungier classics such as “Bullet With a Butterfly Wings” and the closer “Zero” came off a little campy with the new lineup; or maybe they were just too dark for the bright daylight of the ballpark.

After it finally gave its dancing bunny the hook, Green Day excitedly bounced onto the stage to the tune of “The American Dream Is Killing Me,” one of several songs played from its new album, “Saviors.” From there, it was off to the “Dookie” races.

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An album laced with the dissatisfied longing and cynical boredom of early adulthood, the youthful qualities of “Dookie” could have seemed out of place now that frontman Billie Joe Armstrong is 52. However, any fan of Minneapolis rock inspirators the Replacements can tell you (including Armstrong himself) that stuff never really gets old — especially when its creators can still play those tunes with abandon.

Armstrong and bandmates Mike Dirnt (bass) and Tré Cool (drums) bashed through songs like “Longview,” “Basket Case” and “Welcome to Paradise” at a breakneck pace. About the only time they eased up to catch their breath was during “When I Come Around,” and that’s because most of the 40,000 fans took over singing duties.

As fun as the “Dookie” performance was, “American Idiot” was even better. It’s a more musically varied, conceptual, roller-coastery and lyrically sharp album. And it has an opening song/title track for the ages.

Armstrong sharpened the title track even more by subbing “MAGA agenda” into the line, “I’m not a part of the redneck agenda.” He otherwise let the songs about America’s rising rifts and dwindling middle class speak for themselves 20 years later. “Jesus of Suburbia” and the Who-like “Homecoming” spoke the loudest, while the mournful “Wake Me Up When September Ends” found the fans at their loudest.

As was the case in his band’s 2021 show, Armstrong ended the night by strumming out one of the best farewell songs in rock ‘n’ roll, “Good Riddance (Time of Your Life).” So much else about the concert was different, though. And yet it had the same ultra-rousing results.

about the writer

Chris riemenschneider.

Chris Riemenschneider has been covering the Twin Cities music scene since 2001, long enough for Prince to shout him out during "Play That Funky Music (White Boy)." The St. Paul native authored the book "First Avenue: Minnesota's Mainroom" and previously worked as a music critic at the Austin American-Statesman in Texas.

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Concert review: Green Day play their two biggest albums at high-energy Target Field show

It’s unclear what’s more unlikely, that Green Day broke into superstardom with an album named after excrement and a lead single about masturbation or that, 10 years later, they mounted a massive comeback with a punk rock opera that was turned into a Broadway musical.

Whatever the case, the Bay Area pop punk trio is spending the summer playing “Dookie” and “American Idiot” in full to celebrate their 30th and 20th anniversaries. Saturday night, they headlined Target Field in Minneapolis on a bill featuring the Linda Lindas, Rancid and Smashing Pumpkins and accompanied by absolutely gorgeous late summer weather.

Three years ago, Green Day made their debut playing the Twins ball field with the well-matched Fall Out Boy and Weezer. Pairing the guys with the Smashing Pumpkins, however, makes less sense, given that the two bands share little in common beyond loud guitars.

Maybe Billy Corgan needs the money. He reunited three-fourths of the classic Pumpkins lineup in 2018 and then hit the road for a tour that focused the attention almost completely on himself. Saturday, he was a bit more magnanimous and shared the spotlight with guitarist James Iha.

The hourlong set bounced between the old hits (“1979,” “Today,” “Cherub Rock”) and more recent, underwhelming selections (“That Which Animates the Spirit,” “Beguiled”). Curiously enough, Corgan didn’t play anything from “Aghori Mhori Mei,” his new record that he’s been touting as a return to sound of the band’s “Siamese Dream” era.

Green Day’s Billie Joe Armstrong set the pace for his performance from the first song of the set, “The American Dream Is Killing Me,” with his booming vocals and bursting energy. After that cut from the band’s latest album “Saviors,” Armstrong and company jumped right into “Dookie,” faithfully following its original running order, including the idiotic bonus track “All By Myself” performed by drummer Tre Cool.

It turns out “Dookie” has held up quite well and sounds every bit as timeless as it did three decades ago. The singles “Longview,” “Basket Case” and “When I Come Around” obviously earned the warmest reception, but it was clear many of those in the crowd were every bit as a familiar with the deeper cuts.

After “Dookie,” the band tore through a mini-set of some old hits and a few more “Saviors” numbers. In one of the most unabashedly fun moments of the evening, Armstrong pulled a young woman named Miranda from the crowd and watched in glee as she enthusiastically shouted the lyrics of “Know Your Enemy.” They wrapped with one of their worst singles (“Minority”) followed by one of their finest (“Brain Stew,” although bassist Mike Dirnt’s added yelps weren’t necessary).

Then, it was time for “American Idiot.” While “Dookie” deals with some weighty topics, it’s still a fun, if dumb, collection of tunes. “American Idiot,” however, can get overly serious and even bitter at times. The concert slogged its way into the third hour during the latter half of the album, proving that more than two hours of Green Day is too much Green Day.

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Green Day, Smashing Pumpkins roar through impressive sets after rain hits tour opener

WASHINGTON – An hourlong rain delay isn’t the ideal occurrence for a tour kickoff. But many cultures believe a downpour is a good omen, so let’s go with that.

There certainly wasn’t anything other than positive vibes – except many cranked-to-11 guitars – running through the first night of the Green Day-fronted The Saviors Tour , a wallop of a stadium outing also featuring fellow ‘90s rawkers the Smashing Pumpkins and Rancid , as well as a streak of youthful vigor from teen punks The Linda Lindas .

More than half of the 41,000-plus crowd had already filtered into Nationals Park in the district by the time Rancid blasted on stage, a pioneering portrait of tattoos, beards and guttural rock. But the quartet of Tim Armstrong, Matt Freeman, Lars Frederiksen and Branden Steineckert had barely ripped through their 1995 album opener, “Maxwell Murder,” and the recent “Tomorrow Never Comes,” when an unexpected storm rumbled through and nixed the remainder of their expected 30-minute set.

Hopefully, Rancid will endure through the tour’s Sept. 28 end in San Diego without any other disruptions.

More: Def Leppard, Journey and Steve Miller romp through five hours of rock sing-alongs

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Green Day proves themselves 'Saviors' of rock

As befits a headliner, the 5 ½-hour show belonged to Green Day, who are just as indefatigable and impishly charming as they were 30 years ago when “Dookie” turned them from bratty punks to bratty marketable punks.

Taking the stage to the menacing mash-up of “The Imperial March” from “Star Wars” and Queen’s “We Will Rock You,” Green Day accelerated to 100 mph and didn’t ease off the pedal for more than two hours.

Though they opened with “The American Dream is Killing Me,” a pungent rocker from their current album, “Saviors,” the trio of singer/guitarist Billie Joe Armstrong, drummer Tré Cool and bassist Mike Dirnt immediately rolled into “Burnout,” the opening track on “Dookie,” which the band played in full, as promised.

Towers of lights lined the back of the stage with plumes of pyro spouting between them, while stylized video of the band blared from two screens flanking the stage and a curved screen overhead.

Though this still-scrappy trio – who are all in their early 50s – make plenty of noise, the addition of guitarists Jason White and Kevin Preston, as well as keyboardist Jason Freese augment their punchy, punky pop-rock to ideally fill a stadium.

But really, the vivacity emanating from the stage is enough to captivate. It’s a sensory assault in the best possible manner.

Armstrong, his raccoon tail of a coif bouncing with his nonstop guitar strikes, implored the crowd to “put your hands up” several times in between landing his staccato delivery on “Dookie” favorites “Longview,” “When I Come Around” and “Basketcase.”

But Green Day treated the album cuts with equal showmanship, with an inflatable plane cruising around the stadium during “Coming Clean” and Cool flouncing around the stage in a leopard-print smoking jacket to sing “All By Myself.” The show witnessed a marathon performance from Cool, who worked his floor toms and snare drum like a NASCAR driver navigating endless tight curves, barely taking a breath all night.

After bookending a trio of new songs, including the No. 1 Billboard rock hit “Dilemma", with the singsong-y choruses and choppy riffs of classics “Know Your Enemy” and “Brain Stew,” Green Day maintained the momentum with another segue, smack into the entirety of their 2004 award-winning, Broadway-show-inspiring, politically-pointed “American Idiot.”

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Though a hefty segment of the crowd looked as if they weren’t born when either “Dookie” or “American Idiot” bowed, they knew every song as if it were the soundtrack to the latest TikTok craze, especially the multipart “Jesus of Suburbia,” which winds from ‘60s-inspired pop to grinding rock guitar to a piano-fronted verse. During the song, a crowd member tossed Armstrong a mask of Donald Trump with the word “idiot” written across its forehead. Armstrong held it up and the crowd roared.

The ever-laid-back Dirnt received plenty of spotlight time as well, carrying the low end of “Holiday” and, with his longtime bandmates, relaxing – comparably – through the cinematic “Boulevard of Broken Dreams.”

This Saviors tour is, obviously, named for Green Day’s current album . But the refreshing gust of flashy, fun, accessible punk rock it brings with the bill might be the real savior.

Smashing Pumpkins captivate with dramatic flair

Billy Corgan and his musical mates lost about 15 minutes of their set time due to the weather delay, but once on stage in a flurry of James Iha guitar effects and Jimmy Chamberlin drum patterns, they reveled in their drama rock.

Aside from a barely recognizable cover of U2’s “Zoo Station,” Smashing Pumpkins ticked through much of their 30-plus-year history, with songs from 1993’s smash “Siamese Dream” and the 1995 opus “Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness” solidly represented in the 11-song set.

Corgan, clad in a black priest gown, layered his distinctive nasal tone over “Tonight, Tonight,” the song’s stillness building to a chorus of crashing cymbals as he held his hand up to the clearing sky with theatrical flair.

The enigmatic frontman sounded particularly moving on “Today,” the pillowy “Siamese Dream” pop-rocker steeped in lyrical irony as Corgan sings, “today is the greatest day I’ve ever known” while really pondering suicide.

