Even though Green Day is beloved all around the world and they've played 50+ gigs in Japan, when they go there it is rare that they'll have more than a handful of shows.
This winter they returned to the Land of the Rising Sun after not doing a proper tour there in 13 years.
The band rewarded them with long sets and some rarities they hadn't played anywhere in years.
The first thing that should be noted is that even though it's called The Saviors Tour, Green Day is not shoving their new album down the throats of their audiences.
Saviors is a perfectly good album with nothing to be ashamed of, yet it only accounted for 3 of the 25 songs in the setlist.
Their shows on 2/21 in Osaka and 2/23 in Nagoya were no exceptions.
The majority of music for these shows were pulled from American Idiot (9 tunes - which is the entire LP) and their breakthrough smash, Dookie (4 songs).
So really it's a continuation of the anniversary tour for American Idiot which the Berkeley boys have been doing for a year now.
In Osaka the trio opened up a can of "Jaded," a tune they hadn't played since Nov. 14, 2017 in Peru. Wild because the fast-paced rocker is ideal in a live situation.
When they kept it in the set and played it for the fans in Nagoya it was the 666th time they and others have blasted it in concert, which is nice.
Speaking of Nagoya, at that gig Green Day put nimrod's "Scattered" in the set, giving it its tour debut.
If you get to hear it in concert, it's like seeing a leprechaun, make a wish, because it's a tune they only play once or twice a year.
Osaka also was treated to another rare, deep cut, "Who Wrote Holden Caulfield?" from the band's second studio album, Tre Cool's first with the group, Kerplunk.
Despite being so old, they have only played it 85 times in their long career.
Opening for Green Day in Nagoya (and tonight in Yokohama) were the delightful Otoboke Beaver who make such a nice pair for the pop punkers. OB is far more punk than GD but in a very fun, sweet, colorful way.
It's nice to see even Zildjan, the great Turkish cymbal company, is now sponsoring Kaho Kiss, Otoboke Beaver's incredible drummer.
Green Day has one more show left in Japan, then they head off to Australia, India, and Mexico before headlining Coachella.
Tix available on the Green Day website.
