“Don’t you want Elon Musk to shut the f#ck up? Don’t you want Donald Trump to shut the f#ck up?’”. Green Day were in top form and didn’t hold back in speaking truth to power at their first Australian show of the Saviors tour in Melbourne on Saturday night (1 March 2025).
Americans have a lot to be angry for. The world has a lot to be angry for. Green Day channelled all of the angst, all of the frustration, all of the uncertainly created by the greedy oval shaped, oval office based fascists into a two and a half hour musical news bulletin (Note: Musk is both unelected and a South African).
The ‘American Idiot’ album was written 20 years ago about the Bush administration but is even more relevant today when juxtaposed alongside the felon and the couch fucker. With ‘Jesus of Suburbia’ Billie Joe Armstrong’s words resonated “am I retarded or am I just J.D. Vance”. The ‘American Idiot’ lyrics have been updated to “not a part of your MAGA agenda”.
Green Day performed a brutal takedown of the United States insurrection president right from the first song ‘The American Dream Is Killing Me’. This is old school rock, power to the people, slapping the arse of the arseholes with words instead of a Forbes magazine.
And we got a great rock show too. Bonus!
The show celebrated 30 years of the ‘Dookie’ album and 20 years of ‘American Idiot’ with full performances of both albums.
Around the songs were nods to the band’s influences, Tom Petty’s ‘Free Fallin’ with ‘Dilemma’, AC/DC’s ‘Highway To Hell’ with ‘Brain Stew’.
This was a major stadium show with over 50,000 fans and the production with big with lots of pyrotechnics throughout the show and a full on fireworks display at the end. There was even a giant inflatable plane flying over the crowd dropping t-shirt ‘bombs’.
And then it ends with ‘Good Riddance (Time of Your Life)’, “the Seinfeld song”. Here’s to a good riddance for the Oval Office America idiots as soon as possible so Americans can get back to having the time of their lives again.
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- Billie Joe Armstrong of Green Day at Marvel Stadium 010225 Photo by Rick Clifford @rcstills
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- Mike Dirnt of Green Day at Marvel Stadium 010225 Photo by Rick Clifford @rcstills
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- Tré Cool of Green Day at Marvel Stadium 010225 Photo by Rick Clifford @rcstills
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- Green Day at Marvel Stadium 010225 Photo by Rick Clifford @rcstills
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- Billie Joe Armstrong of Green Day at Marvel Stadium 010225 Photo by Rick Clifford @rcstills
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- Billie Joe Armstrong of Green Day at Marvel Stadium 010225 Photo by Rick Clifford @rcstills
Green Day setlist, Melbourne, 1 March 2025:
The American Dream Is Killing Me (from Saviors, 2024)
Dookie album (1994)
Burnout
Having a Blast
Chump
Longview
Welcome to Paradise
Pulling Teeth
Basket Case
She
Sassafras Roots
When I Come Around
Coming Clean
Emenius Sleepus
In the End
F.O.D.
All by Myself
Know Your Enemy (from 21st Century Breakdown, 2009)
One Eyed Bastard (from Saviors, 2024)
Dilemma (from Saviors, 2024)
21 Guns (from 21st Century Breakdown, 2009)
Minority (from Warning, 2000)
Brain Stew (from Insomniac, 1995)
American Idiot (from American Idiot, 2004)
American Idiot
Jesus of Suburbia
Holiday
Boulevard of Broken Dreams
Are We the Waiting
St. Jimmy
Give Me Novacaine
She’s a Rebel
Extraordinary Girl
Letterbomb
Wake Me Up When September Ends
Homecoming
Whatsername
Bobby Sox (from Saviors, 2024)
Good Riddance (Time of Your Life) (from Nimrod, 1997)
It has been 38 years since 15 year olds Billie Joe Armstrong and Mike Dirnt formed a band in 1987. Tré Cool joined in 1990 and only played on one track on the second album ‘Kerplunk’. The Armstrong, Dirnt, Cool trio have been Green Day for every major release since the third album ‘Dookie’ to the current ‘Saviors’.
Green Day is an incredible legacy of friendship and unity. Lyrically they still tell it like it is without. They will say the unpleasant honestly because it needs to be heard.
They don’t make ‘em like this anymore.
Green Day have two more Aussie shows with AFI and Private Function.
The remaining dates are:
3 March, Sydney, Engie Stadium
5 March, Cold Coast, Cbus Stadium
https://www.livenation.com.au/green-day-tickets-adp78
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