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Having an album that is considered a classic by many is rare territory. Having two, spawning multiple generations of fans, is even rarer. Pop punk kings Green Day have that, however, and when they weren't eating cheese curds at Lakefront Brewery, they brought those albums and so much more to American Family Field on Saturday night.
Saturday’s Milwaukee stop was part of the “Saviors” tour, named for their most recent album that released this past January. The tour also is celebrating 30 years of breakout “Dookie” as well as 20 years of “American Idiot,” both of which launched the band into another stratosphere of popularity. That's a lot of music to fit into one night by itself, with two front-to-back album plays becoming the focal point of the headlining show. With opening acts, the night would equate to roughly five and a half hours of music, and all of it meshed nicely in the grand scheme of things.
Openers The Linda Lindas kicked things off, representing the next generation of angsty alternative rock, capped by early viral hit “Racist, Sexist Boy.” Punk legends Rancid would follow, with a blitzkrieg set that incorporated just about all of their own greatest hits from the last 30 years. Smashing Pumpkins deviated slightly from the sound of the night, but represented a different angle of the rise of alternative rock to mainstream status, which included Green Day's rise to fame. What would follow, though, would be a marathon of a set that proved more than worthy of a very full American Family Field, with fans filing up as far as the back of the terrace level.
The Green Day that took the stage on Saturday night are, in many aspects, a band far removed from the sarcastic, brash trio that first played Milwaukee in the early ‘90s. In fact, that version of Green Day might not have even liked the current one. On Saturday, though, they channeled that early energy on the biggest of stages, with a 37-song behemoth of a show. Following opening song “The American Dream Is Killing Me” (this is the “Saviors” tour, after all) a giant mushroom cloud backdrop recreating the “Dookie” album cover would repel from the top of the stage. From then on, the band would rifle off the seminal album without much of a pause at any point. The rolling bass line of “Longview” from Mike Dirnt, dressed in his orange jumpsuit from the “Basket Case” video, garnered one of the first big reactions of the nearly 150-minute set.
As has been the case for quite some time, frontman Billie Joe Armstrong fully embraced the role of rock star lead singer, often extending breakdowns to coax the stadium crowd to sing along with him. With a lot of material to get through, though, there was less vamping from the band overall on Saturday compared to recent tours. That didn't mean less opportunities to get the crowd involved, though. Deeper album cuts would get accented by pyro, with flashbombs and flames shooting out of a stack of amplifiers angled behind the band. During “Emenius Sleepus,” an inflatable plane again mimicking the album artwork would be flown over the stadium floor, dropping “Dookie” themed inflatable bombs on fans, as well. While the album cuts may have been less recognizable to some, the band made sure they weren't going to lose your attention during them. Album closer “All By Myself,” was flipped into an orchestral recorded version, with drummer Tre Cool taking the stage in a leopard print bathrobe, performing a campy, pseudo-burlesque version of the track while prancing around the stage.
While you would think two full album plays would be enough to fill out a show, Green Day made sure no stone was left unturned, throwing in six songs between “Dookie” and “American Idiot.” That included “Know Your Enemy,” featuring a young fan named Quinn coming onstage for the bridge, three more tracks from “Saviors” (remember, “Saviors” tour) and hits “Brain Stew” and “Minority” that couldn't be left out in the course of the night.
The juxtaposition of “American Idiot” after all of the adolescent fun of “Dookie” was a reminder of Green Day's gradual transformation as a band. While, yes, a decade had occurred between the two albums, the structure of both records are drastically different, and that was glaring on Saturday. While the second album play was still met with big reactions from an entirely different generation of Green Day fans, the album also has longer songs, including a mini rock opera that the band would remain true to. While technically solid as ever, the longer songs at the tail end of five hours of music would ultimately weigh things down just a bit. That record also has some of their most successful songs, though, with the title track creating a burst of energy, and “Holiday” igniting the crowd once again early into the album.
If there was any question at all about the band’s stamina, that was quickly dismissed, as they'd play through the second album of the night with possibly even faster transitions than “Dookie.” Fully aware that the crowd’s energy could dip, they'd move quickly through the back half of the record, but would still give fans a couple of memorable moments to end the night on, with thousands of phones lighting up the stadium for “Wake Me Up When September Ends.” immediately after that, though, Armstrong would yell “Homecoming” and the band would launch into the last couple of songs from the record. Time was of the essence.
While “American Idiot” closer “Whatshernane” isn't exactly a show-stealer, the band would finish the record, with Armstrong re-emerging immediately with a guitar, proclaiming “I'm not done yet!” before sandwiching “Bobby Sox” into the set (remember, “Saviors” tour.) Fittingly, the night would close on a faster-than-usual version of “Good Riddance (Time Of Your Life),” complete with a closing fireworks show before Tre Cool and Mike Dirnt would join Armstrong at the front of the stage to say good night. It was a marathon from a band that still shows no signs of slowing down once they're on stage together, and an apt way to thank fans for taking the ride with them.
Green Day, along with a slew of openers, made absolutely sure that nobody left American Family Field on Saturday night feeling underdelivered to. There was variety, longevity, and energy, and all of that could be said about the headliner alone as well as the spectacle of a show overall. It's the mark of a veteran band that is in touch with their audience, and one that will continue to see success every time they hit the road.
