The Blue Album. It arrived in the mail on a sunny summers day back in 1994. I had ordered it through the music mail service BMG. At 13 years old, I had no idea who they were, but I liked the color of the cover. On the day it arrived, I grabbed my radio and stuffed it in the kitchen window that overlooked our small deck. I briefly battled with the CD packaging, cranked the volume (no one was home), and pressed play. I was instantly taken with “My Name is Jonas.” Lying in the sun, I listened to the album over and over that day. It was a glorious introduction to geek rock, and I will forever associate the album with gorgeous summer weather and youth.

I more or less stuck with Weezer. I was infatuated with The Green Album, backslidden during the Pinkerton and Maladroit eras, renewed my faith with Make Believe, and have instantly fallen for The Red Album. And now, fourteen years later I can finally say that I have seen them live.

Here’s the breakdown:

The Venue

The Tsongas Arena in Lowell is forty minutes north of Boston, so for most local fans, it’s a bit of a commitment to go to a show there. Parking is $10, with your choice of a lot or the garage, both of which you can only access via a rotary. There is also a lightning quick stoplight after your make it around the rotary, which allows approximately two cars through before changing. This results in a tedious departure from all shows.

It is a cash only arena for food and bevies (really, who carries cash anymore?). The arena’s only ATM is located on the outside of where they scan your ticket, so you have to ask permission to use it from the ticket taker, the way you’d ask for a lav pass in high school. I had forgotten this little cash-only fact, and on the night of Weezer, the ATM was out of service. In addition, for this particular show, GA floor seats were cheaper than the actual seating, but you weren’t allowed to go to the floor if you had actual seats, which isn’t normally the case. Not even for the opening act! The staff was friendly, completely unaccommodating, and primarily female.

With all of this negativity, the one reason you want to return to the Tsongas every time (bands aside) is for the $5 fried dough. It’s the real deal. The dough is the size of a frisbee, piping hot, and the powdered sugar and cinnamon condiments were abundant. My friend and I managed to scrounge up $10 – neither of us wanting to share.

Tokyo Police Club

The polite and grinning boys from Toronto took the stage first. The crowd seemed mostly unfamiliar with their music, but some “Ben Folds Clapping” occurred during “Tessellate,” which was reassuring. What is Ben Folds Clapping? It’s when a song includes a brief instance of a clapping-like beat (or actual clapping). It’s only recognizable to a person who has heard the song before. The person in-the-know can flaunt their musical superiority at a live show, by confidently clapping along at this part of the song, while the “others” (read: “posers”) look on and secretly wish they were hip enough to know when the claps were coming. I first experienced this at a Ben Folds show during the song “Zak and Sara,” and was not in-the-know.

There are also subsets that fall under the categorization of BFC, such as throwing your fist in the air or pointing towards the stage during critical junctures of a song (this is typically easier to catch on to if you aren’t a die-hard fan). An example would be throwing your arm to the beat of Weezer’s two pair of guitar chunks, followed by the “Say it ain’t so-oooh-oh-ooooh-oh!” But I digress.

Tokyo were epic. Their sound was happy and loud – similar to Death Cab, but without the transcendental ooze. They played “Juno,” and it’s oh-so catchy line “You and your soapy eyes, called it off so late at night” resonated. I’m not sure what “soapy eyes” are, but I like them. Not literally. “Your English is Good” incited a feeling of camaraderie. Overall, their set was really tight. Their only fault was in not being the second performer – they really deserved that slot. Which brings us to the “Yikes, I didn’t See That Coming” portion of the show.

Angels & Airwaves

AVA’s albums are anthemic – there’s no getting around that. Their soundscapes often sound similar, usually having a dramatic build up. This is all well and good, but then throw Tom DeLonge into the mix. We all know Tom can rock out. I’ve seen it first hand on multiple occasions. The Tom DeLonge I’ve seen perform never frolicked around the stage, sort of wanting to be Brandon Flowers, but coming off as more of an interpretive dancer. At one point there were lights strapped to his hands, and he twirled them around psychedelically (sadly, I forgot my glow stick).