The musical swings from that lightness to the gritty “Bullet with Butterfly Wings” – a prime vessel for the crowd to unleash their rage – to the metallic march of “Solara” showcasing the depths of the band’s repertoire.

Joining the core trio of Corgan, Iha and Chamberlin were bassist Jack Bates and guitarist Kiki Wong, who famously won the post from the departed Jeff Schroeder after a public casting call of more than 10,000.

Besides her ability to shred as well as scope out the nuance as in “1979,” Wong looked the part in her black spandex and halter top, adding another dose of dark vibes with a halo of hope.  

The Linda Lindas are purr-fectly worthy of the opening slot

But pre-rain, The Linda Lindas were able to steamroll through a charmingly ramshackle 15-minute performance that highlighted their love of cats – bassist Eloise Wong inks whiskers on her face and singer/guitarist Bela Salazar dedicated “Nino” to her feline of the same name – and their infectious spunkiness.

The group, which also features sisters Mila and Lucia de la Garza on drums and guitar/vocals, respectively, ranges in age from 13-19. Earlier this month they opened for The Rolling Stones at SoFi Stadium and will now spend the summer bouncing around massive stages in Converse to spirited songs such as “All in My Head” – from their upcoming “No Obligation” album – and “Oh!” while sending up a flare that rock is not dead.

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The Saviors Tour

• Date Sep. 14 , 2024
• Event Starts 5:30 PM
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Event Details

Global rock superstars Green Day – Billie Joe Armstrong, Mike Dirnt and Tré Cool – have officially shared details on their massive 2024 global stadium tour with support from with the illustrious rock luminaries The Smashing Pumpkins, Rancid, and The Linda Lindas in North America. The Saviors Tour, fueled by Monster Energy, kicks off with the European run on 30 May in Monte De Gozo, Spain and travels through France, Germany and Italy, before reaching the UK. The North American run, produced by Live Nation, begins shortly after with a stop at SoFi Stadium on Saturday, September 14, 2024.

The tour will be a larger-than-life, career-spanning celebration of one of the biggest musical acts of all time and some of the most important albums in history. This year marks the 30th anniversary of Green Day’s 1994 certified Diamond album, Dookie, and the 20th anniversary of 2004’s juggernaut, American Idiot. Each a cultural phenomenon in its own right, these albums have remained at the forefront of punk culture since their release. With blazing guitars and electrifying vocals, Green Day are ready to bring their mind-blowing collection of hits to stadiums across the country, along with plenty of additions from their newly announced album, Saviors.

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Green Day | photo by John Vettese for WXPN

The explosive stadium punk of Green Day’s ‘Saviors’ tour comes to South Philly

The night featured two albums played in full for milestone anniversaries, plus a freewheeling set from The Smashing Pumpkins.

30 years ago this month, the Lollapalooza 1994 traveling festival touched down at South Philadelphia’s FDR Park , with anthemic alt-rockers The Smashing Pumpkins headlining; a few days later, a buzzing Bay Area punk trio jumped on the tour at Randall’s Island in New York, riding the irreverent high of their kinetic third LP Dookie .

In the months following Lolla, both Green Day and the Pumpkins quickly ascended to icon status in the modern rock world, and subsequently went on to chart hits, rack up Grammys, and have at least one Broadway production based on their music. Sure, they’ve each experienced setbacks, and offered up forgettable moments — and occasionally bewildering ones — in the course of their careers. But generally, their respective trajectories have been upward, so much so that their combined strength brought a sellout crowd out on a rainy Friday night to pack Citizens Bank Park in South Philly.

Coming at the tail end of a blustery rainy week as Tropical Storm Debby traveled up the east coast, it seemed at first like a rather grey day for Green Day; a late afternoon downpour resulted in the The Linda Lindas ‘ opening set getting called off. (More on that later.) The first band to hit the stage were Berkley punk vets  Rancid , whose half hour onstage was unhinged and rifftastic, drawing strongly on their 1995 classic  …And Out Come The Wolves, from “Maxwell Murder” and “Roots Radicals” to “Ruby Soho.”

Rancid | photo by John Vettese for WXPN

When The Smashing Pumpkins returned from a long hiatus in 2007 and began to shape-shift its way across the 21st century, it leaned hard into not being a nostalgia band. Under Billy Corgan’s leadership, it embarked on ambitious projects like song cycles (2012 ‘s Oceana ), and a triple album (2023’s ATUM ), all conceptual and heavily-produced and rather good. The band even released a new record last week, Aghori Mhori Mei , which is doomy and focused, kind of reminiscent of their Machina era.

The Pumpkins see themselves as very much existing in the now, but Corgan doesn’t disavow the band’s hits either, and as a result, their own shows can be three-hour epics packing it all in. What does that mean for an hour-long set in the context of this tour? All of the above, in a condensed fashion. Of course we heard “Today,” “Cherub Rock,” “Zero,” and “Tonight, Tonight.” And then there were surprises — “Jellybelly,” wasn’t expecting that, a dirgey metal cover of U2’s “Zoo Station,” wasn’t expecting that either — as well as new songs like Zeitgeist ‘s “Doomsday Clock” that were punchy and proggy and entertaining.

The current Pumpkins lineup features co-founders Jimmy Chamberlin (being extra on drums in the best way) and James Iha (skulking on guitar at stage left), along with more recent band members like bassist Jack Bates and keyboardist Katie Cole. For his part — and in contrast to his sometimes super-sullen, super-serious persona — Corgan seems seems surprisingly cheery to be up there performing, especially while mixing it up with new guitarist Kiki Wong. With so much instrumentation surrounding him already, he was freed up to put his own guitar down during “Ava Adore,” throwing himself full-bodied into the vocals and delivery, howling and writhing on catwalk — which, later in the set, was the site of a mini wrestling exhibition sans explanation.

As the band played “Beguiled,” two ripped folks entered, flexed, and sparred, until the heel got dramatically body-slammed. Corgan told the crowd “we’ll be back on August 21st at 2023 Arena, the old ECW arena.” Important to note: he means he and the wrestlers will be back, not he and the Pumpkins — if you weren’t aware, he’s also been a professional wrestling promoter since 2011 , and is the owner of the National Wrestling Alliance.

The Smashing Pumpkins | photo by John Vettese for WXPN

• The Everlasting Gaze
• Doomsday Clock
• Zoo Station
• That Which Animates The Spirit
• Tonight, Tonight
• Bullet With Butterfly Wings
• Cherub Rock

Three-plus decades into his career, Billy Joe Armstrong is in top form, not just as a high-octane punk frontperson, but a consummate charismatic entertainer, a showman who strives to work the entirety of the crowd, even when the crowd is 45,000 strong. How does he do that? Strutting, dancing, riffing, playing to as many individual folks in the front that he can connect with and working outward from there. How does he not do that? With much in the way of banter. The band keeps true to the classic concert trope of less talk and more rock, and with two full album anniversary performances to get to — Dookie for its 30th, American Idiot for its 20th — there was even less space for chitchat on Friday. Which was just fine; the two-plus hour setlist more than made up for it.

After opening with the new single “The American Dream Is Killing Me,” drummer Tré Cool hit two swift triplets on his snare, signifying the start of “Burnout” and the opening of first full album performance. The band kicked right into Dookie and it raced by; the songs are short and spunky, and as a package, it’s a nostalgic hit parade, banger after banger, more killer than filler. But also, from “Longview” to “Basketcase” to “When I Come Around” to “F.O.D.,” it’s very much music of a time and place, embodying a lackadaisical mindset that’s bored, directionless, distressed, and kind of righteously selfish about it (is Dookie brat?).

It had all those songs we love to pieces, sure, but the American Idiot portion of the show resonated in maybe an even bigger way. By 2004, the band’s songwriting was more lush and sophisticated, and topical too, looking outside themselves to reflect on anger and division in the post-mellinnial national landscape, topics that more than ring true today. At moments of the set, Armstrong certainly could have put a finer point on it (you want us to know the song “Holiday” is anti-war…which war are we talking about here? You want folks to scream if they’re voting this fall…can you please elaborate?) but playing to a stadium crowd leaves not much room for nuance. Even so, the album’s high-drama highs like the epic “Jesus Of Suburbia” and “Are We The Waiting” and “Wake Me Up When September Ends” thrillingly consumed the second half of the concert, with an interlude and post-lude of other old faves (“Brain Stew,” hell yeah) and a bevy of selections from their new Saviors (“Bobby Sox” was great at the night’s end).

And then there was the matter of the The Linda Lindas. It was a bummer that the rain caused their opening set to got dropped, not only because they’re a promising new indie punk band with terrifically hooky music, but because they were the only femme-centered artist on the lineup of otherwise white dude-fronted offerings. Killer as Rancid was, and more of a legacy name that they might be, couldn’t they have opted to take the night off and give their tourmates and label mates time in the spotlight? Green Day must have recognized this at some level, and what they did for The Linda Lindas was even better.

In the middle of their set, Armstrong and the band stopped down, and brought The Linda Lindas onstage with a big, warm, enthusiastic introduction. The band proceeded to quickly take over Green Day’s stage and the instruments to play their single “Oh!” for the packed field at Citizens Bank Park. It was only one song, and its three minutes were over in a flash, but band played to ten times the audience who might have seen at 5 p.m., at least, and they made the absolute most of it. The riffs were tight, the vocals were urgent, the band was working the masses with call-and-response that got the masses fully locked in and responding. Shout out Linda Lindas for being awesome, shout out Green Day for giving their awesomeness a bigger platform.

By the time light fireworks popped in the cloudy sky at the conclusion of “Good Riddance,” it felt like we’d run a marathon as a crowd: the vibe was dazed, confused, exhausted, and elated. Armstrong evidently felt the same: at the end of the night, he made a passing reference to going too hard, and indeed, Saturday morning the band’s socials trumpeted “ Philly, you were unreal last night! Thanks for powering through the rain with us! Sadly, right after stepping off stage, Billie lost his voice and won’t be able to perform at this evening’s show in Hershey.” The concert has been rescheduled for Monday, September 2nd.

