There was a surreal scene taking place in Detroit Wednesday night as Green Day’s members rushed offstage in the middle of performing “Longview,” leaving a surprised audience initially singing along before confusion set in. As it turned out, the unplanned exit was a safety precaution as local police investigated an unauthorized drone that had invaded the concert space.
Green Day were playing Detroit’s Comerica Park as part of their Saviors tour with The Smashing Pumpkins, Rancid and The Linda Lindas. Their current run is celebrating the 30th anniversary of the Dookie album and the 20th anniversary of American Idiot. As the band is playing both albums in full, they had played “Burnout,” “Having a Blast” and “Chump” before starting up their breakout single “Longview” when the incident occurred.
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As Green Day were about to hit the third verse of “Longview,” singer Billie Joe Armstrong can be seen in fan-shot video sprinting offstage. The abrupt mid-song stop down was not expected and the audience continued to sing along for a few seconds afterward keeping the song going despite the band leaving the stage. As shown on social media, there was a lot of confusion about what had happened. A message appeared on screens on the stage shortly after the incident that read, “Show pause. Please standby for details.”
Why Was Green Day’s Detroit Show Delayed?
Green Day posted a message on social media explaining that there had been a security delay.
“Detroit! Sorry for the delay in the show tonight, Stadium security had us clear the stage while they dealt with a potential safety issue,” the band wrote. “DPD quickly resolved the situation, and we were able to continue. Thanks for understanding.”
Further explanation came from the Detroit Police as Cpl. Dan Donakowksi said in a statement shared by the Detroit News, “There was an individual that flew a drone into Comerica Park, so Green Day was taken off stage. Shortly after that, they went back on stage to perform. DPD located this individual outside of Comerica Park. He is being detained pending further investigation.”
The band was absent from the stage for about 10 minutes before they were allowed to return and resume their performance. Realizing they were mid-song when the interruption occurred, singer Billie Joe Armstrong addressed the crowd.
“How you guys doing? Everybody OK?,” he asked. He then asked fans to set aside their phones and be in the moment as they picked up the song in the exact spot where they had left off.
Further addressing the incident later in the show, he commented after “Welcome to Paradise,” “There ain’t no motherfucker that’s gonna stop us, I’ll tell you that.”
The remainder of the show went off interruption free. After finishing Dookie, the band played a few more songs from their historic catalog before starting up the American Idiot portion. They ended the night with the traditional closer “Good Riddance (Time of Your Life),”
The delay didn’t seem to impact the reaction to the night overall. One fan shared, “A drone-flying moron may have interrupted our show and freaked people out a bit, but hearing this album in its entirety was the truly memorable part of the night.” Another added, “Absolutely amazing @GreenDay show in Detroit tonight. What a way to end summer.”
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Green Day’s Saviors tour with The Smashing Pumpkins, Rancid and The Linda Lindas continues this week with shows in Denver, Austin and Arlington, Texas. The current tour leg concludes Sept. 28 at San Diego’s Petco Park. All remaining tour dates and ticketing info can be found through the band’s website.
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Gallery Credit: Chad Childers, Loudwire