Ahead of Green Day’s Saviors Tour stop at Globe Life Field in Arlington on Wednesday, Ian Saint reviews their Pittsburgh show
Green Day perform “Boulevard of Broken Dreams” at Pittsburgh’s PNC Park. Photo by Ian Saint
Green Day’s Saviors Tour is christened after their new album, but also packs full performances of their greatest-selling albums — Dookie and American Idiot — upon their respective 30th and 20th anniversaries, culminating in a 37-song set list. That is a jaw-dropping, once-in-a-lifetime treat for Green Day’s diehard fans; but I found that it was a compelling set for anyone who’s interested in rock history in general, even with the abundance of album cuts.
My sister, Kerry, accompanied me to the Saviors Tour show at Pittsburgh’s PNC Park. Our pairing was sentimentally significant, because we saw Green Day’s American Idiot Tour together as teenagers in Cleveland on May 6, 2005. George W. Bush had just been re-inaugurated President, and the veracity of American Idiot’s critiques in our “swing state” were heightening as Hurricane Katrina and the Great Recession loomed. My Chemical Romance was Green Day’s opening act, and the now-legendary emo anthem “Helena” was MCR’s brand-new single.
As we drove to Pittsburgh, 19 years later, I acknowledged to Kerry how remarkably groundbreaking Green Day’s American Idiot album and tour were in retrospect. My sister was the big Green Day fan; American Idiot was her first concept album, as it was for so many of our fellow Millennials and Zillennials, and she was enthralled — whereas I’d already dove deep into classic concept albums from our father’s generation, like Pink Floyd’s The Wall and Nine Inch Nails’ The Downward Spiral, so it wasn’t quite as novel for me.
But American Idiot struck me as the first time a prominent music act spoke out against the W. Bush administration, and managed to reap blockbuster success in doing so — the opposite outcome of what befell even the most juggernaut of dissenters, like Madonna and the Dixie Chicks, earlier that year (2003). It was a bold move for the band, who could’ve comfortably coasted on the “legacy” status they’d attained with 2001’s International Superhits! compilation. Two decades after their gamble, Green Day is packing stadiums.
Watching the Saviors Tour, I was taken aback by how seamlessly the Dookie, American Idiot, and Saviors songs compliment one another — while also being distinctly emblematic of their respective decades. Saviors’opening track, “The American Dream is Killing Me,” is both a catchy and profound introduction to the show; then, Green Day rip straight into Dookie.
Dookie came out before mine and Kerry’s time; but Green Day did an effective job of making us feel like we were experiencing the vibe of that mid-90s era, wedged between the disparate explosions of grunge and boy bands. Gargantuan inflatables re-created the unforgettable cover art; and the band played the album with a ferocity that might’ve fatigued the young stoners who’d recorded it.
“Let’s put the phones down,” implored front man Billie Joe Armstrong during “Longview,” Dookie Track 4 and their debut single. This served as a fitting reminder of how far fewer distractions there were in everyday life at the time — including at punk rock shows — and how much more common it was to feel the song’s frustrations with intense boredom back then, compared to the present’s common complaint of overstimulation.
“Basket Case” made me realize, and appreciate, how many concepts Green Day had championed long before they were widely accepted. Going to a therapist is popular now, but was often stigmatized as a concession of weakness back then – particularly for men. Billie Joe proclaiming his bisexuality was also a bold move, especially for a guy who was marrying a woman (that he’s still married to). It’s easy to shrug about those themes now, but they were challenging the status quo on both of those fronts; which may have played a role in why so many people couldn’t get enough of that longtime #1 alternative radio staple.
All of Dookie’s hit singles sent the stadium into a frenzy, and I particularly enjoyed “Welcome to Paradise” — which had actually first come out on Green Day’s 1991 Kerplunk album, and the live rendition was more aligned with that grittier first recording. The album cuts were often peppered with theatrics that kept unacquainted audience members captivated, such as a giant inflatable plane roaming the stadium (and air-dropped mini-planes) during “Coming Clean” and amplifiers spouting a sea of pyro during “In the End.”
Massive inflatables bring the Dookie and American Idiot covers’ art to 3-D. [Ian Saint]
Fans of Green Day’s biggest hits beyond Dookie and American Idiot needn’t worry: evergreen radio staples like Insomniac’s“Brain Stew,” Warning’s “Minority,” and Nimrod’s “Good Riddance” are still slid in, with an air of delight that don’t make those “extra” songs feel like rushed afterthoughts — “Know Your Enemy” (Green Day’s first post-Idiot single) even afforded enough time for bringing two audience members onstage to elongate its snappy refrain.
The slew of Saviors selections between Dookie and American Idiot did not slow down the momentum. “Look Ma, No Brains!” is irresistible, and easy to quickly sing along to; and “Dilemma” is a touching gem about finding sobriety again after relapsing — a setback that often entails a great deal of shame, keeping in step with Green Day’s tradition of tearing down taboos (and cultivating a gigantic fanbase for doing so). The band’s 2.5 hour marathon set — and making it look easy at ages 52 — is also a testament to the power of their sobriety.
Since I’d already experienced Green Day’s American Idiot Tour, which boasted the majority (but not all) of the album in its set list, I wondered if the American Idiot run-through would feel like a retread; but that concern was quickly quelled, and I believe that having the American Idiot Tour experience in memory heightened my appreciation for the full album run-through in 2024.
