Green Day Played Portland, Maine, 19 Years Ago

They had recently released their massive album “American Idiot”. When the news dropped that Green Day was coming to Portland, Maine, fans lost their minds. Although Maine is known as a rock state with plenty of great shows coming to town, the Cumberland County Civic Center (now Cross Insurance Arena) was the largest venue we had in the state at the time. This would keep the big stadium bands booking shows in Boston, as the closest venue for Mainers to see them live.

At this time, with Green Day’s popularity spiking back up higher than it had been in almost a decade, it was a nice surprise for Mainers. Also on the bill that night My Chemical Romance, who were also gaining quickly in popularity.

The show scheduled for 4/28/05 quickly sold out and did not disappoint. The energy from both the bands and the crowd blended together to create the perfect night. The lights, the setlists… it was all there. Green Day has a fan page dedicated to fans posting their reviews of their shows and sharing their memories. This show, 19 years later, is still getting comments from fans remembering that night as one of their best.

The 20 song setlist featured 7 songs from the then new album, American Idiot with the rest filled up by Green Day classics, covers and a few deeper cuts.

My Chemical Romance, a year before their massive breakthrough album The Black Parade was released, was already gaining popularity had the crowd fully engaged as well as they warmed them up for what would be the last time Green Day would come to Maine.

Green Day will be on the road this summer performing Dookie and American Idiot in their entireties to celebrate the 20th and 30th anniversaries of the albums. The Smashing Pumpkins and Rancid will also be on those dates. You can check the full schedule here.