Green Day
The Fillmore, San Francisco
April 2, 2024
Photos by Greg Schneider
Teaming up with both the United Nations and the Recording Academy, the Bay Area’s iconic Green Day played an intimate, 2 hour set at the historic Fillmore in San Francisco on April 2nd, with all proceeds benefiting the UN human rights justice efforts, as well as the Right Here Right Now climate fund, which assists musicians affected by climate change. For the fans who were lucky enough to enter the venue with the magical green wristband, it was a night to remember.
With the room more than buzzing with excitement, Green Day walked onto the stage with “Tequila” blaring over the PA, and then immediately launched into the title track of their 14th studio record Saviors (Reprise Records), released earlier this year. From there, the band played the new record in its entirety, with highlights including “The American Dream Is Killing Me,” “Strange Days Are Here To Stay,” and “One Eyed Bastard.”
“Give it up for Ultra Q!” exclaimed frontman Billie Joe Armstrong, referring to his son Jakob Danger’s band, who opened the show. “It’s all about family tonight. It’s all about brothers and sisters tonight.”
The band’s energy only seemed to increase as they tore through the new record, with both Billy Joe and bassist Mike Dirnt catching air as they jumped around the stage. And with the addition of guitarist Kevin Preston, all the new songs sound very full, especially noted on “Fancy Sauce,” a song which Armstrong said, “goes out to all you weird Qanon motherfuckers out there.” The track closed out the Saviors set, but Green Day were not quite done yet.
After a ripping version of “American Idiot,” Green Day then surprised their fans in the packed room by playing the American Idiot album in its entirety. Not taking any time to slow down, the band delivered “Jesus Of Suburbia,” “Holiday,” and “Boulevard Of Broken Dreams” back to back to back, and then played “Are We The Waiting,” for the first time live since 2017.
Closing out the near two hour set with both “Homecoming” and “Whatsername,” Green Day returned to the stage for a two song encore of their classics “Homecoming” and “Basket Case.” By the time it was all said and done, Green Day turned such a rare intimate show into a larger-than-life affair, all for a great cause. How many other bands on the planet can pull off something like that? The answer: not many.
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