But bigger picture, that just shows how rock-solid the connection between the bands and their fans has become, and how it continues to grow. Three decades on from the time they were playing dusty parks on summer fest circuit, both Green Day and the Pumpkins have firmly stepped into their own as legacy artists with massive cross-generational reach, something you could see in the range of faces that made up the crowd exiting Citizens Bank Park. Whether these bands remind you of being a goofy or gloomy or pissed-off kid listening to their records as they were new, or whether you’re currently a goofy or gloomy or pissed-off kid and connecting with the records right now, it will always have something to say, it will never not be relevant.

• The American Dream Is Killing me
• Having A Blast
• Welcome To Paradise
• Pulling Teeth
• Sassafras Roots
• When I Come Around
• Emenius Sleepus
• All By Myself
• Know Your Enemy
• Look, Ma, No Brains!
• Oh! (The Linda Lindas)
• American Idiot
• Jesus Of Suburbia
• Boulevard of Broken Dreams
• Are We The Waiting
• Give Me Novacaine
• She's A Rebel
• Extraordinary Girl
• Wake Me Up When September Ends
• Whatsername
• Good Riddance (Time of Your Life)

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Photo: Cindy Ord / Getty Images for SiriusXM

Green Day's 'Saviors': How Their New Album Links 'Dookie' & 'American Idiot' Decades Later

The punk stalwarts made a U-turn on 2020's 'Father of All'; with its follow-up, 'Saviors,' they're barrelling forward while honoring their past. Here's how Green Day ramped up to it.

Green Day 's new album represents a spiritual link between their past and present. Fittingly titled Saviors , the band's 14th release is wholly in the present while connecting to their lynchpin albums: 1994's Dookie and 2004's American Idiot .

The quartet will tour Saviors — which was released Jan. 19 and shares a title with the tour — in conjunction with the 20th and 30th anniversaries of Green Day's major albums. As with any major milestone, creating a new record as two of their biggest albums aged created a bit of wistful creative confusion. 

"Did I want it to be an old-school Green Day punk record, or did I want to do something that felt more lush and stadiumlike?" leader Billie Joe Armstrong told Vulture. "When we saw it come together, I remembered thinking, Oh, this is the connection. Saviors does feel like a trifecta with Dookie and American Idiot where it feels like a life's work.

"I went from not knowing what the hell I was doing," Armstrong continued, "to going, 'Oh gosh, we managed to bridge the gap between those two huge albums.'"

This summer, listeners can behold the triad: Green Day will perform the relentless, hilarious, melody-stuffed Dookie and stadium-sized, polemical American Idiot in full. Tickets to the international dates — with support from the Smashing Pumpkins, the Hives, the Linda Lindas, and many more — can be found at their website.

With Saviors out in the world, here's a breakdown of the ramp-up to the album.

Their Previous Album Took A Detour, But They're Back On Course

Green Day's last album, 2020's Father of All Motherf—ers — commonly shortened to Father of All… — was arguably their most divisive to date.

"Motown, glam and manic anthemic. Punks, freaks and punishers!" is how Armstrong, bassist Mike Dirnt and drummer Tré Cool described it. Which sums up its 10 frenzied tunes, which add up to a very lean 26 minutes. But at times, Father of All… didn't quite sound like Green Day, but an unpredictable  Frankenstein of retro and modern styles, a feel-bad Black Keys . And, sadly, the pandemic precluded them from proving these songs' mettle live.

Their next album would be tailored to the live experience — consciously or not. 

Saviors Was Almost Called 1972

And in many regards, Green Day decided to go back to their roots with Saviors . In fact, the original title was the year all three men were born.

When Green Day banded together in London with Rob Cavallo — who produced Dookie and American Idiot , among other career highlights — the album had the working title of 1972 .

The album's title track resembles some of the sentiment on American Idiot, Armstrong told USA Today. "Saviors" centers on the feeling of being "desperate for answers and leadership and getting out of the mess we’re in."

Until the end of the recording process, Saviors didn't have its lead single, "The American Dream is Killing Me."

"The American Dream Is Killing Me" Came Late In The Game

Crafted as "a look at the way the traditional American Dream doesn't work for a lot of people" — as the band put it in a statement — "The American Dream is Killing Me" actually dates back to four years ago.

"It was one of the last things we recorded," Dirnt told Rolling Stone . "Rob's like, 'What else do you got?' As we get towards the end of recording, it was two songs. It was that one and 'Father to a Son.' And those two songs, Rob's like, 'Oh, you've got to record those.'"

They're Not Getting Sucked Into The Past

Two albums, from decades ago, performed front-to-back, in stadiums the world over: that could categorize Green Day as a nostalgia act. But Green Day are nostalgic for nothing; rather, they still harbor the ethos of their punk youth. "I still try to maintain that kind of spirit about what we do," Armstrong told People, "which is just being independent and free to express yourself the way that you want." That might mean a surprise set inside a New York City subway station, or announcing their Saviors tour plans on "The Howard Stern Show." 

"I think one of the strong points of this band is we just stay in the moment," Dirnt said to Rolling Stone . "Don't look backwards, and don't look too far forward. Stay in the moment, but appreciate the moment." And the Saviors tour will provide so many moments to remember.

10 Bay Area Punk Bands To Know: Dead Kennedys, Operation Ivy, Green Day & More

Photo:   Getty Images/John Atashian

On This Day In Music: Woodstock '94 Begins In Upstate New York

Held 30 years ago Aug. 12-14, Woodstock '94 featured an eclectic (and muddy) lineup that launched Nine Inch Nails, Green Day and others into the limelight.

Woodstock '94 is no middle child music festival. While not as groundbreaking as Woodstock '69 or as infamous as Woodstock '99, Woodstock '94 boasts a unique legacy that deserves recognition.

Held Aug. 12-14 in the Hudson Valley town of Saugerties, New York, Woodstock '94 was set to commemorate the silver anniversary of the original Woodstock festival in 1969. Nodding to its origins in '69, Woodstock '94 was billed as "2 More Days of Peace and Music" (a third day of the festival was eventually added).  

Woodstock '94 featured a wide range of acts that both reflected the nostalgia of Woodstock '69 and highlighted a myriad of new groups. Original Woodstock performers such as Crosby, Stills & Nash (minus Neil Young) and Santana topped the bill, and now-household names including Green Day and Red Hot Chili Peppers performed some of their earliest festival sets.

Even Bob Dylan , who initially declined an appearance at Woodstock '69 despite living near the festival at the time, had a change of heart and agreed to play at Woodstock '94.

It seemed that everyone wanted to capture a sliver of the magic from the original Woodstock. Although roughly 164,000 tickets were sold, the actual number of attendees exceeded 350,000 (surpassing even Coachella 2024's attendance rates).  

Spirits were high as the festival opened on Friday with dry, sunny skies highlighting performances from Sheryl Crow , Collective Soul, and others. By the weekend, the weather took a turn and transformed the festival grounds at Winston Farm in Saugerties into a giant muddy puddle. Although Woodstock '69 was also rainy and mud-filled, the madness that ensued at Woodstock '94 led it to be dubbed " Mudstock ."

As Primus performed "My Name Is Mud" on Saturday, festival-goers seized the opportunity to fling the wet dirt at the band on stage.  

"Once I started singing the words to "My Name Is Mud," all of a sudden huge chunks of sod started flying my way and it was pretty frightening," Primus' lead singer told Billboard 20 years later. "I still have those [speaker] cabinets to this day, and those cabinets still have mud in them."

With high energy from Friday's acts and some mud-induced chaos, attendees were buzzing with anticipation and excitement for the rest of the weekend. The party atmosphere continued throughout day two — and not solely because Blind Melon lead vocalist Shannon Hoon strolled on stage tripping on acid, wearing his girlfriend's dress.

Aerosmith may have been day two headliners, but Nine Inch Nails ' 15-song set remains a highlight of Woodstock '94. The band drew the biggest crowd of the festival, and were catapulted into wider mainstream visibility. Taking advantage of the unpredictable weather, then-bassist Danny Lohner pushed lead vocalist Trent Reznor into the mud, prompting Reznor to retaliate. The other members of the band soon joined in on the fun, strutting onto the stage covered in mud.  

Opening with Pretty Hate Machine 's "Terrible Lie," NIN turned the massive audience into a giant mosh pit and maintained that high energy until the end of the set. While the band faced technological difficulties onstage, it only seemed to enhance their raw, gritty image.

The set was so celebrated that it is forever memorialized in the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame , with art installations featuring a life-sized mannequin replica of Reznor singing into the microphone and his keyboard, both covered in mud.

By day three, Woodstock '94 was clearly becoming an iconic music festival that would be discussed for years to come. If Saturday's mud-slinging electric performances weren't enough, the final day of the festival featured performances from Green Day, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Bob Dylan, Santana, and others.  

When Green Day — fresh off the success of their third studio album Dookie — took the stage, all hell broke loose. While the band was and continues to be known for their rowdy live sets, their performance at Woodstock '94 remains unmatched.  

By the time Green Day started performing, the fairgrounds had turned into a full-blown mud fight. The band tried to push through the performance and embrace the chaos, but the set came to an abrupt stop when lead singer Billie Joe Armstrong told the crowd, "Everybody say shut the f— up and we’ll stop playing." When the crowd shouted the phrase back, Armstrong said goodbye on behalf of the band, and the rest of the group fled the stage.

By the end of the performance, lead singer Billie Joe Armstrong had lost his pants and the band had to be escorted out of the festival grounds by a helicopter. On their way off the stage, security confused mud-covered bassist Mike Dirnt for a crazed fan and tackled him, leaving him with five fewer teeth than he started the set with.  

"He actually sheared my teeth, and I blew like five teeth. Only one of them died. I fixed the rest of them, but he all sheared up the back of my teeth," Dirnt confessed to The Aquarian in 2013. "It was horrible. But the great thing about it is that I was able to get out of there, and I'd do it again tomorrow if I had to."  

Peter Gabriel closed out the weekend by remaining true to the original mission of the festival, offering fans peace filled with good vibes. Gabriel's music, though deeply contrasting with the hard rock and punk acts that dominated the festival, provided a flawless end to the chaos that had unfolded over the past three days.

