Weezer

Weezer Livestream 4/16/21

Weezer and 311 both decided to have separate streams starting at the exact same time on this Friday evening. Having seen three out of the last four 311 streams I decided to go with Weezer and watch the 311 stream sometime in the 72 hour window given to re-watch.

Weezer’s newest offering OK Human is an ambitious album that combines the Weezer we all know and love with a 38-piece orchestra. If this album were a beer it would be called Weezer Lite and the stream felt like a cross between Metallica S&M and Unplugged. The performance was true to the album as the band rolled through the entire thing front to back in sequence with the LA Philharmonic Orchestra but then after “Hero” from the yet to be released next album Van Weezer the real fun began.

Rivers, looking like a sophisticated lady with a mustache, finally relieved himself of piano duties for a completely acoustic solo version of “Say It Ain’t So.” This was really special because it highlighted just how strong the song is to be able to stand on its own in such a stripped down format. “Island In the Sun” got everyone involved and this was followed by what I feel to be rare performance of any song from Pinkerton “Falling For You.” The faithful reproduction of vocal harmonies during “Africa” left me with a very satisfied feeling as did the orchestra taking over the guitar solo parts during “Buddy Holly” to close out the stream.

The cut to different exterior shots of the Walt Disney Concert Hall between each song clued me into the fact this was another pre-recorded stream. This stream was over after exactly one hour and I knew 311 would still be going so I switched to their stream. In hindsight this made me wish I had just watched the 311 stream live and watched the Weezer stream later but it turns out I did the right thing as the Weezer stream did not come with any re-watching capability like most all the other streams have given the ability to do.

SETLIST: All My Favorite Songs, Aloo Gobi, Grapes of Wrath, Numbers, Playing My Piano, Mirror Image, Screens, Bird With a Broken Wing, Dead Roses, Everything Happens for a Reason, Here Comes the Rain, La Brea Tar Pits, Hero, Say It Ain’t So, Island in the Sun, Falling For You, Africa, Buddy Holly

Coronavirus Concert Casualties

Gatherings of 250 people became officially banned in San Diego as of March 13th, 2020. Nationwide lockdown followed shortly after. The list of concerts below are the ones I intended to attend that have been impacted (so far):

3/13/20 Local H @ Belly Up – RESCHEDULED to 10/10/20 – Local H was set to open for Soul Asylum in support of their album Lifers that was about to drop on 4/10/20

UPDATE 4/24: Local H decided to let fans on their Facebook page vote on an entire album from their catalog for them to play live from their “bunker” in Chicago. The album that received the most votes was Whatever Happened to P.J. Soles? and they livestreamed their performance on both Facebook and YouTube. I would have paid good money to see this live so this was quite a treat as the first livestream concert I ever watched. The picture quality was better on Facebook but the sound was better on YouTube. HHH

3/28/20 Rage Against the Machine @ Pan American Center, Las Cruces, NM – POSTPONED – Before Rage announced a full tour there were originally only five shows scheduled: El Paso, TX, Las Cruces, NM, Phoenix, AZ and as the headliner for both weekends of Coachella. I had no interest in going to Coachella due to the expense and “scene” that I am very much not a part of so Phoenix was the logical choice due knowing people that live there and distance but New Mexico was on a Saturday. That was enough reason for a group of us to decide that a trip was in order.

UPDATE 5/1: The rescheduled tour dates have arrived and it looks like I will not be seeing Rage Against the Machine until May 2021!

4/4/20 Loudermilk @ The Uptown Theatre, Richland, WA – POSTPONED – This was to be the first time I had been “home” in over nine years and with The Ladybird Unition set to open it was going to be like I was 17 years old all over again.

4/13/20 Pearl Jam @ Viejas Arena (SDSU) – POSTPONED – Pearl Jam was one of the first bands that decided to halt their tour. This was to be only my second time seeing Pearl Jam and ironically at the same place that I saw them the first time. This tour was slated in support of the new album Gigaton released on 3/27/20.

4/24/20 The Darkness @ Observatory – POSTPONED – The Darkness was set to tour for their newest effort Easter Is Cancelled, which turned out to be a prophetic title.

UPDATE 5/15: CANCELLED – Well Poop2

5/8/20 The Rolling Stones @SDCCU Stadium – POSTPONED – This was to be the second time I had the pleasure of seeing the Stones. As a bonus this was going to be the opening night of the tour within walking distance of my place on a Friday…

5/22/20 System of a Down, Korn, Faith No More and Helmet @ Banc of California Stadium – POSTPONED – This was a one-off concert in L.A. that had such high demand that a second show was added.

