Concert Reveiw: Weezer @ Madison Square Garden 9/24 (with Angels and Airwaves and Tokyo Police Club)

Another show attended and yet another reason why I choose correct all the time when it comes to this whole concert thing. Unbelievable show tonight, Weezer at Madison Square Garden with Angels and Airwaves and Tokyo Police Club. Weezer just rocks plain and simple, music critics shun them all the time and I don’t get why. They’re fucking amazing; they never sold out money or shit like that. Same types of tunes keep coming out. The latter two bands I’m not to familiar with or at least wasn’t until tonight. Good bands, and by the end of the night, they had earned there spots on that MSG stage even if it was as an underlying gig play to a cavernous arena at the moment.

So me and my father get to city like before 5 a clock, find a parking space and sit in the car and pre-game for a little bit. Show didn’t start until 7:30 and we bought lots a beer anyway so we chilled. So we’re sitting there listening to the radio and getting fucked up when we decide to head over there because we’ve been listening to the Tokyo Police Club record in the car for the ride there.

Let me inform you people, considering I wasn’t to up on the where’s and when’s of Tokyo Police Club, it’s quick and to the point. They’re from Canada, they had a band, it broke up and they formed this band after performing at the Montreal Pop festival and being noticed. This year they released they’re major label debut and I would recommend checking out they’re MySpace page, they have a blog is what I hear. So they play 7:30 till 8:00 o’clock, I can’t name any of there songs but they didn’t suck at all. I think one of there songs had an extra kick-drum used which was a little to my chagrin, but all and all they could have been a lot worse, my father was digging them and he know a whole lot more about music then I do.

The e-mail I got from MSG gave me some “show details” so the deal was that after Tokyo Police Club there was going to be a “brief” intermission before Angels and Airwaves come on at 8:30. Again I’ll explain, since I really didn’t know I doubt you people do; Angels and Airwaves are a band from San Diego formed in 2005 after singer/guitarist Tom DeLonge was out of a job because his former band, Blink 182, just never ended hiatus. It’s funny because the drummer from that band was like in a plane crash recently and almost went down Buddy Holly style, and I’m at the Weezer show!! Get it? If you don’t then you think I’m really mean but whatever. With Atom Willard (formerly of The Offspring) on drums they’d from this band. They’re major label debut “We Don’t Need to Whisper” was released in 2006 and they’ve been chugging along since. And apparently have a huge following because they’re we’re a lot more cheers and love shown for this band by the people in the lower levels and the standing room only area in front of the stage. It was that surprising to me because I never really had heard of them, in fact I knew exactly as much about then as I did Tokyo Police club. But these guys actually had a like back round thing with there name and an actual light show. That’s the thing I’ve noticed about the shows I go to with opening acts. The bands equipment and stage props get better as the show goes on, the first band is usually shitty sounding (not tonight, but at other shows) and it improves. As did tonight, and Angels and Airwaves rocked it, the rest of the people I mean. Listen, I’m not saying that I didn’t like them, I just don’t usually have judgments on stuff when hearing it just one time. so the jury is still out, but the crowd was loving them. Maybe because it had gotten later and people had enjoyed more beer and got louder, whatever the case may be the band got a pretty good ovation when they went off stage at 9:45. that’s when I went to grab another beer.

And it finally getting towards the main event, the band everyone came to see. A band that’s been rocking since 1992 (says Wikipedia but there debut came out in 94, I bet anything) ladies and gentlemen here is Weezer!!

