From Bay Area basement punks to Broadway rock opera revivalists, Green Day have had quite the wild journey since their formation in the late ’80s – and their recent Saviors Tour is an epic journey through it all. Although the international tour is named after their latest album, which came out in January, the band is using it as a vehicle to perform their two breakthrough albums, “Dookie” (1994) and “American Idiot” (2004), in full.
While some bands celebrate milestones with a few songs in a setlist or perhaps a full album, Green Day said “let’s play two” on Tuesday night at Wrigley Field and meant it. It was a marathon endeavor, playing 37 songs in two and a half hours, complemented by inflatable stage props that recreated each album’s cover in 3D effect. “Tonight is not just a party,” singer/guitarist Billie Joe Armstrong warned the crowd, “it’s a celebration!”
The sold-out festival began with happy hour performances by Green Day’s appointed “nieces” The Linda Lindas and the “brothers” Rancid, before local heroes The Smashing Pumpkins made their first appearance at Wrigley Field.
“We always practiced across the street at the Cubby Bear,” frontman Billy Corgan noted toward the end of the hour-long set. “It took us 36 years to get here, but we’re so happy. … God bless the Cubs!”
Although Corgan appeared in his signature long goth dress, his two children paraded across the stage in their own baseball jerseys for a song while working with National Wrestling Alliance stars Natalia Markova and Bryan Idol. Let’s not forget that Corgan owns the league and debuted his reality show “Adventures In Carnyland” on the CW network through the company in May.
It was an inopportune moment in an otherwise exemplary performance by the alt-rock soldiers, who battled through a string of hits from their numerous releases, from “Today” to “Tonight, Tonight,” which always gives Chicagoans a sense of pride with its “city by the lake” lyrics. Along with “1979,” “Bullet With Butterfly Wings,” “Cherub Rock,” and new songs “Beguiled” and “That Which Animates the Spirit” from the “Atum” album, the Pumpkins also managed to squeeze in a solid cover of U2’s “Zoo Station.”
Since the original outfit of James Iha and Jimmy Chamberlin officially rejoined Corgan in 2018, the band has never sounded better. One of their best recent moves was signing guitarist Kiki Wong (after a nationwide open audition earlier this year). The unabashed metalhead—who was even spotted at Metallica’s Sunday night show—brings a palpable enthusiasm to the group; with Flying V guitar in hand, she’s the liveliest member onstage. While it was odd to see the moody mood-setters perform a daylight set, it was still a great performance. “We’re so happy to be here in our goddamn hometown,” Iha explained.
Smashing Pumpkins frontman and guitarist Billy Corgan and drummer Jimmy Chamberlin perform before Green Day at Wrigley Field on Tuesday night, the first time the Pumpkins have performed at the stadium.
Tyler Pasciak LaRiviere/Sun Times
In a way, having Pumpkins on the bill was also an anniversary. They and Green Day first teamed up 30 years ago at the 1994 edition of Lollapalooza. It was just one of many local acts that Green Day has backed on their last tours.
“Tonight we played with the Smashing Pumpkins. Last time we played here we played with Fall Out Boy. Next time we’re playing with the band Chicago,” Armstrong joked as Green Day’s mammoth set got underway. He later also inserted a bit of Cheap Trick’s “Surrender” into Green Day’s “Minority.” Along with “Brain Stew” and “Saviors,” songs like “Bobby Sox” and “Dilemma” were the few that didn’t fall into the “Dookie” or “American Idiot” category.
Combining the two albums in their entirety made for interesting pairings. Both come from different times for the band — and the country in general. While “Dookie” is quick-witted and tackles innocuous topics like boredom and relationships, “American Idiot” is a conceptual opus full of convoluted anthems with political and antiwar messages that reflect the post-9/11, Iraq War world in which it was released. (Reviving it 20 years later is still incredibly timely, with the band updating certain key lyrics to fit the times: “I’m not part of a redneck agenda” from American Idiot is now “I’m not part of a MAGA agenda”).
“America, are you ready to vote? Do you want your democracy? Are we fighting fascism?” Armstrong asked during “Holiday.” Before the show began, video screens showed various messages, including “Don’t be an American idiot, register to vote,” as part of Green Day’s partnership with voter registration group HeadCount.
It wasn’t all crude. The evening turned into an epic, nostalgic sing-along, with fireworks and giant flames adding to the Broadway-esque theatricality; there was a blue-haired girl named Bridget who joined the band onstage during “Know Your Enemy” and drummer Tré Cool mimed his “All By Myself” in a leopard coat.
“Tonight is about love and togetherness… we don’t need an algorithm or propaganda,” Armstrong said. “Tonight is about joy – for God’s sake, we deserve it.”
When they ended with “Good Riddance” and Tré Cool and bassist Mike Dirnt did a little dance around Armstrong’s solo performance, it was clear that everyone – band included – had had the time of their lives.
THE SETS FROM “THE SMASHING PUMPKINS”
The eternal look
Doomsday Clock
Bahnhof Zoo (U2 cover)
Today
What enlivens the spirit
Tonight, tonight
Ava Worship
Disarm
Ball with butterfly wings
Seduced
1979
Jellyfish belly
Cherub Rock
Zero
GREEN DAY SET LIST
The American dream is killing me
Burn-out
Have fun
Idiot
Long term
Welcome to paradise
Pulling teeth
Basket fall
She
Sassafras roots
When I pass by
Speak plainly
Emenius Sleepus
At the end
FOD
All alone
Know your enemy
Look, mom, no sense!
One-eyed bastard
dilemma
minority
Brain stew
American Idiot
Jesus of the Suburbs
Vacation
Boulevard of Broken Dreams
Are we the ones waiting
St.Jimmy
Give me Novacaine
She is a rebel
Extraordinary girl
Letter bomb
wake me Up When September Ends
Homecoming
What’s your name?
Bobby Sox
Goodbye forever (time of your life)
