Disillusionment never rocked as hard as on Green Day’s 2004 masterpiece American Idiot. The title track still resonates 20 (yep, 20) years later, which frontman Billie Joe Armstrong said was by design. “We always wanted our music to be timeless,” Armstrong said in 2004. Well, mission accomplished.
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Time hasn’t slowed down, and neither has the trio, now all firmly planted in middle age. Since American Idiot’s success, Green Day has produced seven additional albums (three in the same year.) At a recent show in Anaheim, California, the punk rockers channeled that early-aughts angst with some American Idiot deep cuts.
Green Day Performs These American Idiot Tracks for the First Time Since 2005
On Monday (March 18,) Green Day announced it would play its newest album, SAVIORS, in full for the first time at Anaheim’s House of Blues — the next day.
[RELATED: Green Day The Saviors Tour 2024: How to Get Tickets]
Those who attended Tuesday’s (March 19) show did get to hear some fresh material. However, they were also the first audience to hear “She’s A Rebel” and “Extraordinary Girl” live since 2005.
Even the “Lesser” ‘American Idiot’ Songs Still Pack a Punch
In a November 2023 article from American Songwriter ranking all 13 American Idiot songs, “Extraordinary Girl” and “She’s a Rebel” came in near the bottom. However, that’s more of a testament to the album’s overall quality than the individual songs’.
“’Extraordinary Girl’” would be a solid entry on most Green Day albums, but when compared to much of American Idiot?” the article read. “It can feel sonically and lyrically a step behind the album’s heavier-hitting entries.”
The article goes on to describe “She’s a Rebel” as “a meat-and-potatoes pop rock song” that “still sticks with listeners like eating a tried-and-true comfort dish.” The House of Blues crowd’s reaction to hearing it confirms that assessment.
Catch Green Day On Tour
The punk legends are set to kick off the North American leg of their SAVIORS tour in July. Green Day is also celebrating 30 years of 1994’s Dookie and 20 years of American Idiot by playing both albums in their entirety.
“I mean, the fact that we’re launching a new record [SAVIORS] at the same time as those albums having their anniversaries is a strange anomaly, but also really awesome,” bassist Mike Dirnt told Kerrang in January. “And it gives us an opportunity to put together one hell of a show. We can deviate from it — we can do whatever we want to do — but, man, there’s a lot of friggin’ fun songs to play!”
Featured image by Aaron J. Thornton/Getty Images
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