Weezer
never fails to disappoint fans, entertains
once more
By
Brigid McGuire
Online Forty-Niner
Calendar Editor
Weezer and the Foo Fighters rocked the Long Beach Arena with a clash of rock,
emo and many surprises, Oct. 22.
Hot Hot Heat opened the evening with a mix of hits from their old album “Make
on the Breakdown,” and their new record, “Elevator.”
After Hot Hot Heat the arena slowly filled and you could cut the tension with
a knife.
This was Weezer’s first show in the Los Angeles County area since they
played in Irvine in 2002.
The stage went dark as Pat Wilson, Brian Bell, Rivers Cuomo and Scott Shriner
of Weezer came on, ready to rock the filled arena.
Weezer had many surprises for the crowd and the first was Scott Shriner, Weezer’s
base player, singing “Dope Nose” from their last studio album “Maladroit.”
His raspy voice filled the air, while Cuomo rocked out during his time away
from the mike.
Cuomo returned to sing his emotionally charged song “Tired of Sex,” the
first song off their occult album “Pinkerton.”
Another switch took place as Cuomo switched places with Bell to play keyboards
and Bell sang another crowd favorite, “Why Bother?” These switches
drove the crowd into a wave of energy and anticipation, thinking, “what
will happen next?”
On some songs Cuomo handed the guitar to a back-up guitar player and sang into
the microphone. He looked awkward as he danced from one side of the stage to
the other. He continued to play with the audience and lifted his arms into
the air and watched as thousands of fans in the balcony followed suit.
The stage went dark and the band seemed idolized as the lights shined behind
them. They seemed larger then life, as they began playing “Say it Ain’t
So” from their debut album.
As the band played, the backdrop turned into a sea of stars, making the evening
seem even more magical.
Another switch occurred with Wilson, who normally plays drums, picking up a
guitar and singing the clap-happy song
“
Photograph” while Cuomo played drums. Then halfway through the chorus
the band broke into a Blur song.
As Weezer continued to play old and new songs they never tired or cease to
surprise. At one point Cuomo disappeared from stage and reappeared in the middle
of the stadium to play an acoustic version of “Island in the Sun” from
their comeback album, “The Green Album” in 2001.
Bell picked a fan from the audience to play guitar for “Undone: the Sweater
Song.” The fan nervously played along as Cuomo swung his arm around him
in a brotherly way and crooned the words to the bands’ first hit, from
1994.
After the band played an electrified set they returned to the stage for an
encore. The crowd screamed and cheered as the band played “Hash Pipe” and”“Buddy
Holly.” After the intro, the famous Weezer “W” was revealed
to cheers and screams from the crowd. The “W” is a large electric
sign with flashing light bulbs, which the band has had for all their arena
shows since 1994.
As the “W” flashed and the lights dimmed, the band walked to the
front of the stage and gave a generous bow to the crowd.
As Weezer left the stage, loyal fans put their hands together to form a “W” and
then the arena went dark.
Weezer never disappoints a crowd and will forever be geek-arena-rock-gods.
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