Rivers Cuomo, the lead singer and guitarist for Weezer comes out sarcastically speaking Spanish and says “Como es tas?”, which was fucking hilarious. Then when we’re laughing at him he says “Muy Bien…”. After that they kicked off the show with “My Name is Jonas”, a great song from disc two of the Weezer(Blue)Deluxe that came out few year back. The place was crazy everyone standing including us everyone singing along, and that’s a constant theme to the night; me knowing the words to every song because they frickin’ rock. And guess who was smart enough to bring a pen and paper this time to mark down the set list. I didn’t write the first couple I had forgotten I had I might be missing a song. Anyway, they went in a song off there 1996 album Pinkerton called “Pink Triangle”, its about being in love with a lesbian. Great song, then they played “Susanne”, another song that’s amazing and exactly what needed to be played at that time. They move swiftly into “Dope Nose”, which is off there 2002 record Maladroit. I didn’t know the title until they went into the chorus I will admit. At this point I’m thinking “wow, they’re being pretty obscure, not what I expected”, because I was expecting them to play all the stuff off the new album Weezer(Red) but they only played 5 songs off it, and all rocked. Anyway after dope nose they get into “Say It ain’t so”. One of there best songs by far; it’s about an alcoholic father or step father or both it’s kind of confusing. Love the guitar feedback on that song, what an amazing experience, and my dad approves. Then if my list is correct they brought out Tom DeLonge from Angels and Airwaves to sing on “Undone: The Sweater Song”, was a huge radio hit back in the day and it seems that every song that comes on it everyone’s favorite song. That’s how good this band is, all there songs are great. After the sweater song the had the crowd eating out of there hands so they busted out “Dreamin’” from Weezer(Red). That’s one of my favorite songs off there new album, its just so classic Weezer and at the end there’s a lyric repeated (4x) where River’s Cuomo is screaming “NO I DON’T WANNA GET WITH YOUR PROGRAM!!”. Song is intense man, I suggest you give it a listen. Then of course “Pork and Beans”, which with me being Jay Porks is pretty cool. That had the standing room only section in front of the stage rocking, I peeped that. Then Rivers says they need to end the show with a bang so they play “Troublemaker”, which is another song I like off they’re latest record. Then Rivers runs off stage as if the shows over, because he’s doing the rock star “encore” thing. So with him absent from the stage, the band gets into yet another quality track off the new album, a song called “Automatic” which The drummer Pat Wilson (who moves to guitar for that song) actually sings on it, a few songs on the album are sang by other members, another reason why its so good. After that song, Rivers blasts back on stage and the band gets into everyone’s favorite Weezer song; “Hash pipe”. Everyone is banging to hash pipe, anyone can relate. After that with the energy at its peak they get into a song off Pinkerton called “El Scorcho”. The opening lyric is “God dam you half Japanese girls do it to me every time”, very catchy. I love that damn song, and my half Japanese friend Gina from jersey does too.

Then, they make another attempt at trying to make us think they’re ending the show and proceed to come back out and play “I’m the Greatest Man that Ever Lived”, off the new album and I also had on my MySpace profile for a while, I thought I was the only one who digs that song but the building almost came down. After that they said goodnight and went off stage.

Here’s where thing being to get interesting. 9.23 K-Rock had this contest going on where you could win a chance to play on stage with Weezer during this show if you can play an instrument and text message fast enough. So the first actually encore they came out for was with like 30 people ranging from kids to young adults all with different instruments like one dude with a trumpet and even a dude with a cowbell, I am not kidding. And they come out acoustic. So they play “Island in the Sun”, with this recently formed 30 piece orchestra of non-professionals and you know what, that shit sounding great. Some of the instruments you couldn’t hear, but I’m amazed that no one messed that up at all, sounded great. Rivers turned during the song and said “who’s got the solo??” and this dude with a saxophone started playing it note for note just absolutely perfect. The crowd was going nuts. Then they did one more song with the contest winners and it was a lighter version of “Beverly Hills”, obviously it’s not going to be as hard because it’s acoustic. Those kids rocked that song too, and when he asked who had the solo for that one, someone with a trumpet just let it rip. Those dudes rocked, how do you win a contest, get on stage at the Mecca, Madison Square Garden and not do anything stupid. Not only that, but perform well?? I thought that contest was like a joke and when it got late I thought they forgot about it but they brought them out there. Then after those two songs they left the stage again to a huge hand. A minute or two later an old school looking record player was set up in the middle of the stage and it had a spotlight on it while it was playing “Heart Songs”, another great song off the new record. Not even 20-30 seconds into it just playing that song with nobody there Cuomo runs over to it and kicks it over, breaking it I believe an they plug there guitars back in and jump into a familiar sounding song that I couldn’t name. I found out it was a cover of an Oasis song called “What’s the story morning glory?”. They do it better then Oasis, it rocked.

Then all of a sudden, I hear a bass riff that made me jump out of my seat. I didn’t think it could be true, could all my dreams have finally been lived? I thought it might have been one of those jams in between songs but no, they played it. They played “Sliver”, one of the best songs ever by the best band ever: Nirvana. They covered it good too, and when Rivers covers Nirvana songs he never tries to sound like Kurt Cobain, he does the song in a Weezer way. And I was freaking rocking while Sliver was on, that’s like in my top five songs of all time probably. That caught me by total surprise, I didn’t think they’d do anything “outside the box” sort of say. And while that song was playing there was crowd surfing down in front of the stage, I saw at least two bodies surfing along the crowd. It was amazing, that right there made that the best show I’ve probably ever seen. Hearing a Nirvana song performed live by Nirvana-influenced band is great stuff. I love that damn song. After Sliver, they played “Buddy Holly”. Which turned out to be the last song, the solo was bliss though. That’s the song you got to end with, it was such perfect timing. The set list was so balanced, every song placed in the best possible position, no songs that I was expecting to hear were left out. The best show I have ever seen.

This is a show I really wish I could just sit and revel in the greatness of, but it a quick turn around for me as I have a ticket to see the Meat Puppets and Dinosaur Jr. tomorrow in the city. So you could stay tuned for that show review, I hope I was able to pass along the enjoyment I had tonight to you. That’s if you made it through this whole thing, I wouldn’t blame you if you didn’t