Green Day gave an energetic performance this week on Wednesday, Sept. 11, at Globe Life Field in Arlington. Before the band came on stage, The Linda Lindas, Rancid, and Smashing Pumpkins warmed up the crowd. It was a multigenerational audience, with young kids, teens, and older adults all dressed up for the concert.
Right before the performance began, the crowd shared a connecting moment with everyone singing along to Queen’s “Bohemian Rhapsody,” including the security guards. Then Green Day ran on stage with their song “The American Dream is Killing Me.”
Despite it being 30 years since the release of their hit album Dookie, Green Day still has the same energy and loyal fans. Frontman Billie Joe Armstrong rocked an all-black ensemble, with his blond bouncing hair and, as one little boy described it, “guy-liner.” Drummer Tré Cool served with his blue hair and matching shorts, and bassist Mike Dirnt started in an orange jumpsuit, later changing to a sleek sleeveless black fit.
It was a marathon of a concert, as the crowd was on their feet through it all, jumping and throwing hands in the air. Legs, feet, and arms were definitely sore afterwards. The stage also featured impressive pyrotechnics, and at one point a flying inflatable plane, á la Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade. Behind the band was a giant mushroom cloud and plenty of eye-catching graphics.
About halfway through, someone passed up a giant blue foam cowboy hat that Armstrong donned for “Dilemma.” He then proceeded to bring up a young fan named Eva from the crowd to finish off the song, and sent her off with the hat.
When the band transitioned to music from their album American Idiot, an inflatable hand holding their iconic heart grenade burst from the stage. Despite the album turning 20 next week, the music still holds a lot of relevance. There is something very therapeutic about yelling the recently changed lyrics “I’m not part of a MAGA agenda” from the title song with a stadium filled with people.
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