Billie Joe Armstrong has long been known for inviting fans onstage to join Green Day for a song or two. Over time, the frontman has developed an eye for choosing fans who can keep up with the band’s high energy.
But during the band’s headlining set at Coachella on Saturday night, Armstrong may have found a fan with more confidence than any other he’s invited before.
The fan, dressed in a black tank top, leather pants, and a glittering belt buckle, walked up to the stage as Armstrong made his way through the crowd. “Ooh, he’s handsome,” Armstrong said, noticing the fan’s bold appearance. The fan effortlessly slung Armstrong’s guitar strap over his shoulder and began playing “Good Riddance (Time of Your Life)” as Armstrong sang. The fan even struck poses for the Coachella cameras, prompting Armstrong to jokingly say, “Quit being so professional.”
Green Day, formed nearly 40 years ago by Armstrong and bassist Mike Dirnt in the Bay Area, has remained one of the most polished and reliable rock bands on the road. Along with drummer Tré Cool, who joined the band in 1990, they quickly whipped through their decades of pop-punk hits with speed and precision. Even when performing to massive crowds, such as during their stadium tours celebrating the anniversaries of Dookie (1994) and American Idiot (2004), Green Day knows how to captivate large audiences.
At Coachella, one of the rare rock bands to headline the festival in recent years, Armstrong and his bandmates expertly engaged the massive crowd with call-and-response routines and top-notch video production.
As the band performed fan favorites like “Basket Case,” “Holiday,” “Welcome to Paradise,” “Longview,” and “Brain Stew,” the energy of their early punk days remained clear. Despite their success, Green Day has not lost the raw enthusiasm that helped them break into the mainstream in the mid-‘90s, during the post-grunge era.
Armstrong also took the opportunity to update some of his lyrics. In “American Idiot,” he swapped “redneck agenda” with “MAGA agenda” to make a political statement. He also changed a line in “Jesus of Suburbia” to voice his concern for “the kids from Palestine.”
In addition to their well-known tracks, Green Day performed several songs from their latest album Saviors, including “Bobby Sox,” which Armstrong has described as a queer love song. However, the focus of the night remained on their classic hits—crafty, passionate, and often profane—that continue to fuel the band’s enduring popularity.
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