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Green Day’s First American Tour Date of 2017 Lands in Phoenix


Green Day released its twelfth album Revolution Radio in October of 2016. The band’s first single off the album was “Bang Bang” followed by “Revolution Radio” and “Still Breathing” that were released a little over a month before the album release.

The Revolution Radio Tour hit Europe before making their first stop of 2017 in America in Phoenix, Arizona at the Talking Stick Resort Arena on March 1.

Green Day is signed by Warner Bros. and the American Punk Rock band is originally from East Bay, California.

Band members Billie Joe Armstrong (lead vocals/guitar/piano/harmonica), Mike Dirnt (bass/backing vocals), Tré Cool (drums/percussion/backing vocals), Jason White (lead guitar/backing vocals), Jason Freese (piano/keyboards/saxophone/trombone/rhythm guitar/backing vocals), and Jeff Matika (rhythm guitar/backing vocals) made the stage in Phoenix their home.

The opener for Green Day was American Punk Rock band Against Me! from Gainesville, Florida. Against Me! launched its own record label in 2011 called Total Treble Music and was previously signed by Sire Records.

Band members of Against Me! include Laura Jane Grace (guitar/lead vocals), James Bowman (guitar/vocals), Inge Johansson (bass/vocals), and Atom Willard (drums/percussion).

Against Me! brought lots of energy and crazy guitar to the Phoenix crowd. The cool lights and backdrop complemented the band’s set and stage presence.

Being a Punk Rock band, Against Me! gave off a very similar vibe to Green Day, making the band the perfect fit for hyping up the fans before Green Day hit the stage.

The mosh pit was getting really into the opener’s set with lots of cheering and head-banging.

Grace went into a little speech about how Green Day was his first concert, which pulled at a few heart strings in the Phoenix crowd.

Against Me! ended its set with a powerful last song. The crowd went crazy. It could have been because they were only one song and a thirty-minute tech-break away from seeing Green Day, but it was probably because Against Me! gave it all they had in its last few moments on stage.

Against Me! facebook.com/AgainstMe/

In the moments waiting for Green Day, fans were chattering away, lining up for merch, constructing “the wave” across the venue, and really trying everything to pass the time and make Green Day take the stage faster.

Before shutting the lights out, the tech people played a few crowd favorites (the same three before many other Green Day concerts) consisting of Queen’s “Bohemian Rhapsody,” Ramones’ “Blitzkrieg Pop,” and Ennio Morricone’s “The Good, the Bad and the Ugly.” These songs serve as a friendly reminder to the fans that their suffering will soon be over.

When the moment finally came, the lights went out and the cheering erupted throughout the theater.

Photo by Emma Sounart

Armstrong strutted out on stage with the utmost confidence followed by the remaining Green Day members, some of them newer additions and some of them a part of the band since the very beginning.

The band started its unforgettable set with a classic off its older album 21st Century Breakdown “Know Your Enemy.” The fans immediately started screaming the lyrics and bouncing up and down to their hearts’ content.

Toward the end of the song, Armstrong pulled a little boy onto the stage which not only finished off the awesome opening number but also gave the fan an unforgettable concert experience.

That little kid wasn’t the only one, though. The entire audience from the mosh pit to the top of the balcony was gushing with love and passion for the band’s set.

The band continued the night with singles “Bang Bang” and “Revolution Radio” off its new album.

But then, the chord progressions started. “Holiday” was next.

If the fans weren’t already going nuts, they sure were then. The mosh pit craziness doubled and the volume of the shouting fans tripled.

Armstrong went from the left to the right of the main stage and all the way down the catwalk, giving the audience as much energy as they were giving him.

Green Day then played “Letterbomb” during which Armstrong gave a speech about the importance of equality.

The fans doubled their energy again when “Boulevard of Broken Dreams” started. The first half of the song was slowed down and played acoustically, which only made the fans go harder when Green Day took back up to speed. Armstrong also started telling the audience the importance of being in the moment instead of constantly taking photos and videos, specifically singling out one fan in the pit.

The next song was “Longview” during which another fan was brought up onto the stage.

During “2000 Light Years Away,” Armstrong cooled things down in the pit by spraying water on the crowd and launching tshirts from a shirt gun.

Green Day played a number of songs from a variety of albums including “Christie Road” during which Armstrong performed some of it acoustically and “Scattered” during which he played a harmonica solo.

The band pulled out “Are We the Waiting” and “St. Jimmy” from American Idiot which led into the band’s cover of Operation Ivy’s “Knowledge.”

During that cover performance, yet another fan was brought onto the stage to play guitar for part of the song. Armstrong ended up giving her the guitar to keep after she finished performing with Green Day.

Photography by Emma Sounart

Green Day continued its set with a bunch of other fan favorites like “Basket Case” and “She” while also playing some cover songs and even inserting a saxophone battle inside a song.

The last two songs of the set “Still Breathing” and “Forever Now” gave the fans every reason to want more, and that’s exactly what they got.

Green Day came back for not only one but two encores. The first encore included “American Idiot” and “Jesus of Suburbia,” almost tricking some fans into leaving and letting go of the Green Day concert experience. However, Armstrong came back onstage for one last hurrah to play “Ordinary World” and “Good Riddance (Time of Your Life)” acoustically.

The memorable night had come to an end. You can always count on Green Day to put on a show!

You can catch another show on the Revolution Radio Tour by checking out the tour dates on the band’s website here or listen to its music on Spotify.

YouTube | Still Breathing – Green Day (Official Music Video)

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