While the 1994 installment of Woodstock hasn't basked in the same spotlight as its 1969 and 1999 siblings — the latter of which has been the subject of two documentaries in as many years — it remains far from forgotten.

Woodstock '94 stands as one of the legendary music festivals of all time. Although the rain may have soaked the grounds, turning it into a muddy catastrophe, it also nourished the roots of some of the most iconic musical acts and sent them into the mainstream media. The festival was more than just a series of performances, but rather a unique cultural event.

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National Recording Registry Inducts Music From The Notorious B.I.G., Green Day, Blondie, The Chicks, & More

Recordings by the Cars, Bill Withers, Lily Tomlin, Doug E. Fresh and Slick Rick, and the all-Black 369th U.S. Infantry Band after World War I are also among the 25 selected for induction.

As a founding member of the National Recording Preservation Board, the Recording Academy was instrumental in lobbying and getting the board created by Congress. Now, the Library of Congress has added new treasures to the National Recording Registry, preserving masterpieces that have shaped American culture.

The 2024 class not only celebrates modern icons like Green Day ’s punk classic Dookie and Biggie Smalls ' seminal Ready to Die, but also honors vintage gems like Gene Autry’ s "Rudolph, the Red-Nosed Reindeer" and Perry Como ’s hits from 1957. These recordings join over 650 titles that constitute the registry — a curated collection housed within the Library’s vast archive of nearly 4 million sound recordings. 

Librarian of Congress Carla Hayden announced these additions as essential pieces of our nation’s audio legacy, each selected for their cultural, historical, or aesthetic importance. This selection process is influenced by public nominations, which hit a record number this year, emphasizing the public's role in preserving audio history.

Read more: Inside Green Day's Intimate "Right Here, Right Now" Global Climate Concert In San Francisco

"The Library of Congress is proud to preserve the sounds of American history and our diverse culture through the National Recording Registry," Hayden said. "We have selected audio treasures worthy of preservation with our partners this year, including a wide range of music from the past 100 years, as well as comedy. We were thrilled to receive a record number of public nominations, and we welcome the public’s input on what we should preserve next."

The latest selections named to the registry span from 1919 to 1998 and range from the recordings of the all-Black 369th U.S. Infantry Band led by James Reese Europe after World War I, to defining sounds of jazz and bluegrass, and iconic recordings from pop, dance, country, rock, rap, Latin and classical music.

"For the past 21 years the National Recording Preservation Board has provided musical expertise, historical perspective and deep knowledge of recorded sound to assist the Librarian in choosing landmark recordings to be inducted into the Library’s National Recording Registry," said Robbin Ahrold, Chair of the National Recording Preservation Board. "The board again this year is pleased to join the Librarian in highlighting influential works in our diverse sound heritage, as well as helping to spread the word on the National Recording Registry through their own social media and streaming media Campaigns."

Tune in to NPR's "1A" for " The Sounds of America " series, featuring interviews with Hayden and selected artists, to hear stories behind this year’s picks. Stay connected to the conversation about the registry via social media and listen to many of the recordings on your favorite streaming service.

For more details on the National Recording Registry and to explore more about the selections, visit The Library of Congress's official National Recording Registry page.

National Recording Registry, 2024 Selections (chronological order)

"Clarinet Marmalade" – Lt. James Reese Europe’s 369th U.S. Infantry Band (1919)

"Kauhavan Polkka" – Viola Turpeinen and John Rosendahl (1928)

Wisconsin Folksong Collection (1937-1946)

"Rose Room" – Benny Goodman Sextet with Charlie Christian (1939)

"Rudolph, the Red-Nosed Reindeer" – Gene Autry (1949)

"Tennessee Waltz" – Patti Page (1950)

"Rocket ‘88’" – Jackie Brenston and His Delta Cats (1951)

"Catch a Falling Star" / "Magic Moments" – Perry Como (1957)

"Chances Are" – Johnny Mathis (1957)

"The Sidewinder" – Lee Morgan (1964)

"Surrealistic Pillow" – Jefferson Airplane (1967)

"Ain’t No Sunshine" – Bill Withers (1971)

"This is a Recording" – Lily Tomlin (1971)

"J.D. Crowe & the New South" – J.D. Crowe & the New South (1975)

"Arrival" – ABBA (1976)

"El Cantante" – Héctor Lavoe (1978)

"The Cars" – The Cars (1978)

"Parallel Lines" – Blondie (1978)

"La-Di-Da-Di" – Doug E. Fresh and Slick Rick (MC Ricky D) (1985)

"Don’t Worry, Be Happy" – Bobby McFerrin (1988)

"Amor Eterno" – Juan Gabriel (1990)

"Pieces of Africa" – Kronos Quartet (1992)

Dookie – Green Day (1994)

Ready to Die – The Notorious B.I.G. (1994)

"Wide Open Spaces" – The Chicks (1998)

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Photo: Courtesy of LØLØ

ReImagined: LØLØ Flips Green Day's "Boulevard Of Broken Dreams" Into An Acoustic Jam

Canadian pop-punk singer LØLØ offers a stripped-down rendition of "Boulevard of Broken Dreams," the GRAMMY-winning smash from her childhood inspirations, Green Day.

Almost exactly two decades ago, Green Day traced the story of a lonely teenager, Jesus of Suburbia, in their seventh album, American Idiot . Its most notable chapter, "Boulevard of Broken Dreams," earned the band Record Of The Year at the 2006 GRAMMYs .

In this episode of ReImagined , Canadian pop-punk singer LØLØ delivers her take on the song, an ethereal acoustic version.

LØLØ is a longtime fan of Green Day. In an interview with Kerrang! magazine, she recalled their single "Good Riddance (Time of Your Life)" as the first song she learned to play. She later told idobi Radio that her 2023 track "omg" was "a bunch of intrusive thoughts jumbled into a song, wondering if I will ever be enough, or ever be as cool as Green Day."

This year, LØLØ released two original singles, "poser" and "2 of us," via Hopeless Records.

Press play on the video above to hear LØLØ's fresh rendition of "Boulevard of Broken Dreams," and check back to GRAMMY.com for more new episodes of ReImagined.

Green Day's 'Saviors': How Their New Album Links 'Dookie' & 'American Idiot' Decades Later

Photo: Tim Mosenfelder/Getty Images

From pioneers the Nuns and Crime, to Pinhead Gunpowder and the Donnas, Hickey and Ceremony, the San Francisco Bay Area holds its own against any other punk epicenter.

Punk was punk before punk had a name and, as such, has many great epicenters. From the Ramones, who rocketed out of New York City to London's sneering and spitting Sex Pistols, and Detroit rockers such as the MC5 and the Stooges who set the attitudinal tone for the genre, punk is often considered an east-of-the-Mississippi (and across the pond) phenomenon. 

But that thinking negates the very prolific West Coast, and generations of California uber alles . The San Francisco Bay Area, specifically, is home to a multitude of punk bands — as well as crucial venues like 924 Gilman and the Mabuhay Gardens, and revered pubs including Search and Destroy , Cometbus and Maximum Rocknroll , as well as festivals like Mosswood Meltdown — whose music helped define the genre from the late '70s onward. Detractors best take warning: From pioneers the Nuns, Crime and Flipper, to MDC, Pinhead Gunpowder and Capitalist Casualties, the Donnas, Ceremony and Scary Scare, the Bay's multifarious scene holds its own against any other punk epicenter. 

In honor of a new album from hometown heroes Green Day and major anniversaries of the group's seminal LPs Dookie (1994) and American Idiot (2004), press play and get in the pit with these 10 essential Bay Area punk bands. Welcome to paradise.

The Avengers

Crucial Album: The Avengers a.k.a. The Pink Album

Formed in 1977, San Francisco's the Avengers were among the first wave of Bay Area punk bands and remain legendary for their raw, anthemic tracks (see "Summer of Hate" and "We Are The One") and distinct vocals of Penelope Houston. They hold the distinguished honor of having opened for the Sex Pistols at their final performance at SF's Winterland Ballroom.

The quartet of Houston, Greg Ingraham (guitar), Jimmy Wisley (bass) and Danny Furious (drums) were "by far the coolest and youngest sounding" of Bay punks wrote music critic Byron Coley. "They roared without irony." 

The Avengers first and only release in their original lineup was a three-song EP from 1977, We Are the One . Released in 1983, four years after the Avengers broke up, The Pink Album compiles demos, tracks cut with new members, and takes from sessions recorded with the Pistols' Steve Jones. 

Dead Kennedys

Crucial album: Fresh Fruit For Rotting Vegetables

Perhaps the early punk band most synonymous with San Francisco, the Dead Kennedys formed in 1978 as a quartet with Jello Biafra on vocals. The group was a staple at Mabuhay Gardens and other local venues, performing in a more "traditional" style before veering into hardcore and thrash in later years. 

As their name might infer, Dead Kennedys' music was often political and provocative — filled with satire about authority, national politics and the scene itself. San Francisco Chronicle columnist Herb Caen panned the group in a 1978 column, writing "Just when you think tastelessness has reached its nadir, along comes a punk rock group called The Dead Kennedys which will play at Mabuhay Gardens on Nov. 22, the 15th anniversary of John F. Kennedy's assassination." Some stores refused to sell the Kennedys' albums and, in the mid '80s, the band's Frankenchrist album became the center of an obscenity trial (which resulted in a hung jury).

Dead Kennedys released four albums and an EP before breaking up in 1986, and each release sounds a bit different. While your preference may vary based on your affinity for hardcore, their 1980 debut album Fresh Fruit For Rotting Vegetables is a classic. Featuring their best-known tunes "Holiday In Cambodia," "California Über Alles" and "Too Drunk To F—," Fresh Fruit embodies a spirit of tongue-in-cheek brutal hookiness that flows through the Kennedys' entire discography. 

After multiple credit and royalty-based legal battles, Dead Kennedys reformed and performed without Biafria in the early 2000s. Biafria remains a musician, spoken word artist, and political activist.  Drummer D.H. Peligro — who joined the Kennedys in 1981 and was featured on three albums, later reuniting with the group in 2001 — passed away in 2023.