Hearing the deafening singalongs of American Idiot’s singles — like the title track, “Holiday,” and “Boulevard of Broken Dreams” (the only song to ever win both Grammy Record of the Year and MTV’s Video of the Year VMA) — galvanized how monstrous of hits they were. But many of the non-single, album cuts provoked just as much enthusiasm; I got goosebumps as the stadium sang the refrains of “Are We the Waiting” and “Homecoming” in choral unison. It was particularly interesting to absorb the latter’s “nobody likes you, everyone left you, they’re all out without you, having fun” hook in the age of Instagram, where curated feeds have wrecked havoc on self-esteem and struggles with FOMO.
Experiencing “Wake Me Up When September Ends” live on September 1st was inexplicable. If you have a chance to see Green Day in September — as Texas does — this song will be extra special. I was flooded with déjà vu of how that song became a requiem for Hurricane Katrina in September, 2005; and I became overwhelmed by recalling the series of people who have “come to pass” since then. The sea of lights also made me recall how Green Day’s 2005 American Idiot Tour was the very first instance I’d seen of cell phones lighting up an arena — rather than the long tradition of cigarette lighters — which is now the norm.
Me and my sister pause for a quick snap during “Wake Me Up When September Ends,” 19 years after we caught the American Idiot Tour. [Ian Saint]
Perhaps the greatest surprise of Green Day’s performance was how it unexpectedly left me filled with hope and optimism. It’s easy to get discouraged by world events these days; but revisiting the discontentment of Dookie and (especially) American Idiot left me with an appreciation for how far we’ve come since then. The deluge of nostalgia could’ve left me mourning the loss of youth; but I don’t miss the sociopolitical climates that inspired those albums.
Three opening bands are accompanying Green Day on the Saviors Tour: Smashing Pumpkins, Rancid, and the Linda Lindas. The last group comprises entirely of young women — half Latina, half Asian — who were all born after American Idiot was recorded, some by several years. Their radiant delight at being part of this tour was infectious. Most of the audience appeared unfamiliar with the Linda Lindas’ material, but were roused to their feet anyway. The Linda Lindas go on very early — around 5:30 PM — but are absolutely worth arriving early. They did an outstanding job of getting us pumped for a long night of rock ‘n roll.
Rancid sprang from the same Bay Area punk scene that launched Green Day, and their presence on the bill was a great help to contextualizing the magic of that time and place for those of us who missed it. Their set culled heavily from 1995’s …And Out Come the Wolves, which garnered Platinum certification — a very rare milestone in the punk genre — and all band members on that record, besides drummer Brett Reed, remain today. “Ruby Soho” provoked the most rapturous response, and it was interesting to see an impromptu secondary mosh pit emerge between seated sections; but “Fall Back Down,” off 2003’s Indestructible, was my personal favorite — I remember the ebullient affection of its refrain as an adolescent, and my appreciation for its message has grown after weathering the trials of life since then. Green Day fans will appreciate hearing “Radio,” the song on 1994’s Let’s Go that Billie Joe Armstrong co-wrote.
Smashing Pumpkins stood out from the rest for several reasons: their success began prior to Green Day’s, they’re more associated with “goth” rather than “punk,” and they don’t hail from sunny California — instead originating from faraway Chicago — so it was quite jarring to see them performing in daylight; and, unlike the rest of the bands, they engaged in very little talking. Nevertheless, most of their set was sourced from 1993’s Siamese Dream or 1995’s Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness, of which Dookie was released in-between, so there is plenty of timeline overlap for Green Day fans to enjoy in Smashing Pumpkins’ set. It was great to see original drummer Jimmy Chamberlain and guitarist James Iha back in the fold with front-man Billy Corgan; and Chamberlain’s distinctive jazzy groove was especially noteworthy, most prominently on “Bullet With Butterfly Wings.” It was impressive to observe how clearly nostalgic “1979” made people of different generations feel — including those of us born well after 1979 — which speaks to the genius of Corgan’s songwriting. “Cherub Rock” was a searing sonic highlight, that also boasted very unexpected, vaudevillian theatrics from NWA wrestlers.
Shout-out to Pittsburgh’s PNC Park for being an excellent host venue. Entering the stadium was expeditious and orderly, including entry to the floor — a facet that was chaotic and painstakingly slow at the Rolling Stones’ Cleveland Browns Stadium show in June. The stadium is oriented so that even us field-dwellers were mostly shaded from the evening sun, and Downtown Pittsburgh’s skyline was lit gloriously in front of us. Driving from and back to Cleveland was quick and mostly free of traffic congestion, as PNC Park’s North Shore placement meant that we did not have to drive through Downtown. Pittsburgh’s parking rates seem consistently more expensive than what I encounter in Cleveland and other similar-sized cities; but they do have an abundance of convenient parking options. Walking to PNC Park, across the Allegheny River, is easy for those who opt to lodge in Downtown.
Green Day bring the Saviors Tour to North Texas on Wednesday, and it’s sure to be a memorable night at Globe Life Field in Arlington. From the perspective of someone who saw the band when they were 20 years younger, I feel that they are in their peak form today; and it’s remarkable that, unlike many of their contemporaries, their member line-up has remained fully intact. No telling whether President George W. Bush will attend their show on his home turf, but I highly recommend that any fan of rock music history get out and see this history-enshrining tour. For tickets, and remaining tour dates, visit Green Day’s official website: www.greenday.com/tour.
