Green Day Bring the Saviors tour to Seattle
We headed to T-Mobile Park on this beautiful sunny Seattle day which we always appreciate having in late September. The show would be massive with 37,000 people coming together in what’s usually home of the Seattle Mariners baseball team. Green Day was in town for their 3rd to last Saviors tour shows. Celebrating the 20th year release of American Idiot and the 30th of their debut Dookie, fans would get the uncommon experience of hearing both records fully. It’s incredible to be able to play to such a massive crowd and bring so many fans together with two incredible records that shaped punk rock in the U.S. Along with Green Day we would get three amazing openers The Smashing Pumpkins, Rancid, and The Linda Lindas.
The concert started with The Linda Lindas who we’ve discovered over the last few years and stand out. Their second album No Obligation is being released in October and we had the chance to listen to a few of their songs. After touring with Paramore last year and opening for the Rolling Stones, the band continues to land amazing gigs. The Linda Lindas took the stage and captured everyone’s attention in this huge venue making it seem like no big deal. Last time we saw the band in town was for an in-store at Easy Street Records in West Seattle, so this was a little less intimate. We can’t wait for them to come back with their new songs.
Next up was Rancid, another band who brought punk rock to the mainstream again in the 90s along with Green Day and the Offspring. We’ve never seen them play before, but we were very intrigued and captivated from the first song “Maxwell Murder.” The band consisting of Tim Armstrong, Matt Freeman, Lars Frederiksen, and Branden Steineckert gave everyone a show to remember. Their tenth album, Tomorrow Never Comes was released last year, their first record in six years. It was fun to listen to their track, “Olympia WA” in Seattle.
After a short switch, it was time for the Smashing Pumpkins to take the floor which was such a treat tonight as they could definitely headline their own arena tour. We’ve seen the Smashing Pumpkins a few times before and it’s always a good time getting to sing along to songs that we grew up with and still remember all the words.
Billy Corgan leads the way to some of our favorite songs as the band perfectly complements one another. Their 13th album, Aghori Mhori Mei, just came out last month and we got to hear single, “Sighommi,” live for the first time. Drummer Jimmy Chamberlin and guitarist James Iha are on top of their game playing as great as ever. They are all wearing black matching with the mood of the show as the stage lights beautifully guide our eyes. We really liked the production for this one, especially being able to see it come to life with the day turning into night.
Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness was one of the most memorable albums released in the 90s, and the best-selling double album of the decade. Highlights included “Bullet With Butterfly Wings,” “1979,” “Tonight, Tonight,” “Disarm,” Today,” and their cover of U2‘s “Zoo Station.” During “Cherub Rock,” a female was on stage dancing around and then a man without a shirt and they pretended to argue with each other and fight. This turned into a Wrestle Mania moment as they fought one another as the audience cheered them on. It’s cool that Corgan is such a huge fan of wrestling, and he incorporates it into the shows.
The night was already filled with great music and as we were waiting for the main act to take the floor, there were a few intro songs to get the crowd going. First “Bohemian Rhapsody” played as everyone filled the space singing along to the classic. Then “Blitzkrieg Bop” started and a large bunny wearing a Mariners jersey danced around on the stage. This is their show mascot it seems and preps the show before they go on which is pretty entertaining.
It was finally time for Green Day to take the floor and the stadium filled with loud voices when the band appeared, and lights began to flash along. They started with a new track from Saviors, “The American Dream Is Killing Me” as pyrotechnics paraded on the stage giving us a taste of what would ensue. Bassist and backing vocalist Mike Dirnt played on wearing an orange jumpsuit as Tré Cool brought high energy behind the drums with his blue hair and mascara.
Billie Joe Armstrong was wearing all black with tones of red including his read socks and all black shell tops. When “Burnout,” started and we entered the Doukie album set, the background changed into the artwork originally designed by Richie Butcher. The distinct explosion and cloud were a part of the design as graphics displayed on the massive screens behind them. The clouds from the bombing were also a part of the lighting and they would change throughout the night.
As the band played some of our favorites that made them huge including “Welcome to Paradise,” “Basket Case,” and “When I Come Around,” you could see everyone become more alive matching the energy of the band. For “Emenius Sleepus,” there was a huge inflatable airplane that appeared on top of the main floor flying around dropping inflatable bombs which was identical to the cover of the record. Tré Cool took the stage solo to sing “All by Myself,” the last song on the record and to finish this part of the show.
Green Day returned for the third act of the show and played some of their hits starting with “Know Your Enemy,” where Armstrong brought a fan, Tanya, onstage towards the end of the song to participate. I can’t even imagine how incredible this person felt being on stage with Billie Joe Armstrong and the band and singing a song in front of 37,000 people. What an amazing experience they were gifted and how cool that the band does this at their shows.
The show was already incredible and after this act was finished with “Minority,” and “Brain Stew,” the band went into the next one. American Idiot is so pivotal for the band as it brought them back into the mainstream and gave them their second wind in the industry. Being able to hear it live tonight meant so much to so many fans attending the show. I remember the excitement around this record and how it felt that this band had produced this, bringing them back just like what Californication had done the Red Hot Chili Peppers a few years before that.
During “Boulevard of Broken Dreams,” the fans lit up the stadium with their cell phone lights, creating stars and a beautiful moment to remember. After that Armstrong took a second and told us about the first time they played in Seattle. It was 1990 in Bremerton for a show, and they got shut down because the cops showed up after there was complaining of a whole bunch of skinheads being in one place and what would happen. Highlights included “Are We the Waiting,” “She’s a Rebel,” and “Wake Me Up When September Ends,” which was cool hearing it in September.
The band finished with the American Idiot part which brought us to their encore. They returned with new “Bobby Sox,” and ended with “Good Riddance,” which Armstrong played solo with his guitar in the middle of the stage as the audience sang along to. This is probably the best song to end any show as the lyrics carry on and everyone sings, “I hope you had the time of your life.” We sure did, and we can’t really even put into words the magic that was created. There is something so special about an artist and their music that can help return you to another part of your life. It’s hand to even believe it’s been so long since Dookie was released, and we were so excited to listed to this new band. We’re happy they could still take us back to that time and bring so many people together.