Crimpshrine

Crucial box set: Free box

Pioneers of the East Bay punk scene centered in Berkeley around the venue 924 Gilman, Crimpshrine was the brainchild of (pre)teens Aaron Cometbus — who also founded a popular, eponymous zine and would play with Pinhead Gunpowder — and future Op Ivy vocalist Jesse Michaels. The friends named their band after a girl with blonde, crimped hair. 

In a brief period, Crimpshrine would lay the groundwork for the East Bay punk sound typified by Green Day, Operation Ivy and others; as record label Numero Group eloquently put it, Crimpshrine sounded "melodic but full of feedback, and a singer who sounded like he gargled glass." 

Although the band first formed in 1982, Crimpshrine cut their first demo in '87 and released their debut EP, Sleep, What's That? , on the local Lookout Records. That and other releases — several split EPs, a second solo EP titled Quit Talkin' Claude… , and a single full-length, 1989's Lame Gig Contest — weren't as political as the Bay's punk forefathers tended to be. Rather, Crimpshrine penned fast, personal tracks that touched on friendship, romance, loneliness, homelessness, and drugs.  

Operation Ivy

Crucial album: Energy

Operation Ivy's ska-infused punk sound and raucous performances (mostly at 924 Gilman) led them to become one of the East Bay's most influential punk bands. Named for a nuclear weapons testing program code name and featuring Crimpshrine's Michaels on vocals alongside Tim Armstrong (also on guitar), Op Ivy quickly developed a cult following.

"The kind of ska Operation Ivy played was totally new territory. It went way beyond having punk elements," Aaron Carnes wrote in In Defense Of Ska . "Some Op Ivy songs were power-chord punk blasters; others were upbeat-driven ska songs. But it wasn’t a dance party. It was unleashed, unapologetic punk-rock fury." 

Op Ivy were only together for two years, but played 185 shows, recorded 32 songs and even more demos. More than 30 years later, the band's sole studio album, 1989's Energy , is still a vibrant and resonant record of how punks constantly turn it around. Op Ivy's final show — fittingly at 924 Gilman, months after being offered a major label deal that they ultimately turned down — was also Green Day's first performance. 

Crucial album: Dookie

Perhaps the biggest punk band to come out of the Bay, Green Day requires very little in the way of introduction. The four-time GRAMMY winners (and 17-time nominees) have been rockin' since 1987 when they were students at Pinole Valley High School. Originally performing as Blood Rage and then Sweet Children, Green Day first debuted under their new name during a show with Operation Ivy at 924 Gilman. 

Although OGs and Gilman devotees would certainly know the band's 1990 debut album 39/Smooth and the following year's Kerplunk , Green Day's third album was their first true crest into the mainstream. Released in February 1994, Dookie nearly topped the Billboard 200 and netted now-canonical hits "Longview," "Welcome To Paradise," and "Basket Case." The album also netted the trio of   Billie Joe Armstrong , Mike Dirnt and Tre Cool a GRAMMY Award for Best Alternative Music Performance. Today, it's sold over 15 million copies.

For the next 30 years, Green Day wormed their way into punk and not-so-punk earholes. The band's slew of hit singles and resonant albums further mainstreamed the genre, but consistently kept their unique sound. The band made their GRAMMY stage debut in 2005, performing "American Idiot" (which celebrates its 20th birthday in 2024 ) and the following year took home the golden gramophone for Record Of The Year for the thoughtful "Boulevard of Broken Dreams." That wasn't Green Day's final win at Music's Biggest Night: 2009's 21st Century Breakdown won Best Rock Album at that year's GRAMMYs. 

Although a lesser group could easily rest on their laurels, Green Day continues to put out new music. Their most recent release — and fourteenth studio album — Saviors offers 15 tracks of pop-punk goodness that prove the band are nowhere past their prime. They're also still true to their roots: Armstrong and Dirnt still live in the Bay and invested in local businesses (Dirnt was co-owner of Rudy's Can't Fail Cafe and Armstrong was one of the co-owners of local shop Broken Guitars (now Oakland Guitars).

Crucial album: …And Out Come The Wolves

Op Ivy's Tim Armstrong and Matt Freeman formed Rancid in 1991. They brought on Lars Frederiksen a few years later and, with a few lineup changes in the interim, are still going strong 30-plus years later. The group released their 10th album, Tomorrow Never Comes , in June 2023 and performed during that year's Punk Rock Bowling .

A cornerstone of the East Bay scene, Rancid picked up where Op Ivy left off, further fusing ska and punk with Armstrong's gravy talk-sing vocals at center. The band's lyrical themes followed suit as well, dealing in introspection, anti-authoritarianism and politics, with plenty of spotlight given to the Bay Area's scene. 

While there's plenty to choose from over a three-decade, double-digit album career, the output from Rancid's early years remains the most resonant. Sophomore album Let's Go and 1995's …And Out Come The Wolves are ska-punk masterpieces, with the latter's "Time Bomb," "Ruby Soho" and the musical chronicle "Journey To The End Of The East Bay" are a resonant salad years soundtrack. Released further into their career, Indestructible and Let The Dominoes Fall bring a bit more pop-punk into the game. 

Multiple members of Rancid have ventured into solo projects and new groups, including Frederiksen's eponymous Lars Frederiksen and the Bastards , Armstong's A Poet's Life project with L.A. reggae outfit the Aggrolites, brief project with Billie Joe Armstrong the Armstrongs , and punk/rap-rock supergroup the Transplants, which featured Travis Barker , Rob Aston, Armstrong and current Interrupters guitarist Kevin Bivona.

Crucial album: Faster, Frightwig, Kill! Kill!

Precursors to the riot grrrl movement, all-female group Frightwig left a lasting mark on both San Francisco and early '90s alt-rock/punk. (In fact, Kurt Cobain is wearing a Frightwig t-shirt during Nirvana's "MTV's Unplugged" sessions.) Founded in the early '80s by teen San Franciscians, Frightwig spent over a decade "screaming and shredding their way through glass ceilings and unapologetically leaving behind a pile of shards," according to their website.

Expectedly, the trio and sometimes quartet received a fair amount of attention for simply being young women in punk. They were known to turn the tables by inviting male fans onstage to dance and be ridiculed while playing "A Man's Gotta Do What A Man's Gotta Do."

"We really wanted to play with what the status quo of womanhood was supposed to be visually and also sonically. That’s part of our mission, to really challenge what people think about what a woman is supposed to look like and to do," guitarist/vocalist Mia d’Bruzzi later told SFGate.

The group — which experienced a number of lineup changes in its initial 12-year run — played many of San Francisco's major punk venues and toured with locals Flipper and Dead Kennedys, as well as Butthole Surfers, Sonic Youth, and Bikini Kill. Raw, noisy, feminist and tongue-in-cheek, the trio recorded two full albums — 1984's Cat Farm Faboo and Faster, Frightwig, Kill! Kill! two years later — and several EPs before disbanding in 1994.

In 2023, a reconstituted Frightwig (with the expectation of long-time drummer Cecilia Kuhn, who died in 2019), released We Need To Talk . The 11-track album is a more polished, rollicking zip through the life of a 60-something empowered punk, with defiant tracks like "Aging Sux"  and "Ride My Bike," political takes such as "War On Women," and a re-recording of their popular "A Man's Gotta Do."

Crucial album: 24 Hour Revenge Therapy

Although formed in 1986 at NYU and briefly relocating to L.A., San Francisco’s Mission District is Jawbreaker’s spiritual home. (The band were even on two Bay Area labels: San Rafael-based Shredder and San Francisco’s Tupelo/Communion.) Despite often being labeled “emo punk," Jawbreaker has been always been so much more; the band's clever, personal and relatable lyrics courtesy of guitarist/vocalist Blake Schwarzenbach and their superb rhythm section with drummer Adam Pfahler and bassist Chris Bauermeister resonated with audiences throughout the West Coast. 

After moving to the Bay in 1991, Jawbreaker released Bivouac (1992) followed by fan-favorite 24 Hour Revenge Therapy (1994). The group were invited by Nirvana to open six shows on their 1993 In Utero tour, after which rabid fans and the underground music press were wary of Jawbreaker "selling out" and signing to a major like Green Day. Jawbreaker vehemently denied the possibility of signing to a major label in print interviews and even from the stage.

But by 1994, the group had signed to DGC and the backlash was immediate. Former fans would buy tickets to their shows just to turn their backs to the band while flipping them off. Their major label debut, Dear You , was a much slicker production and sold poorly. Despite a messy breakup in 1996, Jawbreaker remained underground legends and their 24 Hour a touchstone for generations of punks (emo and otherwise). In 2017, Jawbreaker reunited with a seven-song unannounced set at East Bay venue the Ivy Room and have been performing regularly ever since.

Crucial album: The Art Of Drowning

Today considered a pop-punk or emo group, East Bay outfit AFI have masterfully shifted between punk subgenres for three decades. Founded in the Northern California city of Ukiah before relocating to Berkeley in 1993, the (current) quintet of Davey Havok, Jade Puget, Hunter Burgan and Adam Carson were fixtures at Gilman and elsewhere in the East Bay, initially leaning into a hardcore sound. 

There's a little something for everyone over the course of AFI's 11 albums. Mid-'90s releases Answer That and Stay Fashionable , Very Proud of Ya and Shut Your Mouth and Open Your Eyes are snotty, speedy and cheeky punk, exemplified by songs like "I Wanna Get a Mohawk (But Mom Won't Let Me Get One)" and "He Who Laughs Last." Black Sails In The Sunset marked a move to darker sounds and melodic vocals, while 2000's The Art Of Drowning is dripping in horrorpunk themes and could be considered the group's take on the Misfits. Their commercial high point at the time, Drowning provided a dark counterweight for listeners coming of age in the early aughts world of pop-punk.

Future releases leaned into post-hardcore and emo: Sing the Sorrow , Decemberunderground and Crash Love , ushering the band further into the mainstream. AFI's last release came in the form of Bodies , an album of typically poetic lyrics, gothic imagery and attempts at a new wave sound. 

