Green Day resume tour with triumphant arena return

Rockers Green Day returned to the road in Chicago, Illinois on Thursday to perform their first arena concert since frontman Billie Joe Armstrong's rehab stint last year (12).

The American Idiot hitmakers were forced to scrap a series of appearances and tour dates in September (12) after the singer suffered a meltdown onstage at the iHeartRadio festival in Las Vegas and checked into a treatment facility to deal with substance abuse issues.

They bounced back with a handful of warm-up shows in smaller venues earlier this month (Mar13) and on Thursday they hit the stage at Chicago's Allstate Arena to resume their tour.

The rockers were welcomed with rapturous applause as they emerged for the show and they delighted fans with a hits-packed set, including Holiday, St. Jimmy, When I Come Around and Basket Case, as well as renditions of Guns N' Roses' Sweet Child O'Mine and AC/DC's Highway to Hell.

Addressing his recent troubles, Armstrong told the enthusiastic crowd, "It's been a slightly unpredictable path. But I wouldn't trade it for the world."