Green Day Kick Off Tour at White River

A very hot day in Seattle brought eager fans to the White River Amphitheater to witness one of the most anticipated concerts of the summer. After having to cancel their date a few years back at the Paramount, Green Day would be kicking off their Revolution Radio Summer Tour in the state. The wonderful evening began with popular Catfish and the Bottlemen warming up the stage. They played tunes from last year’s The Ride as well as from their debut The Balcony, energizing the crowd.

It was time for the switch-over and we were in a bit of disbelief that the main act would start at 8:30 but we were wrong. After an incredible sing-along to “Bohemian Rhapsody“, and the pink rabbit dancing around stage to “Blitzkrieg Bop“, the music died and it was time. The black stage curtain was pulled off and the band ran on stage ready to go starting with “Know Your Enemy“, that had the effect of an energy wave which moved through the venue.

A lucky fan was brought on stage to sing a verse right from the start but it would not be the last time for the night. It seemed that the only way off the stage for the first couple of fans was to stage dive which was epic to witness as the second fan was also on the younger age side. During the cover of “Knowledge“, a young woman got to play guitar with the band and to her surprise at the end, take it home as Billie Joe Armstrong gifted it to her.

Armstrong stopped and dedicated “Boulevard of Broken Dreams” to the late Chester Bennington and noted that life is a mess and not pretty sometimes but that we have to remember that it is also beautiful. Armstrong along with bassist Mike Dirnt and drummer Tre Cool put on a high energy show with some of the best pyrotechnics we’ve seen at a live concert. There was never a boring moment and as the band went through some of our favorite songs from the past three decades we couldn’t get enough.

Multiple banners and lights changed throughout the show with the Green Day logo in the background which along with the lights, pyro, and confetti, made for an entertaining night. The band went on for an impressing two and a half hours ending their second encore with Armstrong playing the guitar solo to “Good Riddance.” We were all captivated by the live and won’t be forgetting this night any time soon. It was great to see these legendary men and even better, respect them even more than before.