Shannon and the Clams

Crucial album: Sleep Talk

Less straight-ahead punks than the majority of this list, Shannon and the Clams are proof that punk isn't a specific sound so much as an attitude. Fronted by powerful vocalist Shannon Shaw, the quartet released their first album in 2009 and soon gained attention in the Bay and beyond for their meld of punk, garage, R&B and doo-wop.

Their sophomore record, Sleep Talk , is filled with Ronettes-eque yips, surf guitar and memorable chanting choruses. Throughout, the record oscillates between whining early '60s style ballads ("Done With You"), snotty vocalized bops ("The Cult Song") and fuzzed-out ragers ("Toxic Revenge") reminiscent of early Ramones — an excellent showcase of the band's range of interest and ability. 

The expansion of punk and garage continued through Shannon and the Clams' well-titled further releases: Dreams in the Rat House (2013), Gone by the Dawn (2015), Onion (2018), and Year of the Spider (2021). True to prolific form, Shaw is involved in several other projects, most notably Hunx and His Punx and a magnificent solo project steeped in country and blues produced by Dan Auerbach .

5 Women Essential To Punk: Exene Cervenka, Poly Styrene, Alice Bag, Kathleen Hanna & The Linda Lindas

• 1 Green Day's 'Saviors': How Their New Album Links 'Dookie' & 'American Idiot' Decades Later
• 2 On This Day In Music: Woodstock '94 Begins In Upstate New York
• 3 National Recording Registry Inducts Music From The Notorious B.I.G., Green Day, Blondie, The Chicks, & More
• 4 ReImagined: LØLØ Flips Green Day's "Boulevard Of Broken Dreams" Into An Acoustic Jam
• 5 10 Bay Area Punk Bands To Know: Dead Kennedys, Operation Ivy, Green Day & More

• Cover Story

Green Day confirm huge American Idiot 20th anniversary release

Bonus songs! Unreleased demos! A whole new 20 Years Of American Idiot documentary! Green Day are going big on the anniversary celebrations… 

If it’s not already enough seeing Green Day perform American Idiot (and Dookie) in full on The Saviors Tour this year , the band have just unveiled details of an incredible new deluxe edition of the record for its 20th anniversary.

This massive birthday edition is due out on October 25, and will include demos, B-sides, bonus songs and live stuff, as well as their previous Heart Like A Hand Grenade film, and a brand-new 110-minute documentary entitled 20 Years Of American Idiot.

To tease what’s to come from all the different components of this new anniversary edition of their 2004 masterpiece, Green Day have also shared not one, not two but three songs: a previously-unreleased demo of Holiday/Boulevard Of Broken Dreams, B-side Favorite Son, and Minority (Live From Irving Plaza).

Check out the new anniversary artwork below:

See the B-sides and bonus songs tracklist:

1. American Idiot (Live) 2. Jesus of Suburbia (Live) 3. Holiday (Live) 4. Are We the Waiting (Live) 5. St. Jimmy (Live) 6. Boulevard of Broken Dreams (Live) 7. Favorite Son 8. Shoplifter 9. Governator 10. Too Much Too Soon 11. Are the Waiting (VH1-Storytellers) 12. St. Jimmy (VH1-Storytellers) 13. Give Me Novacaine (VH1-Storytellers) 14. Homecoming (VH1-Storytellers)

And the demos:

1. American Idiot 2. American Idiot (Alt. Version) 3. Jesus of Suburbia 4. Holiday/Blvd. Of Broken Dreams 5. Are We We Are/St. Jimmy Opera 6. Novacaine 7. She's A Rebel 8. Radio Baghdad 9. Cluster Bomb 10. Wake Me Up When September Ends 11. Homecoming (Nobody Likes You) 12. Everyone's Breaking Down 13. Just Another Year 14. Lowlife 15. What's Her Name

Here is Live Irving Plaza, NYC, Sept 21 ’04:

1. American Idiot (Live) 2. Jesus of Suburbia (Live) 3. Holiday (Live) 4. Boulevard of Broken Dreams (Live) 5. Are We the Waiting (Live) 6. St. Jimmy (Live) 7. Give Me Novacaine (Live) 8. She’s A Rebel (Live) 9. Extraordinary Girl (Live) 10. Letterbomb (Live) 11. Wake Me Up When September Ends (Live) 12. Homecoming (Live) 13. Whatsername (Live) 14. Minority (Live) 15. We Are The Champions (Live)

1. Heart Like A Hand Grenade

1. 20 Years of American Idiot (New Documentary)

And, finally, BBC Live:

1. St. Jimmy (Live) 2. Give Me Novacaine (Live) 3. She’s A Rebel (Live) 4. Welcome To Paradise (Live) 5. Wake Me Up When September Ends (Live) 6. Jesus of Suburbia (Live) 7. American Idiot (Live in Studio) 8. Boulevard of Broken Dreams (Live in Studio)

Plus, listen to the first three tracks available:

Read this: “It created a new future for us”: The story of Green Day’s American Idiot

Check out more:

Now read these.

See Green Day play a sped-up version of Good Riddance before a “big lightning storm” in St. Louis

Green Day’s gig in Missouri was cut slightly short due to an incoming storm – but Billie Joe Armstrong still managed to squeeze in a speedy version of set-closer Good Riddance (Time Of Your Life).

Watch Green Day’s new Monsters & Saviors skate film

Soundtracked by Longview, American Idiot and Bobby Sox, Green Day have teamed up with the Monster Energy skate crew for an 11-minute movie…

Green Day kick off North American leg of The Saviors Tour – here’s the setlist

Joined by The Smashing Pumpkins, Rancid and The Linda Lindas, Green Day’s epic North American headline tour began in Washington, D.C. last night (July 29).

Watch Green Day perform at Good Morning America’s Summer Concert Series

Over the weekend Green Day played six songs in New York as part of the GMA Summer Concert Series – check out the performance and their TV interview…

Hear Billie Joe Armstrong cover Jesse Malin’s Black Haired Girl for benefit album

“He took it to another level, a lot of attitude, a lot of power…” says Jesse Malin of Billie Joe Armstrong’s fantastic new cover of Black Haired Girl.

“Buckle up, and enjoy the ride!” Green Day release Corvette Summer music video starring Mark Hamill

See Green Day pay homage to 1978 film Corvette Summer with a very fun new music video for the Saviors song of the same name…

Green Day announce new video starring Mark Hamill, Hannibal Buress and more

The one and only Mark Hamill will make an appearance in Green Day’s new music video for Corvette Summer! As will Hannibal Buress, the band themselves, and “a whole lot more”…

Green Day, Avril Lavigne and more are on the Deadpool & Wolverine soundtrack

Ahead of its arrival in cinemas this month, Marvel have announced Deadpool & Wolverine’s soundtrack – featuring the likes of Green Day, Avril Lavigne, Goo Goo Dolls and more (plus, hilariously, a song from The Greatest Showman).

The best of Kerrang! delivered straight to your inbox three times a week. What are you waiting for?

Jake Bugg shares ‘Keep On Moving’ and tells us about Green Day-inspired new album ‘A Modern Day Distraction’

“It was important that I didn’t shy I away from the guitar," he told NME of his politically-charged new album

Jake Bugg has shared rock‘n’roll-infused new single ‘Keep On Moving’ and spoken to NME about his Green Day -inspired sixth album ‘A Modern Day Distraction’.

True to its name, ‘Keep On Moving’ explores the album’s forward-looking mindset in the face of adversity and regret as Bugg sings: “ I’ve been on the run for far too long / But there’s no turning back .”

“I think it’s important to be self-critical, to push yourself and to keep pushing on”, he told NME of the meaning behind the song. “But that can be very difficult when people are always trying to drag you down. Some people just can’t bear to see others happy as well.”

Speaking of the sound of the single, Bugg revealed that he’d been listening to Motown  and was aiming for something with “that ’60s thing”. “We had the idea of having two melodies – one countering the other – and really fell in love with it, because it gave off Rolling Stones vibes,” he said.

Serving as an indicator for the full album, the single comes to terms with the cyclical rut of everyday injustices, as Bugg faces up to the bleak times that have persisted in the UK for far too long. Sonically, it’s a return to his gritty rock roots, far closer to ‘Shangri La’ (2013) than recent indie-pop escapade ‘Saturday Night, Sunday Morning’ (2021).

“There was definitely that excitement. I hadn’t really felt something like that since the first couple of records, really”, he revealed. “[This album] was more about going back to the influences I loved growing up, a lot of blues, rock and folk music.”

Recommended

The Nottingham troubadour has also cited Green Day’s 2004 polemic masterpiece ‘American Idiot’ as a key influence, praising Billie Joe Armstrong’s ability to convey ordinary frustrations on grand scale.

Bugg spoke to NME about the road to his sixth album, playing to his strengths and how he hopes to impart some optimism into the doom and gloom.

NME: Hello Jake. Tell us why ‘A Modern Day Distraction’ is the perfect title to summarise your impending sixth album?

Bugg: “It’s a lyric from the song ‘Instant Satisfaction’. I hope that the album itself will be some sort of distraction for the people that listen to it. If anything, I tried to use my last couple of records as a distraction from a lot of these [frustrations] – I have shied away from such topics. But it’s been simmering. It just got to the point where so many people that I know, I was seeing how frustrating and tough their lives had become. I thought, if I could help in any way, [it’s] through the thing I know best – the only thing I really know how to do is play music.”

What’s your mission statement for the album as a whole?

“I suppose it was a social commentary on everything that’s been happening around us for the last few years, and the frustration that’s built up – I know a lot of people feel the same way, and I felt it needed to be addressed. That’s why we ended up making the kind of record that we did.

“I like to think that there [will be] no such need for such songs in the future, but, unfortunately, the world’s not such a simple place. If the record helps people in their own lives, in any way, then it’s already doing more than its purpose.”

‘All Kinds Of People’ feels particularly resonant in 2024, especially with the division and violence that’s plagued the UK over the past few weeks…

“There are things – whether it’s a photograph, painting or a musical piece – that really reflect the times of when they came, whether that be oppression or terrible things that have happened in history. There’s always some piece of art that is a significant point. It’s funny how those things just last forever. I’m not saying this record is anything like that, by the way. But all those things resonate with people, when it reflects how they feel.”