SOAD

UPDATE 5/22: RESCHEDULED – This event will now happen on the same date in 2021 as if this year never happened at all. SKFH

6/10 Styx @ San Diego County Fair – CANCELLED – This was set to be my second time seeing Styx but the show and better yet the entire county fair for 2020 was cancelled.

7/12 The Black Keys @ North Island Credit Union Amphitheatre – CANCELLED – This was to be my third time seeing these Ohio natives. Good thing I was able to see the beginning of the “Let’s Rock” tour back in November.
7/19 Incubus and 311 @ North Island Credit Union Amphitheatre – CANCELLED – Two bands that I like on the same bill is always a treat. I guess this would instead fall under the category of trick.
7/23 Motley Crue @ Petco Park – ??? – On May 1st Motley Crue released a statement saying “Our goal is to have an official update to everyone by June 1 outlining exactly how we will proceed.” All signs are pointing towards an inevitable postponement/cancellation.

UPDATE 6/1: POSTPONED – Shocking! Motley

7/24 Weezer/Green Day @ Petco Park – POSTPONED – What was to be a rare concert on a Friday night is no more…until 2021
7/30 Ministry @ House of Blues San Diego – RESCHEDULED – There is a website called bandsintown.com that I am on the email list for and this was how I learned that the Ministry show got rescheduled to April 29, 2021. Hopefully Uncle Al is still around.
8/1 Primus and Wolfmother @ Open Air Theatre – POSTPONED – This was going to be a unique show with Primus undertaking the task of replicating Rush’s 1977 classic album A Farewell To Kings. I was also looking forward to seeing the entire Wolfmother performance after the last one got cut short.
8/8 Guns N’ Roses @ Sofi Stadium – POSTPONED – This was going to be my second time seeing GNR and first time visiting the new gazillion dollar monolith stadium in L.A. where the Rams and Chargers will play.
9/1 Disturbed @ North Island Credit Union Amphitheatre – POSTPONED – This tour was to celebrate the 20 year anniversary of the debut album The Sickness, which now seems like an even more apt title.
10/9-10/11 Aftershock Festival @ Discovery Park, Sacramento – CANCELLED – See you in 2021!

11/1 Aaron Lewis and Sully Erna @ Del Mar Fairgrounds – CANCELLED – Just when I thought I was going to get some sort of live music even this got cancelled…

Weezer 8/11/18

Despite all of the negative things I could rant about when it comes to Ticketmaster and Live Nation it is cool that for most shows you can choose the exact seat you want to purchase from the website. Several months before this show my buddies PM and Don that I used to work with text me which seats they bought and I was able to buy the open seat literally right next to theirs due to this feature.

After not being able to agree on a plan for meeting up with PM and Don beforehand I decided to ride down with Bob, his son, Larry, Christi, their two kids and the two Norwegians they were with, who had all decided to get lawn tickets at the last minute. Once we grabbed a quick bite at some weird place close by called Canada Steak Burger that was much more Greek than Canada, a quick beer and “cookie” (just me) everyone I came with went in and I met up with PM and Don in the parking lot before we went in.

I do not really know any Sleigh Bells songs but due to my fondness/fascination of bands with only two members I did kind of want to see them so I was a little bummed this did not happen. By the time we got through security, took a leak and grabbed a beer we made it to our assigned seats on the 200 level with enough time to watch the last half of the Pixies set. This is a nutty band that I also do not know a whole lot of outside of their song “Where Is My Mind?” but I do respect the influence they had on several “Alternative” bands that I love. It was cool to recognize Paz Lenchantin that I knew from A Perfect Circle holding down bass duties.

