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On Saturday night, I had the pleasure of going to see Weezer’s “Memories” tour. The venue? The Gibson Amphitheater, or formally known as the Universal Amphitheater, in Los Angeles, CA. They’re doing two shows at each stop on the tour – first night is a play through of ‘The Blue Album’ and the second night is a play through of ‘Pinkerton’. Now, ‘Pinkerton’ is my favorite album of theirs, so as soon as tickets went on sale, I bought two tickets. I’ve never had the pleasure seeing this band perform live. And I gotta say, I wasn’t disappointed one bit. They are a GREAT band live.
The evening began with their “hits”, as was billed on the tour heading (‘Greatest Hits’ plus the respective albums). They began their set with their most recent single ‘Memories’ to get the crowd into the mood. They continued through the ‘00s by playing most of the radio hits throughout the decade. I was thoroughly pleased when they played ‘Perfect Situation’. That’s one of my favorite songs off of ‘Make Believe’ and one of my favorite music video of theirs. What was special about this song when they performed it tonight – Jorge Garcia (Hurley from LOST, and the man who’s face graces their most recent album ‘Hurley’) joined the band and sang with River as a duet. Here’s the video, if you’d like to check it out.
Most people were hoping they would play a few B-sides and they did not disappoint. They played ‘You Gave Your Love To Me Softly’, which can be found on the ‘Angus’ soundtrack. They also played ‘Suzanne’ from the ‘Mallrats’ soundtrack. I won’t lie. I cried a little bit hearing ‘You Gave’ played live. And I was screaming and bopping around in the audience.
Throughout the show, River (lead singer of ‘Weezer’) would stroll through the crowd while singing. It was great to see him interact with the crowd, and never once did he push anyone away. Even when he was mobbed by a ton of people. He just stood there and continued singing, while being touched and fondled by those surrounding him.
They ended the first half with ‘Only in Dreams’. Now, I’ve never seen one of their shows live, but I knew from lore that that was the song they tended to end their shows with. They ended the first half with that and it was pretty spectacular. If you’re unfamiliar with the song, there is a HUGE build-up with the guitars playing a riff over and over and then crescendos into an all out rock anthem. It’s fantastic. As soon as the first half ended, I became giddy. I knew what was coming next and really couldn’t wait.
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The second half began with one of the guys sharing slides from pictures of early band memories. Then, they launched into the album ‘Pinkerton’. They played through it in its entirety. To hear ‘Tired of Sex’ and ‘The Good Life’ were the highlights for myself. The energy that River carried throughout the show was amazing. It was funny, the first half he was wearing his trademark glasses, but then for the second half – it was like we traveled back in time to 1996. He wasn’t wearing his glasses, and he was wearing the button-up shirts that I remember him wearing as a teenager. It was fantastic.
If you have the opportunity to see this tour, do it. Don’t hesitate. Even if you’re not a huge fan of Weezer’s, they put on such a fantastic show. I’d say the price is worth it to check it out. You will probably end up becoming a huge fan by the end of the show. There were a few songs I would have loved to have heard live (‘Jamie’ and ‘Mykel and Carli’), but over-all, it was probably one of the best concerts I’ve been to. Definitely in my top 3. I would have loved to have seen ‘The Blue Album’ the night before, but I’m at peace with not being able to. Besides – ‘Pinkerton’ is my favorite album of theirs. If ever there was a concert I had to see, it was this one.