The album ends on a hopeful note with ‘Still Got Time.’ How important was it for you to turn frustration into optimism?

“In a bad situation, the only thing that we have is hope. I always believe that even the saddest song should have an element of hope, even a very small flicker – one note, one lyric. We have to stay positive and hope that we can come together to change the situation.”

In such bleak times, where do you get your hope from?

“Music. Especially when I was younger, it was the only form of escape that I had. It changed my life drastically, and for the better. I think it’s important to be passionate about the things that you love, because sometimes it felt like music was the only hope in the world that I had. It’s important to hold on to that.”

Why was now the right time to tap back into that fiery rock ‘n’ roll sound?

“It was important to experiment, because you’ll lose the passion if you continue doing the same thing. I know there were a lot of people that would have liked me to do the same thing [as] the first two albums. I’ve gone down some roads that probably weren’t the best direction for me, but they’ve allowed me to get back to this place where I feel like I’m playing to my strengths. It was important that I didn’t shy away from the guitar so much on this album, like maybe I have done in the past. I’m sure I’ll make some other albums that are very different from what people want – but that’s part of being an artist.”

Does channelling your love of Green Day count as one of these strengths?

“‘Waiting For The World’ gave me an excuse to put a bit of Green Day influence in there – I wanted something with that kind of energy in the chorus! ‘American Idiot’ is an absolutely brilliant album. For a band to have their biggest album, that many years [into their career], just shows what a great songwriter Billie Joe Armstrong is. To write an album that resonates with so many young people, a whole new generation, is just a reflection of how influential they are. I got to see them play ‘American Idiot’ in full, in Marlay Park in Dublin [this June]. I was like a 14-year-old boy all over again, going mad, doing shots and singing along.”

What is it about ‘American Idiot’ that speaks to you, personally? I know you’re a fan of their 2005 Milton Keynes concert film Bullet In A Bible. ..

“There’s obviously a nostalgic aspect. Listening to the record was one thing, but to see them – some of the songs were performed slightly differently. I think ‘Good Riddance (Time Of Your Life)’ is strummed out on an electric guitar, it’s such a cool vibe. When they were interviewing fans before the gig, they totally understood what the group were writing and singing about. I found that very inspiring – you could see how much it resonates with people.”

It was Green Day’s seventh album, not their sixth – but could ‘A Modern Day Distraction’ turn out to be your ‘American Idiot?’

“I think it’d be incredibly difficult to get anywhere near the height of that album! I’m a bit apprehensive, but I think it’s my best album. We’ll see what everybody else thinks.”

Jake Bugg’s new album ‘A Modern Day Distraction’ is due out October 4. Check out his full list of UK tour dates below and visit here for tickets and more information.

NOVEMBER 18 – O2 Academy, Leeds 19 – Roundhouse, London 23 – Barrowlands, Glasgow 26 – O2 Victoria Warehouse, Manchester

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Green Day’s roots date back to 1986 when 14-year-old high school friends Billie Joe Armstrong and Mike Dirnt formed the group Sweet Children. Sean Hughes joined on bass and Raj Punjabi on drums, both of whom played at the band’s debut concert at Rod’s Hickory Pit in Vallejo, California.

Bassist Hughes left before the band signed with Lookout! Records and released its debut EP 1,000 Hours in 1989. After changing its name to Green Day, the band released its debut full-length album, 39/Smooth, in April 1990. Later that year, it released a pair of EPs and went on its first nationwide tour. A European tour followed in 1992 and 1993.

The success of its sophomore album Kerplunk led the band to sign with the major label Reprise Records. Green Day released its third album, Dookie, in February 1994, which marked the band’s commercial breakthrough thanks to tracks like “Longview,” “Basket Case,” and “When I Come Around” landing the top spots on the Modern Rock chart.

Dookie led to controversial performances at Lollapalooza and Woodstock, further augmenting the band’s burgeoning popularity. Also aiding the mainstream revival of punk alongside Sublime, Bad Religion, and The Offspring, Green Day released a successful lineup of albums such as Insomniac (1995), Nimrod (1997), and Warning (2000) toward the late ’90s.

By introducing the band’s brand of punk rock to a younger audience, Green Day’s seventh studio album American Idiot proved a huge international success. Selling over five million copies and including hits like “Boulevard of Broken Dreams” and “American Idiot,” the record won the Grammy Award for Best Rock Album and paved the way for its highest-charting album, 21st Century Breakdown, in 2009.

In 2012, Green Day released a trilogy of albums ¡Uno!, ¡Dos!, and ¡Tré!, followed by its induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame by Fall Out Boy. It was an unforgettable day for the legendary band as they cemented their place in punk-rock history.

After their memorable induction, Green Day began recording their 12th record, Revolution Radio. The lead single “Bang Bang” pulled no punches and took on the band’s signature punk energy. It set the tone for the rest of the fast-paced, edgy, and outspoken album. As fans thrashed to Green Day’s old-school sound, Revolution Radio shot to the top of the UK and US rock charts in 2016.

The follow-up to Revolution Radio changed the game for Green Day. In 2020, the band’s 13th studio release Father of All… took the year by storm. Green Day experimented with new sounds while paying homage to the classics.

The title track and lead promotional single “Father of All…” showcased all the iconic elements of garage rock and dance-punk. It landed high on the US Rock and Alternative Songs chart, proving the band could shake things up and maintain star power. Other singles like “Fire, Ready, Aim” and “Oh Yeah!” took on a similar sound and helped Green Day secure an 11th top-10 US album.

Like many other musicians, Green Day postponed its 2020 world tour for Father of All… to 2021. Alongside fellow artists Fall Out Boy and Weezer, the Hella Mega Tour spanned across the globe from North America to Europe. Green Day performed a set list full of past and present hits to stadiums filled with loyal fans. The co-headlining tour was a grand achievement for Green Day. After playing venues like Wrigley Field, PNC Park, and Dodger Stadium, the band hit another all-time high in the punk-rock music scene.

Green Day wrapped up their Hella Mega Tour with Fall Out Boy and Weezer in July 2022. The band followed up with a string of music festival appearances at Lollapalooza, Sea.Hear.Now, and Rock in Rio.

Green Day’s signature punk persona helped it solidify a spot in music history. Today, the group is just as influential as it was in the ’90s. Due to their long-standing popularity, a recent reissue of Green Day’s triple-platinum album, Nimrod, is set to hit the stands for its 25th anniversary.

In honor of the iconic LP, the band unveiled a demo version of “You Irritate Me.” Overall, the new edition of Nimrod will include the original 18 tracks, 14 never-before-heard demos, and 20 live audio recordings at Philadelphia’s Franklin Music Hall. This special release is a nod to one of Green Day’s most significant triumphs in rock.

Green Day is an undeniable force in music. With four Grammys, three AMAs, two Brits, and many other awards under the band’s belt, no one can deny Green Day’s influence. Its high-energy hits, stripped-down ballads, and garage-band-inspired tracks revolutionized punk.

Live reviews

My first experience with a Green Day concert was one of the greatest at Woodstock 99. That experience has stuck with me ever since then, as has my desire to see Green Day perform any time I get the chance.

The first thing I can say about the Green Day concert experience is all about the crowd, as they are always a very rowdy, but very fun crowd! A bit crazy, a bit intoxicated, a bit of everything, and a whole lot of fun! By the time I actually get into the stadium and am waiting for the show to start, I already feel that I've had greatest time already and just can't wait for the insanity to kick in. For me personally, if Im not down in the middle of it all, in the pit, being able to jump around, crowd surf, exert some energy and really feel the music, it just wouldn't be a Green Day show.

Their stage presence is intense and Billie Joe Armstrong really draws the insanity out of the crowd, encouraging the mosh, encouraging all-out fun. He runs around all over stage, having as much fun performing as the crowd is watching them. It's truly a sight to see and a show that I have always been excited to go to and look forward to every time. The sound and light show can be overpowering at times, but that is mostly a good thing, as it just fuels the crowd and creates even more energy and excitement. By the end of the show, it's obvious that everyone has had so much fun, is tired and sweaty, while at the same time still bubbling over with energy and excitement.

It is indeed an experience to be had, and if you are a Green Day fan at all, then you deserve to have this experience at least once!!

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The concert was really great! The Support act played at 7 pm to 7.30 pm. Half an hour later, green day started to Play. They Played for 2 and a half hours. The First Song they played was Bang Bang. They played a Lot of Songs (New and older ones). While they played "revolution radio", they had pyro, like big flames. They also had exploding things, where flames,lights and loud noises came. This was definitely great. They also had on the end a vergessen big amount of confetti comming down. While they were on stage , they let 3 people on stage. 2 were allowed to sing with them and one could Play the gituare with them. Billie said at the end, that the girl playing the gituare could keep it.

Another cool thing was, that they had water "guns". I was in the second row and billie really got me and all the other people near me wet. In between the concert they also played Songs like "Hey Jude" by the beatles. At the end they played 3 last Songs: American Idiot; Jesus of suburbia; ordinary World. They whole concert was really great and I would say it was the best concert I've ever been to.

Unless you want to be an American Idiot, I would thoroughly recommend going to see the incredible rock legends that are Green Day, perform live. The alternative rock band have been making waves recently by taking the stage at a number of high profile festivals. Each time the band make their way on to another festival stage, always as headliners (obviously), the crowd go absolutely wild. Green Day always produce a crazy crowd, they wouldn’t be indie rock legends if they didn’t, and the crowds they muster up are always undoubtedly fun. Green Day have a number of hits, from iconic classics such as ‘American Idiot’ to slower tunes such as ‘Boulevard of Broken Dreams’ . And they played them all. The energy and passion that the band brought on to stage was phenomenal, with Billie Joe Armstrong drawing out the crowd’s madness and encouraging each and every mosh pit that the music hungry crowd were all too excited to form. Armstrong’s vocals were on point and the band proved themselves to be the talented musicians we all remembered them to be.

One of the worst kept secrets of recent festival years was the spiritual return to Reading Festival by the almighty punk rock band Green Day. The 'American Idiot' hitmakers had been rumoured to be taking to the NME stage from the offset of the event and as promised they arrive at 12pm on Saturday to perform to a packed out field as the majority of the site flocks towards the big top.