The last time I saw Weezer it was what I considered a somewhat half-baked performance about a year before this at Kaaboo. Not this time. This was my sixth time seeing Weezer overall and since that last show they had released the album Pacific Daydream, but more importantly had recently re-entered the Zeitgeist with their cover of Toto’s “Africa.” Apparently a 14-year-old girl started a Twitter account for the sole purpose of coaxing Weezer into covering the song. They first trolled her by covering Toto’s “Rosanna” (badass) and then finally gave in to “Africa.” It is not like Weezer has not been pumping out albums forever, but their return to relevance combined with the fact that this was the second to last date of the tour seemed to re-energize them back to the levels I had come to expect. We had good seats, the kinks (if there ever were any) had been worked out of their set and their normal stage setup boasted some upgrades. They essentially opened with a replication of the Arnold’s Diner setup from the “Buddy Holly” video as they played the song live and then slowly shed that in favor of a garage looking setup for “In the Garage.” Eventually it was onward to their winged W logo to full on fire and sparks raining down from the top of the stage. Rivers played “Island In the Sun” from a “boat” that was being pushed around between the stage and the first row of seats. A very entertaining set from a very talented band that knows how to keep things interesting.

SETLIST: Buddy Holly, Beverly Hills, Pork and Beans, Undone – The Sweater Song, Hash Pipe, Perfect Situation, My Name is Jonas, El Scorcho, In the Garage, The Good Life, Happy Together, Keep Fishin’, Island in the Sun, Take On Me, Burndt Jamb, (If You’re Wondering If I Want You To) I Want You To, Feels Like Summer, Africa, Pink Triangle, Say It Ain’t So/Paranoid

Kaaboo 9/15/17

Kaaboo Day One

This was the third installment of the annual Kaaboo Festival and instead of only going one day like we did last year for our first Kaaboo experience, Ingrid and I got a ticket for all three days. Ingrid was not very excited about Friday’s lineup but the geniuses running the show gave three day ticket holders one bracelet (once again in an unnecessary box that surely jacked up the price) good for all three days which effectively made it impossible to sell any of your days as a one day pass.

Arseniooooooooooo Halllllllllllll! was pretty funny and a good way to start off a three day jaunt into debauchery. Much to my chagrin we left halfway through his set to go check out DJ Diesel a.k.a. Shaq. He seems like a cool guy but does not have “mad DJ skills.” He just kept pushing buttons and saying something to the effect of “hit the free throw son.”

After Shaq we were able to meet up with our friends Larry, Christi, Bob, his buddy Tim, Kyle, Sierra, Meredith and our long lost friend Mike who had just moved back from Arizona to catch Weezer, which was the first band I was looking forward to. They have become a sort of institution at Del Mar every summer but they seemed a bit off. They were awesome as always but Rivers seemed like he was a little depressed which translated to “phoning it in.”

The main draw today was Red Hot Chili Peppers. This is one of the only bands that have eluded me throughout the years. A rare occasion I got to cross a band that I wanted to see but had never seen off the list. After losing my wife to a competing stage I found they were nothing short of fantastic. True professionals in every sense. The “new” guitar player Josh Klinghoffer meshed with Flea swimmingly. Although I was not lucky enough to hear “Blood, Sugar, Sex, Magik,” I did get to witness an on point rendition of “Suck My Kiss.”

I forgot my “cookies” at work but met a nice lad that let me take a few pulls from his joint so there was no shortage of “enhancement” after drinking all day. Then in a strange turn of events he offered me some LSD. My initial reaction was no funking way, then I thought maybe I would get it from him to hold for a future date, then I decided to take it on the spot and then I realized after awhile it was bunk. No dice. He claimed he was on it but it did not do shit to me and I know what acid is supposed to feel like. In hindsight this was probably a good thing.

I never did see our friends Jane and Calvin although Ingrid ran into them. Without a real getaway plan we just slept it off in the car for a few hours and drove home.

Weezer 8/6/11

Apparently Weezer had grown fond of playing the Del Mar horse races as they were back for the second year in a row. I did not mind one bit as they always put on a light-hearted fun show that everyone seems to be in good spirits for. This show in particular had a lot of singing along going on which only backs up the assertion that people were having a good time. The newest album Hurley had now been out almost a full year and the only song they played from the album was “Memories,” which they got out of the way pretty early on.

Part of the fun this year was Weezer’s selection of cover songs. First up was Foster the People’s “Pumped Up Kicks” in which Rivers was holding a sheet with the lyrics for most of the performance. Apparently they just learned how to play it but they nailed it. The other cover they played was Radiohead’s “Paranoid Android.” At first I thought they were just fucking off but they put on a full on serious rendition of the song and it sounded pretty awesome.

