© Joaquim Valente
Green Day on Monday turned up the heat in Luxembourg City with a sold-out show at Luxexpo Open-Air, delivering a sweat-soaked night of punk anthems, political jabs, and fireworks that left 16,000 fans buzzing for more.
Hours before they took to the stage, Green Day had already begun to charm Luxembourg. "I just met these dudes. His phone died so I'm posting for him", legendary frontman Billie Joe Armstrong posted on Instagram the night before the concert, along with a picture of himself and two young fans.
The location was tagged 'Luxembourg City Centre', background scenes of Haute Ville recognisable to any resident. 205,000 likes, 2,000 comments of approval (including one from Serena Williams herself!) and one day later, the punk trio stormed the stage at Luxexpo Open-Air to a sold-out crowd – the venue's maximum capacity is 16,000.
As the thousands started to stream in under a ridiculously hot sun that would persist late into the evening, The Pill, a girl band from the Isle of Wight, kicked off the show with a dose of their self-described "silly bimbo punk", followed by Manchester band Hot Milk, whose lead singer Hannah Mee was proud to present her "favourite band of all time".
Crowds flocked to the bar in the hour ahead of the show, with wait times averaging almost an hour. Yet despite the overbearing heat and lines that inched forward, the mood was just right: everyone had come for a good time and the vibe was unshakeable.
Then, right on schedule, with the stage set and a massive audience primed and ready, the show began.
Setting the bar high with an introduction featuring rock and punk classics Bohemian Rhapsody and Blitzkrieg Bop, the California punks blasted their way into the evening with American Idiot – and besides a few songs from their latest album Saviors it was almost all classics and old favourites from there on.
No strangers to speaking out against the current administration, the tone stayed consistent as political messages such as not a part of your MAGA agenda and chants of No War peppered the evening. Songs such as The American Dream is Killing Me and Know Your Enemy rang out louder than ever, while She was – through an accompanying video – dedicated to women and feminism.
As the sun at last set, the crowd powered on with much enthusiasm and encouragement from the band. This audience wasn't new to the band or what was expected of them either – songs were belted out while a substantial mosh formed and persevered through the set.
Hit after hit kept the audience screaming and thrilled, with high levels of crowd participation and energy waving a proud middle finger to the backbreaking heat.
Then the end was upon as, but not before confetti rained upon the masses. As any fan would anticipate, the evening ended perfectly with Good Riddance (Time of Your Life) – as fireworks were launched into the sky, a final exclamation on what had been a sweltering, fiery, and relentless evening.
An audience that had come with high expectations began to disperse, some milling about for more drinks while waiting for the crowd to clear, but all generally soaked with sweat and beer – just as one should be after a good punk show.
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