Each song blended into one another, and Tom soared between the strategically placed gridded levels on the stage, one slanted and facing the crowd. It is on this particular step that he liked to crouch like a pouncing cat. At the end of each song he was very solemn, sometimes meaningfully grabbing his heart, and other times stretching his arms out wide, golden lights glowing behind him, implying that he is some sort of musical messiah. The vocals weren’t very clear either. Between the lights, the music and the “performance” it was too much. This display was comical and disheartening… and also a little creepy.

Weezer

Weezer took the stage wearing matching white jumpsuits. In typical diva fashion, they changed into red jogging suits, and once more into what looked like blue soccer unis. They were quite versatile, each taking their turn at the mic, producing incredible harmonies and playing various instruments throughout the set.

Highlights from the show included having Tom DeLonge back on stage to perform “The Sweater Song” with Rivers Cuomo – Tom’s punk pitch vocals were a great match for this one. He completely redeemed himself from the prior above-mentioned display. Weezer pulled off a cover of Oasis – an awesome surprise, though it looked like some of the kiddies didn’t know “Morning Glory” – the flailing arms in the air more or less ceased during this one. Sigh.

Cuomo introduced “My Name is Jonas” by saying, “Alright, help me out with this one,” and then diving into the finger picking intro. It was charged, the lights behind the band bursting in yellows and blues in time with the guitar riffs – the best three and a half minutes of the show. It was great to hear several Blue Album selections.

They played mostly hits, having enough albums to do so, along with selections from The Red Album. At the end of the show, a record player was brought on stage and The Red Album vinyl was set to “Heart Songs.” Great tune. The crowd immediately started singing along, wondering if the band was going to return to the stage. At the very part of the song when they reference Nirvana’s Nevermind, a member of Weezer (I’m not sure which one – I’m guessing Cuomo) came out on stage, kicked over the record player, grabbed a guitar, and launched into a cover of “Sliver.” Clever, Weezer, very clever.

They also had a group of thirty or so musically inclined fans come on stage for the first encore, with their instruments to play “Beverly Hills” and “Island in the Sun,” as a part of the band’s promotional “hootenanny” bit. This was an entertaining success. My friend pointed out, “There’s thirty or so people up there – most of them go to Berklee (College of Music) – so this is probably the best performance that Weezer is going to get on this tour.”

The performing aesthetics were idiosyncratic. Cuomo wriggled around stage and occasionally bounced off of a mini trampoline. His mannerisms were captivating and quirky. He “rapped” and motioned like he was a prizefighter. The bands nerdy stage presence was contagious. Their body movements were jerky and their facial expressions goofy. You couldn’t help but smile or laugh at the comments, such as “…Well, that’s okay – we’re still the coolest band in the world… (pause)… yeah, I said it!” and “This is the first stop on our tour, so even though we are playing other shows, this one will remain dear to us… because it was the FIRST one.” Cute. Also, a member of the hootenanny brought a didgeridoo as his instrument to play, and Cuomo said, “Give us a little something.” The kid obliged, and Cuomo replied with, “That.. that is exactly what this show was missing.” A showman, for sure.

The bottom line is that Weezer brings joy to the eyes, ears and hearts of all geek rock lovers worldwide. See them.

Weezer Set List
01. Dope Nose
02. Hash Pipe
03. Dreamin’
04. Undone (The Sweater Song)
05. Automatic
06. Say it Ain’t So
07. Susanne
08. Troublemaker
09. King
10. My Name is Jonas
11. Pink Triangle
12. Pork and Beans
13. Keep Fishin’
14. Perfect Situation
15. El Scorcho
16. Greatest Man
17. Morning Glory (Oasis cover)

Encore 1
18. Island in the Sun
19. Beverly Hills

Encore 2
20. Heart Songs vinyl into Sliver (Nirvana cover)
21. Buddy Holly

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