Green Day in concert is always a guarantee

The appointment with Green Day in Milan on June 16th it promises well right from the start. The tour that brings back Billie Joe Armstrong, Mike Dirnt and Tré Cool at I-Daysdedicated to the new album “Saviors” (here is our review), is an opportunity to celebrate live the thirty years since the release of “Dookie” and the twenty years ofAmerican Idiot”. What takes place at the Snai La Maura Hippodrome is therefore a eventmore than a simple concert, which brings together over 70 thousand people, from first-time fans to the youngest, and some children, in a generational meeting.

The task of starting to gather the audience under the stage falls to the British Nothing but Thieves, among the most interesting bands of recent times. In the last light of a warm sunny Sunday, the energetic and vulnerable rock of Conor Mason and co offers a worthy opening to the evening. It is therefore the recording of “Bohemian Rhapsody” by Queen broadcast from the speakers, as the traditional signal that the Green Day concert is about to begin, to attract even the last distracted people. After the inevitable performance by Drunk Bunny on “Blitzkrieg Bop” by the Ramones, with echoes of the “Imperial March” from “Star Wars” and “We will rock you”, the show can begin. The guitar rush, the sharp drum hits, the direct bass lines, a repetitive riff: with “The American Dream is killing me”, first single from “Saviors”, Billie Joe, Mike and Tré kick off the dancing.

It's an impactful start, which embraces the audience: in the pit comes the frenzy of the trio, supported by keyboardist Coley O'Toole together with guitarists Kevin Preston and Jason White, and a sound that hits straight.

Twenty years after the success of “American Idiot”, Green Day still discuss the hypocrisy of the “American dream”, with their typical eagerness to talk about the present. What makes the public go wild is that punk rock, inspired by melodic hardcore, which with “Dookie” catapulted Billie Joe, Mike and Tré into the mainstream. It is dedicated to the 1994 album, now among the milestones of the Californian band's discography.the first part of the show. At the end of the first song in the setlist, the scenography takes shape which visually reproduces the cover of “Dookie”, complete with explosion and clouds of smoke recreated by silhouettes and inflatables while images and texts flash on the giant screens. As promised, the album is played live by Green Day in its entirety and respecting the order of the tracklist. It starts with the immediacy of pieces like – among others – “Burnout“, “Welcome to Paradise“and the timeless song”Basketball houses“, at the time capable of conquering the high rotation of MTV and the most commercial radios, together with the raw delicacy of a piece like “She” – still today a jewel of the band's discography – and “When I come around”. That mix of post-adolescent exuberance and nihilism of thirty years ago, on the I-Days stage, leaves room for the experience and maturity achieved by the group (the performance of “Longview” is notable), which skillfully plays between the past on stage is present. Green Day in concert are Green Day, and they are always a guarantee. Billie Joe, Mike and Tré always present themselves on stage as you would expect, even managing to obscure the signs of time with their skill and energy. While “In the end” and “FOD” lead the audience to let loose, between mosh pits and attempts at stage diving, Tré Cool closes the homage to “Dookie” by ironically interpreting his “All by my self”.

There are no pauses or dead moments, and it is therefore the disappearing scenography that dictates the beginning of a new moment of the concert. There central part of the show combines older songs, including “Know your enemy” which sees a fan from the audience being chosen from the front rows to go on stage, and pieces of the new albumwhich features “Look Ma, No Brains!”, “One Eyed Bastard” and “Dilemma“. Choices come from the past”Hitchin' a Ride“, with the frontman having so much fun interacting with the audience, and “Brain Stew“, also here introduced by the famous “Iron Man” riff played by Billie Joe.

This time what takes shape on stage is an inflatable that reproduces the hand holding the heart bomb from the cover of “.American Idiot“, honored in the third act of the Milanese concert. The setlist follows, always faithfully, the tracklist of the 2004 album, Green Day's most ambitious and beloved work. The iconic title track, “Jesus of suburbia”, always among the best musical moments with changes of rhythm and atmosphere, “Holiday” and all the other tracks of “American Idiot” have even more strength, which reveals their character. “This evening is not a party, it's a celebration”, explains the frontman at one point.

After “Wake Me Up When September Ends” and “Homecoming”, followed by “Whatsername”, Green Day have already been playing for over two hours and it's after 11pm. The band is forced to give up two songs originally in the setlist: “Minority” and “Bobby Sox”. Billie Joe then remains alone on stage to perform an intimate version of “Good Riddance (Time of Your Life)“. Everyone together then greets the public and takes their leave. The Bay Area standard-bearers do not betray expectations this time either, but there were no doubts.

Ladder:

Bohemian Rhapsody (registered) – by Queen

Blitzkrieg Bop (registered) – by the Ramones

Intro Theme (registered)

The American Dream Is Killing Me

Dookie

Burnout
Having a Blast
Chump
Longview
Welcome to Paradise
Pulling Teeth
Basketball Houses
She
Sassafras Roots
When I Come Around
Coming Clean

Emenius Sleepus
In the End
FOD
All by Myself

Know Your Enemy
Look Ma, No Brains!
One Eyed Bastard
Hitchin' a Ride
Dilemma
Brain Stew

American Idiot

American Idiot
Jesus of Suburbia
Holiday
Boulevard of Broken Dreams
Are We the Waiting
St. Jimmy
Give Me Novacaine
She's a Rebel
Extraordinary Girl
Letterbomb
Wake Me Up When September Ends
Homecoming
Whatsername

Good Riddance (Time of Your Life)