Playing four tracks from the iconic 'Dookie' this really was a great show that could have headlined the main stage with ease. As opposed to other 'surprise' artists who come and play acoustic sets of their B sides from 1992 to 1995, Green Day were here to enthuse the crowds and delight with the hits. Whether you were inside or outside of the tent, everybody sang along at deafening volumes to 'Know Your Enemy' and 'American Idiot' as the band charged around the stage and into the lucky front row. It may not have been a well guarded secret but something makes me think Billie Joe Armstrong and co wanted the biggest crowd available and damn they got it.

Green Day is the type of band that makes you either want to go overthrow the government or go find the love of your life and everything in-between. Every song has its own unique story that touches the hearts of everyone in the audience. Despite all the hatred and fear and walls that divide us in this country right now, Green Day allowed for a brief moment of tranquility and release of political tension that I think everyone needs right now. You can just forget about your problems for a while and live in the moment. The lyrics are so empowering and inspiring. Billie Joe makes everyone feel accepted. He provides a safe haven for the oddballs, weirdos, and those who don't "fit in". You can be whatever you want, love whomever you want, and just be yourself and have fun and not feel judged. Mike Dirnt is a phenomenal bassist and Tré Cool is a complete badass on drums. Seeing them in concert was surreal. The ear ringing afterwards is totally worth it. If you get the chance to see Green Day in concert, do it. You won't regret it.

My first Green Day experiences date back to high school, I was 15-16 and it was like ‘93-‘94 before Dookie even came to be. I would see this punk band from the Bay Area perform in some local pizza place in Bakersfield, California called Jerry’s Pizza. From then on I was in love. Like IN LOVE! I loved the bands music! Their sound was something that just got me and to this day Who Wrote Holden Caulfield? is my most favorite Green Day song still. I take a lot of pride in saying I was part of the small percentage of people who loved their music before the entire world knew who they were. They are badass, Hands down! AND I’m thankful BJ had a sweet wife and family to help him when he needed it most and that he is still breathing and that he is here to give us more music with his fellow brothers of the band.

Back in 1994, I wouldn't have dreamed that Green Day would one day become a rock and roll institution, displaying an energy and repertoire that kept the multi-generational crowd on its feet for nearly 3 hours. Complete with impressive pyrotechnics and a well-polished knack for inviting fans onto stage, these guys put on an impressive show.

Though the show at times teetered on getting bogged down in call and response, my 12 year old son left the venue as hyped up about Green Day as my 45 year old self recollects my 19 year old self having been. Since those good old days, the guys of Green Day have gone from thrashing a few chords to reveling in surprisingly complex musicianship.

I'd gladly go again, and I appreciated Billy Joe and the boys for leaving it all onstage.

I went to Green Day concert in Mannheim at 18th of January and I feel the need to write this as a duty! I've been a true concert girl in my whole life, traveled the world for the love of music; I've been to stadiums to see the superstars as well as dark bars to listen to not much known quality music. I listen to from heavy metal to jazz and classics. And I've never seen a concert so interactive and energetic in my experiences! Now I'm full of light and joy! Light gives the hope to fight the dark, joy in my heart sends away the devils in my tired mind! After a long tiring period, I feel ALIVE again! Whatever happens in this crazy world in these evil times, I'm happy and I enjoy it. Thank you Green Day. Let there be light, let there be music in our souls!

This was my first concert in the Pit, and it was the best night of my life. I got really hyped when I saw how close I was to the stage, and I met some pretty cool people there. When Green Day came out, I actually started crying. I was standing only a couple feet away from the band at points, and I know it was a night I'm never going to forget. I think what made Green Day different that most concerts was how they called so many people on stage and gave away so much stuff. Some people got to go on stage and sing lyrics, or play guitar, and actually got to meet the band members and I honestly thought it was so amazing because they made someone else have the best night of their life. This concert was hands down 10/10, in fact, it broke the scale.

It's been 9 years since Green Day made an appearance in Northern Ireland.

Boy did they make up for it

Rancid, Green Day's tour buddies. Started the show off with high adrenaline. So much so that a mosh pit itself began to form at the front of the stage. I was slap bang in the middle of it.

This high adrenaline show meant that when Green Day started the crowd was already pumped and ready. And they delivered on the he action packed, high octane poreformance everyone wanted. I would easily call this the best night of my life without question. It was a phemomonal performance from both Green Day and Rancid and I wold seriously recommended that,if they're coming to somewhere near you. You get tickets ASAP.

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Green Day is not due to play near your location currently - but they are scheduled to play 28 concerts across 6 countries in 2024-2025. View all concerts.

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Foo Fighters set to rock Portland, first concert at Providence Park in decades

by KATU Staff

This Friday Providence Park will hold its first concert in nearly two decades, when Foo Fighters' Everything or Nothing At All tour comes to town on August 16.

Providence Park can hold about 30,000 people, nearly double the next largest venue in Oregon.

PREVIOUS COVERAGE: Providence Park to host concerts for first time in 20 years, Foo Fighters headlining

The venue announced it would be hosting concert acts again in October 2023, following a 20-year hiatus where it only held sports events.

Foo Fighters were announced as the first returning act, with many others to follow. They'll be playing with special guests Pretenders and Alex G.

Providence Park hosted its first-ever concert in 1957 with Elvis Presley, where 14,600 people "witnessed one of the first-ever outdoor stadium rock concerts in music history."

On August 16 the gates open at 4:00 p.m. and the show starts at 5:30 p.m.

More info about the concert can be found here.

The next big concert at the park is Green Day on September 25th.

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• February 23, 2014 Setlist

Green Day Setlist at Olympic Park, Sydney, Australia

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Tour: 2014 Australian Tour Tour statistics Add setlist

• Song played from tape Whip It ( DEVO  song) Play Video
• Song played from tape Bohemian Rhapsody ( Queen  song) Play Video
• Song played from tape Blitzkrieg Bop ( Ramones  song) Play Video
• Song played from tape Stayin' Alive ( Bee Gees  song) Play Video
• 99 Revolutions Play Video
• Know Your Enemy Play Video
• East Jesus Nowhere Play Video
• Stop When the Red Lights Flash Play Video
• Shakin' All Over ( Johnny Kidd and the Pirates  cover) ( Partial cover ) Play Video
• Letterbomb Play Video
• Holiday Play Video
• Boulevard of Broken Dreams Play Video
• Let Yourself Go Play Video
• Kiss Me Deadly ( Generation X  cover) Play Video
• Wake Me Up When September Ends Play Video
• Burnout Play Video
• Chump Play Video
• Longview Play Video
• When I Come Around Play Video
• Welcome to Paradise Play Video
• 2000 Light Years Away Play Video
• Hitchin' a Ride Play Video
• Iron Man / Master of Puppets / Welcome to the Jungle / Rock and Roll / Highway to Hell Play Video
• Brain Stew Play Video
• St. Jimmy Play Video
• Knowledge ( Operation Ivy  cover) Play Video
• Basket Case Play Video
• She Play Video
• King for a Day Play Video
• Shout / Jessie's Girl / Always Look on the Bright Side of Life / Who Can It Be Now / Hey Jude Play Video
• Waiting Play Video
• Minority Play Video
• American Idiot Play Video
• Jesus of Suburbia Play Video
• Brutal Love Play Video
• Good Riddance (Time of Your Life) Play Video

Edits and Comments

61 activities (last edit by rileyburgess , 4 Aug 2018, 06:19 Etc/UTC )

Songs on Albums

• American Idiot
• Boulevard of Broken Dreams
• Jesus of Suburbia
• Wake Me Up When September Ends
• Basket Case
• When I Come Around
• Good Riddance (Time of Your Life)
• Hitchin' a Ride
• King for a Day
• Kiss Me Deadly by Generation X
• Knowledge by Operation Ivy
• Shakin' All Over by Johnny Kidd and the Pirates
• 99 Revolutions
• Brutal Love
• East Jesus Nowhere
• Know Your Enemy
• 2000 Light Years Away
• Welcome to Paradise
• Iron Man / Master of Puppets / Welcome to the Jungle / Rock and Roll / Highway to Hell
• Shout / Jessie's Girl / Always Look on the Bright Side of Life / Who Can It Be Now / Hey Jude
• Stop When the Red Lights Flash
• Let Yourself Go

Complete Album stats

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Soundwave Sydney 2014 setlists

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Green day gig timeline.

• Feb 20 2014 The Captain Cook Hotel Sydney, Australia Add time Add time
• Feb 22 2014 Soundwave Brisbane 2014 Brisbane, Australia Add time Add time
• Feb 23 2014 Soundwave Sydney 2014 This Setlist Sydney, Australia Add time Add time
• Feb 28 2014 Soundwave Melbourne 2014 Melbourne, Australia Add time Add time
• Mar 01 2014 Soundwave Adelaide 2014 Adelaide, Australia Add time Add time

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<div style="text-align: center;" class="setlistImage"><a href="https://www.setlist.fm/setlist/green-day/2014/olympic-park-sydney-australia-13c54951.html" title="Green Day Setlist Soundwave Sydney 2014, 2014 Australian Tour" target="_blank"><img src="https://www.setlist.fm/widgets/setlist-image-v1?id=13c54951" alt="Green Day Setlist Soundwave Sydney 2014, 2014 Australian Tour" style="border: 0;" /></a> <div><a href="https://www.setlist.fm/edit?setlist=13c54951&amp;step=song">Edit this setlist</a> | <a href="https://www.setlist.fm/setlists/green-day-13d68939.html">More Green Day setlists</a></div></div>

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[url=https://www.setlist.fm/setlist/green-day/2014/olympic-park-sydney-australia-13c54951.html][img]https://www.setlist.fm/widgets/setlist-image-v1?id=13c54951[/img][/url] [url=https://www.setlist.fm/edit?setlist=13c54951&amp;step=song]Edit this setlist[/url] | [url=https://www.setlist.fm/setlists/green-day-13d68939.html]More Green Day setlists[/url]

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