Green Day drew a massive crowd to Comerica Park

Green Day, like all things pop-punk, will always remain a critical nostalgia-inducing component in the development of many alternative fans. It’s why I didn’t initially find the celebration of Dookie’s 30th anniversary strange. But witnessing Green Day perform one of their defining albums at Comerica Park felt like something I should have been envious of — it’s the stuff of a rock documentary, not an event I should have gotten to witness personally. With a headliner surrounded by fans old and new as well as three opening acts, the six-hour show was a surreal experience, a sort of homage to the punks Green Day used to be. 

As a personal rule, I don’t go to arena shows — I prefer the brutal physicality of an unexpected pit and the ring in my ears that lingers for days. That being said, if you shove Rancid and The Smashing Pumpkins on the same ticket, I’ll happily squeeze through sweaty crowds and sit, smiling, with my overpriced beer. With these two pinnacles of alternative music — along with new riot grrrl pupils, The Linda Lindas — all opening for Green Day, the lineup at Comerica Park seemed perfect to entertain a simmering crowd.

Unfortunately, thanks to the insane congestion funneling into Detroit on the way to the venue, I didn’t manage to see The Linda Lindas’s set, but presumably they, like Rancid, gave an incredibly high-energy show to a crowd still finding their seats. For the entirety of Rancid’s set, crowds of people were still wandering to their seats and talking over whatever crowd interaction the band could manage. Thankfully, there was at least some movement closer to the stage, even if it was on the sluggish side for a circle pit. Still, maybe the audience’s lack of energy and hesitance to swirl themselves into some ungovernable mass was justified considering the show was scheduled from 5:30 p.m. until 11:00 p.m. By the time Rancid was done playing, the war of attrition had really just started. 

Even The Smashing Pumpkins played to a relaxed and sitting crowd, but their set received noticeably more engagement. With three guitarists and a back-up vocalist who occasionally picked a guitar up herself, the band had an unblemished, confident sound that radiated through the stands and electrified the audience. There was a wave of prickling anticipation as the group started “1979,” and the set felt nearly cinematic as the sun set over Detroit, leaving a dusky filter layered over the stage. Billy Corgan and James Iha talked earnestly with the crowd, offering some self-aware comments about their age and the insanity of performing off and on since the ‘80s. Their hour-long set felt authentic and embraced the devil-may-care energy their fans have enjoyed the last 40 years. It almost didn’t feel like enough time for the audience to absorb the lamenting choruses and rebellious riffs the group has come to be defined by, but all good things must come to an end. After an impressive set that guided the crowd through their older material as well as their more popular songs, The Smashing Pumpkins ended the night with “Zero,” a final reminder of the group’s counterculture ideology.

Once the sun had fully set and pink neon accented the stage, the audience finally jolted to life, standing and cheering wildly as some stagehand in a jersey-clad bunny suit ran drunkenly around the stage. Immediately after, Billie Joe Armstrong ran out playing “The American Dream Is Killing Me,” the only song from their new album, Saviors, that they would play the whole night. The rest of the two-hour set was dedicated firstly to Dookie and then American Idiot.

Playing both albums completely was an impressive decision for Green Day, and the commitment to such a long performance demonstrated these 50-year-olds’ dedication to the genre. Still, such a long set is uncommon, and Green Day knew they’d need to use more than pyrotechnics and loud pop-punk to entertain a crowd that had been waiting four hours to hear them play. Between the massive inflatable plane that dropped palm-sized inflatable “bombs” onto the crowd, the multicolored edited big screens and an entire set change once they finished Dookie, Green Day’s stage show was equally as impressive as their musical one.

The drone fiasco was just as entertaining, of course, at least for the wilder fan. After an unauthorized drone flew above the arena, Green Day was rushed offstage mid-song out of fear for the group’s safety. For the full 15-minute pause, however, neither the band nor Comerica Park staff did anything to assure the safety of the crowd. Whatever the reasoning behind leaving the audience in the dark, there was luckily no panic or mass hysteria, and after the break the show continued seemingly as normal. Green Day maintained their rambunctious fun energy, with plenty of jokes, snide comments and updated political commentary, and even inviting fans onstage.

For such a long set, the group’s energy never seemed to waver and their unapologetic, genuine excitement about their own music came off as endearing. The whole of the pop-punk genre is endearing — it’s more fun, more accepting and more juvenile, not as caught up in sniffing out posers as its mother genre, punk. Green Day is the epitome of that phenomenon. Their music is politically motivated, yes, but ultimately it’s lively and meant to excite, not depress or anger. That’s why nostalgia brought hundreds of fans to Comerica Park and why Green Day will continue to be applauded for their impressive contributions to the pop-punk scene for at least a couple more decades.

Daily Arts Writer Mivick Smith can be reached at rmontsmi@umich.edu.

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