The punk icons’ show at National Stadium was a marathon through two full albums and more
Green Day launched the North American leg of the global 2024 Saviors Tour at Nationals Park in DC on Monday (July 29th).
The band is celebrating milestones for two career-defining albums. It’s 30 years of Dookie and 20 years for American Idiot. The band sprinted through all songs from both albums in a two-and-a-half-hour epic set that featured flames, fireworks, and a gigantic mushroom cloud.
Billie Joe Armstrong has every bit of energy—and as few wrinkles—he had those decades ago. He darted across the stage when not anchored by his mic stand. To “wild out” and play the breaks he plays takes inimitable skill.
Tre Cool effortlessly drilled out the high BPMs behind the drum kit. It seemed Cool was driving the madness. The harder he went, the crazier BJA got. Often, it culminated in an explosion of fireworks or some other pyro. Or some other surprise.
Bassist Mike Dirnt is the anchor. He shined by providing a steady through line for Cool and Armstrong to jump off of.
Containing the production was a giant wall designed to look like slanted speakers. They lit up in time to the music, giving a unique club feel to the stadium stage.
“Know Your Enemy” and a few others offered a palette cleanser. Green Day then launched into perhaps their best-known album; one whose title was borrowed from a hit Broadway show, and whose same title has become something of a phrase in pop culture itself: American Idiot.
The title track kicked off a slew of singalongs including “Holiday” and “When September Ends.” The show featured a staggering 37 songs in just over two and a half hours. Not sure ol’ T-Swift could beat that. Too busy lying prone on mossy houses are whatever. (Swifties…this is a joke. I don’t need the emails.)
There’s much going on about what constitutes “True Punk.” Green Day’s music is too melodic for the purists; their live shows are too theatrical. To them, I say that my understanding of punk is very minimal, but gatekeeping seems to be extremely anti-punk. The music might have a melody, but the message and attitude are as punk as it gets.
The show itself contains several fun surprises I would be remiss to spoil. Throughout the night, Armstrong demonstrated his affability. He talked about his first guitar, with which he still tours. And in a moment that stole the show, he brought a young man named Johnson on stage during “Know Your Enemy.” Johnson stole BJA’s mic, sang his butt off, and jumped off a monitor in perfect time to the song-ending pyro.
Perhaps the most punk thing about Green Day is their kindness to their fans.
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