Bullet in a Bible Vol.2

"These records (Dookie and American Idiot) came out 10 years apart and they’re milestones in our career, so we’re going to be playing Dookie in its entirety and American Idiot in its entirety." It was January 17, 2024, and Billie Joe Armstrong, frontman of Green Day, revealed to Howard Stern how they wanted to celebrate the 30th anniversary of Dookie and the 20th anniversary of American Idiot. Just a couple of days before the release of their 14th album Saviors, but frankly, we didn’t care about that anymore. A tour that promised to be epic and, even though it’s still in its early stages, will surely go down in history.

On June 16, 2024, in Milan at the I-Days, Green Day made us relive those emotions that most of us had only partially experienced through watching the videos of Bullet in a Bible, a live album of one of their most famous concerts ever held at Milton Keynes in 2005. Last Sunday’s concert is one of those that makes you go like “I was there.” Disclaimer: although I had seen them 5 days earlier in Hamburg, in this review I will only talk about the Milan show since the production of the first one (for some reason) was more than halved and therefore didn’t allow me to experience the same as in Milan.

Performance

When in Hitchin’ a Ride he says, “there's a drought in the fountain of youth,” he’s right. He must have drunk it all. If it isn’t so, Billie, please reveal your secret. Find me someone else who at 52 can perform nonstop for more than 2 hours, jumping and singing day in and day out. There are no words to describe what a force of nature Billie Joe is on stage. Tre and Mike, as usual, were great companions. If we were used to hearing Mike sing during Tales from Another Broken Home in Jesus of Suburbia, this time we got to appreciate Tre Cool’s vocal skills in Homecoming but especially in All By Myself, where he took the stage all to himself for a couple of minutes while Billie and Mike recharged teh batteries before entering the second part of the concert. It’s true, towards the last songs of American Idiot there was a bit of fatigue with some off-key moments here and there, but this did not affect the overall performance in the slightest. It's punk rock at the end of the day; it doesn’t need to be perfect.

Setlist

The show starts with the opening track of their latest album Saviors, “The American Dream is Killing Me,” reminding us that this album exists even though, let’s be honest, we were all there for something else. And here we go straight to Dookie, starting with Burnout, moving through the iconic Longview, Welcome to Paradise, Basket Case, She, and When I Come Around, and ending with All By Myself by Tre Cool. Before moving on to the main course of the evening, an interlude composed of some tracks from Saviors and the inevitable Hitchin’ a Ride, which always rocks live. 

And then, American Idiot. One of the most beautiful concept albums in rock history, an endless journey of Jimmy (the Jesus of Suburbia) seeking to accept himself in a world he doesn’t recognize. A story of revenge, drugs, love, with a completely uncertain ending. It would need a separate review to talk about this masterpiece. What a gift to hear live songs like Give Me Novacaine, Homecoming, and Whatsername, which usually struggle to find space in more “crowd-pleasing” setlists. I must admit it was strange to hear Jesus of Suburbia so early, being the 2nd track of the album when it’s usually left as the penultimate song in their setlists. Missing Minority and Bobby Sox present in the printed setlist but not played (Billie was visibly tired) to close before the grand finale with the classic Good Riddance, a song that personally has never thrilled me, but everything that happened just before was definitely the time of my life.

Production

The best stage Green Day has ever had. If before this tour they always had very basic setups, this time they wanted to take it to the next level. A semicircular wall of Marshall amplifiers behind the pedestal where Tre Cool's drum set was placed, accompanied by the usual set of lights, fireboxes, and mega screens, one hanging from the ceiling and the other at mid-height. Nothing too particular for now. The extra touch was given by the use of inflatables, like the one imitating the explosion on the cover of Dookie, the hand tightly holding the heart-shaped grenade. The best thing was the airplane flying over the crowd, pulled by two people dressed as dogs in the middle of the audience, all elements present on the cover of Dookie.

Crowd and Venue

If not the largest, one of the largest crowds in Green Day’s history in Europe. We’re talking about approximately 85,000 people. Every attempt to preserve my eardrums with ear plugs was in vain, but it was absolutely worth it. Rarely in my life have I heard such an echo at a concert, with Billie’s voice being completely swallowed up by the crowd’s. I will never tire of saying that the difference between a good concert and an unforgettable one is made by the audience, and the I-Days crowd was ready.

Organization as usual was terrible, gates opening late in the morning and zero entertainment until 7 pm with the opening of Nothing But Thieves. Just before that, around 6, a truly dreadful DJ set by Virgin Radio where they made us listen to the usual Smells Like Teen Spirit, We Will Rock You, and Song 2 ten times in a row. Seriously, is there anyone interested in that? Wouldn’t it have been better to give this slot to an emerging band? I-Days sell themselves as a festival, but what kind of festival is it if only 2 bands play in one day? It’s all very hard to understand. Not to mention the dust that rose every time a mosh pit started, making it hard to breathe. Couldn’t they have covered the ground with synthetic grass?

Audio as usual was not optimal but better than Metallica, volumes a bit low and sound that in the slower songs like Wake Me Up When September Ends and Whatsername got totally muddled every time Tre Cool hit the bass drum.

Finishing Touch

I can only thank Davide, a lifelong friend who made me fall madly in love with this band to the point of never missing a concert every time they come to Italy and making trips across Europe. It was incredible. I can’t wait for the next tour.

Hot gignwings review

Performance: 🌶🌶🌶🌶

Production: 🌶🌶🌶🌶🌶

Setlist: 🌶🌶🌶🌶🌶

Venue: 🌶

Crowd: 🌶🌶🌶🌶