When Green Day’s breakthrough album “Dookie” was released in early 1994, it was as irreverent as its name implied, a comic counterpoint to the oft-overly serious grunge music that dominated the era.
By the time “American Idiot” arrived a decade later, Billie Joe Armstrong, Mike Dirnt and Tré Cool had traded in their 3-minute punk anthems for some seriousness themselves, in the form of a concept album filled with social commentary about the breakdown of the American dream and pointed criticism of President George W. Bush’s administration in a post-9/11 world.
Since then, the band has put its rock opera on Broadway, occasionally performed under the Foxboro Hot Tubs moniker, stunt-released the “¡Uno!/Dos!/¡Tré!” albums, been inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, and finally, returned to its pop-punk roots with 2016’s “Revolution Radio.”
Which brings us to now.
Green Day, back on the road after a nearly four-year absence, will perform a headlining show Monday at USANA Amphitheatre in West Valley City. They’ll draw thousands and thousands of people to a slickly produced show that will be as far removed from “punk” as their critics always insisted they were to begin with.
When they come around, they hope you have the time of your life.
They still are, at least.
“I have a sense of gratitude every night and I feel like I’m making an impact beyond just playing my guitar,” Armstrong told Rolling Stone magazine. “It’s giving people an experience whether it’s political or musical.”
Green Day<br>With Catfish and the Bottlemen<br>When •Monday, 7 p.m.<br>Where • USANA Amphitheatre, 5150 Upper Ridge Road, West Valley City<br>Tickets • $30-$89.50; Smith’s Tix