Live Review : Green Day at Irving Plaza

While selling out stadiums and headlining festivals the iconic band Green Day played an intimate show at Irving Plaza, a New York venue with a 1,200 person capacity. This is the fourth time the band has played this venue since 1994 when they were touring for their now 30 year old album Dookie. The show, sponsored by XMRadio, raffled off tickets instead of allowing people to purchase them. The exclusivity led to a feeling of luck, gratitude, and exuberant joy from the crowd. This show is the first of an international tour starting in May to promote their new album, Saviors. The album, out today, is their 14th studio album. Though you may not have been able to attend the show, it will be streamed on Saturday, January 20 at 9:00pm EST on SiriusXM’s Green Day Radio and the SiriusXM app. The concert will also air on Howard Stern’s SiriusXM channel, on Monday, January 22 at 7:00am EST.

The band didn’t forget to touch on their classics during the whopping 26 song set. Billy Joe Armstrong who turns 52 in February, gave no indication of his age. Playing like someone in their twenties; riling up the crowd as though he was born for the role. 

In a sea of people laden with beer and nostalgia the crowd chatted amongst themselves while the excitement built. The anticipation was palpable – this energy confirmed by an audience member gushing that she “Loves the preshow jitters.” As the lights went down and the band flooded the stage, the music transported everyone to a time before, Instagram, Facebook, and Tom from MySpace befriending everyone. The crowd; present, attentive, and lively.

The band opened on a strong note playing the self titled single “American Idiot” off of American Idiot. The venue, starting to smell like weed and old teen spirit, hung on the curiousness of the next song. The band decided to break into their new album, Saviors, by playing “Look Ma, No Brains.” The song seamlessly transitioned into “The American Dream is Killing Me” and then headed into their fourth song, “Dilemma.” The fifth song of the set was yet another new track, “One Eyed Bastard.” 

The crowd at this point was bobbing to every note and beat. They continued the trend of new songs with “Bobby Sox” and “1981.” Then jumped back into the old stuff with “Burnout.” The crowd, who were enthralled by the music, got more and more rowdy and attempted a pit, but quickly gave up. As their ninth song “Longview” started, people of all ages began to crowd surf. Billie Joe Armstrong, mid song, tells everyone to “Put away their phones,” joking that the “Last thing they need is Elon Musk bitching about it.” The crowd took this to heart and obediently put their devices away. The tenth song was “Welcome to Paradise” which was followed by “She” and “Holiday,” which led directly into “Boulevard of Broken Dreams.” Moving backward in their catalog they played “Letter Bomb.”

In the middle of their fifteenth song “Minority” Billy Joe Armstrong paused the set to bring attention to the fact that it is bassists Kevin Preston’s birthday. He then led the crowd in a very hearty rendition of “Happy Birthday.” After this touching, brotherly moment, the band played “2000 Light Years,” “One of My Lives,” and “Stuart and the Ave.” Next, the band broke out “Christie Road.” The twentieth song of their set was “Brain Stew,” a crowd pleaser. The audience sang along, hitting every lyric and every beat. This was followed by “St. Jimmy,” “Warning,” and “Revolution Radio.” The twenty fourth song of the set was “Basket Case.” 

The crowd, older and younger alike, head banged in unison. It was apparent that some of the older crowd members had saved their energy specifically for this moment.  For the twenty fifth song the band played an elongated version of “Homecoming.” The song became a long and winding road of notes and lyrics. 

The show concluded with a triumphant rendition of “Whatsername.” Ending at 9:50 PM and clocking in at about an hour and a half, the show was able to span the better part of the three decades the band has been together and creating music. 

Set List

1.  American Idiot
2.  Look Ma, No Brains
3.  The American Dream is Killing Me
4.  Dilemma
5.  One Eyed Bastard
6.  Bobby Sox
7.  1981
8.  Burnout
9.  Longview
10.  Welcome to Paradise
11.  She
12.  Holiday
13.  Boulevard of Broken Dreams
14.  Letter Bomb
15.  Minority
16.  2000 Light Years
17.  One of My Lives
18.  Stuart and the Ave
19.  Christie Road
20.  Brain Stew
21.  St. Jimmy
22.  Warning
23.  Revolution Radio
24.  Basket Case
25.  Homecoming
26.  Whatsername