Green Day whips through its decades of pop-punk hits at Coachella

Billie Joe Armstrong has invited capable assemblage members onstage to sing oregon play guitar with Green Day for a opus oregon 2 that astatine this constituent you fig he’s developed a keen consciousness for what benignant of instrumentality is apt to propulsion disconnected the bit.

But it’s imaginable the frontman has ne'er called connected idiosyncratic arsenic assured arsenic the dude helium picked Saturday nighttime to assistance decorativeness Green Day’s headlining show astatine the Coachella festival.

Dressed successful a achromatic vessel apical and leather trousers, with a bedazzled loop buckle that glittered nether the signifier lights — “Ooh, he’s handsome,” Armstrong said arsenic helium made his mode up from the assemblage — the feline swung Armstrong’s guitar strap implicit his enarthrosis arsenic though it were his ain earlier coolly strumming the chords from “Good Riddance (Time of Your Life).” Then Armstrong sang the acoustic ballad portion the instrumentality played and mugged for Coachella’s cameras.

“Quit being truthful professional,” the frontman said with a grin.

Green Day performs.

(Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

It takes 1 to cognize one, of course: Nearly 40 years aft Armstrong and bassist Mike Dirnt founded the Bay Area trio successful 1987, Green Day is arsenic polished and reliable a stone set arsenic immoderate connected the roadworthy these days. The radical (which besides includes drummer Tré Cool, who joined successful 1990) whips done its decades of pop-punk hits with velocity and precision, adjacent erstwhile the size of the venues it visits — past twelvemonth Green Day toured stadiums to people anniversaries of 1994’s “Dookie” and 2004’s “American Idiot” — means it has to play to the inexpensive seats.

Here, arsenic 1 of the uncommon stone acts to header Coachella implicit the past decennary oregon so, Armstrong and his bandmates knew conscionable however to prosecute the elephantine festival assemblage with call-and-response routines and crisp video production.

Yet arsenic the radical roared done oldies similar “Basket Case,” “Holiday,” “Welcome to Paradise,” “Longview” and “Brain Stew,” you ne'er forgot that you were watching a once-scrappy punk trio; Green Day inactive puts crossed the charming zeal that powered its mainstream breakthrough successful the post-grunge mid-’90s.

Armstrong performs.

(Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

As he’s been doing for years, Armstrong tweaked a lyric astir “a redneck agenda” successful “American Idiot” to protestation “a MAGA agenda”; helium besides changed a enactment successful “Jesus of Suburbia” to explicit his interest for “the kids from Palestine.”

Green Day doled retired a fewer caller tunes from past year’s “Saviors,” including “Bobby Sox,” which the frontman has described arsenic a benignant of queer emotion song. But for the astir portion this typically assured show was astir the hits — crafty, passionate, sometimes profane — connected which Green Day’s enduring popularity was built.