by Virginia Hernandez
Welcome to Pop-Punk Paradise at Germania Amphitheatre: The Linda-Lindas, Rancid, and Green Day
Pop-punk giants Green Day brought their much-anticipated Saviors Tour to Austin’s Germania Amphitheatre on Tuesday, September 10th, supported by the young power pop band Linda Lindas and punk rock stalwarts Rancid. With a sold-out, all-ages audience ready to riot, the bands delivered three blistering sets making for a night of high-octane, contagious energy and impressive musical prowess.
The teenage up-and-comers Linda Lindas opened the show early with a 7-song set, showcasing their style reminiscent of early youthful punk bands like the Ramones and The Runaways. The band has made a notable splash on Green Day’s tour, utilizing their unique opportunity to charm stadium-sized audiences with fresh, modern lyrics that speak to younger punk fans. Ending with their viral hit, “Racist, Sexist Boy”, Linda Lindas was the surprise of the evening and set the tone for the night.
Second on the bill was the gritty punk band Rancid, riling up the crowd by playing a large number of songs from their hit 1995 album, …And Out Come The Wolves, and sprinkling in other well-known hits, like “Ghost of a Chance” from Trouble Maker and “Radio” from Let’s Go. Frontman Tim Armstrong and co-founder Matt Freeman have deep roots in the punk community through the foundational 80s band Operation Ivy and made it clear through their 10-song set that they still sit firmly in that hard-edged tradition.
Headliners Green Day have made a resurgence in the past year with Gen-Z and Gen-Alpha through their social media savvy and ageless energy, a generational bridge that was demonstrated in the packed crowd on Tuesday night. Germania Amp was a family affair with millennial parents and children wearing matching Green Day shirts, and groups of teens making TikToks mingling among crowds of Gen-X punk rockers.
Catering to those crossovers, the Saviors Tour finds the band playing two of its most popular albums in their entirety – Dookie, 1994, and American Idiot, 2004. Dookie gave the band its breakout success in 1994 following the release of the iconic “Basket Case” music video. American Idiot was the political concept album that proved Green Day had lasting relevance and solidified its place in the pop rock pantheon.
From the opening notes of Queen’s “Bohemian Rhapsody”, Green Day’s intro song, the entire crowd was on its feet and singing out loud. By the time the band took the stage tearing through “The American Dream is Killing Me”, their latest hit from Saviors, the audience was uproarious. The set was a 36-song journey through two albums, with more of their hits added in between and at the bookends. For 2.5 hours with no intermission, Green Day burned through their catalog, playing hard-hitting and faithful versions of the beloved songs fans waited sometimes decades to hear. Singer Billie Joe Armstrong, bassist Mike Dirnt, and drummer Tre Cool were joined by a touring band, who were particularly notable for bringing to life the varied moods and frequencies of the American Idiot tracks.
With pyrotechnics, costume changes, and their classic “Bad Year” blimp floating above the crowd, Green Day hooked the audience, most of whom joyfully shouted the words to every song for the entirety of the set. Green Day are undoubtedly masters of their craft, including audience interaction and fan appreciation. The real gift of the Saviors Tour is giving long-time fans a rare opportunity to hear two of the most seminal pop-punk albums of the past 30 years while sharing that experience with their children, families, and friends – passing the torch to the next generation of punk fans.
Set list
The Linda Lindas:
Too Many Things
Growing Up
Nino
No Obligation
All in My Head
Oh!
Racist, Sexist Boy
Rancid:
Maxwell Murder
Roots Radicals
Journey to the End of the East Bay
Tomorrow Never Comes
The 11th Hour
Ghost of a Chance
Radio
Something in the World Today
Olympia WA.
Time Bomb
Ruby Soho
Green Day:
The American Dream Is Killing Me
*Dookie
Burnout
Having a Blast
Chump
Longview
Welcome to Paradise
Pulling Teeth
Basket Case
She
Sassafras Roots
When I Come Around
Coming Clean
Emenius Sleepus
In the End
F.O.D.
All by Myself
Know Your Enemy (with fan on stage)
Look Ma, No Brains!
One-Eyed Bastard
Dilemma
Minority (with band introductions)
Brain Stew
* American Idiot
Jesus of Suburbia
Holiday
Boulevard of Broken Dreams
Are We the Waiting
St. Jimmy
Give Me Novacaine
She’s a Rebel
Extraordinary Girl
Letterbomb
Wake Me Up When September Ends
Homecoming
Whatsername
Bobby Sox
Good Riddance (Time of Your Life)
