I saw the first night of Green Day’s UK tour in Manchester- and it was an epic night of punk rock

Green Day are a band that I’ve been hoping to see for many years. My first time was to be in Manchester, one of only a small number of UK shows on the ‘Saviors’ tour- and it turned out to be a night worth the six month wait since tickets were released. 

I got to Emirates Old Trafford in good time, with plenty of varied Green Day shirts filling the tram from the city centre. Deciding to mark the anniversary gig occasion in style, I bought myself a tour t-shirt. £40 felt slightly on the steep side, but it just felt like something I needed to. 

After waiting not too long in the merch queue, I made my way forward into the crowd as support act ‘Nothing But Thieves’ were wrapping up their set. The main event was around the corner, and the trio from California burst onto the stage with ‘The American Dream Is Killing Me’, a rare taste of the new album ‘Saviors’, before the classics commenced. 

The playing in full of two albums for the 20th anniversary of ‘American Idiot’ and the 30th anniversary of ‘Dookie’ saw the older album rattled out first. Green Day barely missed a beat during their epic 2 and a half hour set, and the rapid fire nature of ‘Dookie’ got us all moving and shaking from the off. 

Frontman Billie Joe Armstrong has one of the more recognisable voices around, but he played the role of safety advisor as he stopped ‘Chump’ dead in its tracks. An issue in the crowd gave Armstrong a chance to chat to the crowd, a monologue he started with ‘so does anyone want to hear any jokes?’

Back on with the show, and Armstrong had the crowd in the palm of his hand. Mosh pits were forming, and I got soaked with a cup of was (thankfully) beer. The tunes just kept on coming, all the while the famous album logo was front and centre on stage. 

This was an interesting show in the sense that the crowd knew 90% of the setlist before setting out to Emirates Old Trafford. Fans old and new gathered for the classics, and there was an interesting change in energy between ‘Saviors’ tracks and those from the two albums marking their special year. 

‘Welcome to Paradise’ and ‘Burnout’ are two of the staple tracks of ‘Dookie’ and there was an audible gasp of excitement when the intro to each was played- myself very much included. Green Day continued to not miss a beat, and the two full albums were bridged with some more new tunes- again these weren’t opposed by the crowd but it was clear what they were waiting for. 

An inflatable grenade-shaped heart clasped in a bloodied hand was unveiled, signalling the start of the ‘American Idiot’ run through. The title track, possibly Green Day’s most famous, is one of the songs that I’ve never thought I’d get to see live- and boy it was worth the wait. Beer, sweat and multiple mosh pits made the brief song feel like it lasted a lifetime. 

‘Jesus of Suburbia ', ‘Holiday’ and ‘Boulevard of Broken Dreams’ as conservative songs reminded me- not that I needed it- of just how good this album is. Billie welcomed fans to join in with songs throughout the night, and his expressive face painted a picture of pure joy. 

With the set heading moving on down to the conclusion, Billie expressed his joy of being in town. “I couldn’t sleep last night because I knew we were playing f****** Manchester, England.”

Proceedings were wrapped up with the always beautifully acoustic ‘Good Riddance (Time Of Your Life)’. A beautiful way to end this pop punk trio’s first Manchester show in years, we can only hope the next wait is nowhere near this. 

This night was non-stop, pedal to the metal punk rock show from guys who are masters of their art. A flurry of confetti and an embrace on stage to end a man incredible set

Green Day are a band that just know how to nail a live show, and the renditions of ‘Dookie’ and ‘American Idiot’ were stunning to mark two significant anniversaries in music.