SETLIST: Pork N Beans, Surf Wax America, Perfect Situation, Memories, We Are All On Drugs, Pumped Up Kicks (Foster the People), My Name is Jonas, Dope Nose, Island in the Sun, Troublemaker, The Sweater Song, Hash Pipe, Keep Fishin, Photograph, Paranoid Android, Say It Ain’t So, (If You’re Wondering If I Want You To) I Want You To, Beverly Hills, Buddy Holly

Weezer 8/21/10

This concert was destined to be a shit show from the start. It was Beer Fest at the Del Mar horse races followed by a Weezer show that was included with the price of admission. To top it off I organized a limo bus to transport at least 15 of my friends and I round trip. Not worrying about having to drive = copious amounts of alcohol consumption.

Weezer’s newest album at the time was Raditude that was released the summer before, but we were just a few weeks from the release of Hurley. This was the third time I had the pleasure of seeing Weezer and I was pretty excited to see them again since it had been almost five years when they opened for Foo Fighters. They did not disappoint. It was a very fun set that included a cover mash-up of “Kids” by MGMT and “Poker Face” by Lady Gaga near the end.

As for the other part of this tale, long story short everyone got trashed and had a great time…until I lost everyone, which was kind of a problem since I was the one who had organized our transportation. The limo driver made us meet him at the AM/PM down the road because it was too crazy for him to try to get back to the entrance of the fairgrounds. Finally someone got ahold of me and spread the word. These were not happy faces that eventually arrived. AM/PM was a little bit of a walk but I think everyone was more upset that I could not be reached for so long. This was partially due to shitty cell reception with so many people in a concentrated area and partially because I was borderline blackout drunk.

Ingrid ended up getting home via the backseat of a random car that she thought her friend was in. It ended up being a car that one of my co-workers at the time was in which I figured out when I put two and two together after he told me a story that sounded awfully familiar to the one she told me the next day.

SETLIST: Hash Pipe, Troublemaker, Undone – The Sweater Song, Surf Wax America, Memories, Perfect Situation, Dope Nose, Say It Ain’t So, Brian’s Theme, Island in the Sun, El Scorcho, My Name is Jonas, Beverly Hills, Pork and Beans, Kids/Poker Face, (If You’re Wondering If I Want You To) I Want You To, Buddy Holly

Foo Fighters 9/27/05

A tour in which Weezer opened for Foo Fighters dubbed the “Foozer” tour. Weezer was touring for their underrated album Make Believe that had just come out in May. I think Dee may have came with me but I’m sure Macy came with me only because I remember she was scared shitless riding in my topless Jeep on the way home. I had only seen Weezer one other time up to this point eight years earlier (ironically also opening up for another band) so I was pretty excited to see them again. I think two bands of this caliber on the same bill elevates the performance of each because I’m sure they have no desire to be outdone by the other. Weezer’s backdrop looked like a jumbo version of the one that the band stands in front of on the Make Believe album. One of the things I love about Weezer is that the music is light, poppy, and heavy all at once and that was on full display here. Several three-minute bursts of hooky rock in rapid succession. Besides the new songs it was also cool to finally see songs from the Green Album and Maladroit performed as well.

SETLIST: “My Name is Jonas,” “Peace,” “Don’t Let Go,” “ In the Garage,” “This is Such a Pity,” “Big Me,” “Perfect Situation,” “Why Bother?,” “El Scorcho,” “Say It Ain’t So,” “We Are All On Drugs,” “Surf Wax America,” “Beverly Hills,” “Buddy Holly,” “Photograph,” “Island in the Sun,” “Undone – The Sweater Song,” “Hash Pipe”

This was my third time seeing Foo Fighters. I had just seen them about a year before this but now they were touring for the double album In Your Honor that came out about three months before this show. The album is one half traditional rockers (Disc 1) and one half slower acoustic songs (Disc 2). Foo Fighters flat out rocked on this night and were able to blend four new songs in with some of their classics. Their stage setup was a cool arrangement of asymmetric amps and video screens. I’m pretty sure Dave Grohl could have made it as a comic if he wasn’t so good at being a musician because he is a funny bastard. Besides rocking our world and making us laugh he treated us to a cover of CCR’s “Born on the Bayou.” Kick. Ass.

SETLIST: “In Your Honor,” “All My Life,” “My Hero,” “Best of You,” “Up In Arms,” “Learn to Fly,” “The Last Song,” “The One,” “Stacked Actors,” “Everlong,” “DOA,” “This Is A Call,” “Born on the Bayou,” “Breakout”

No Doubt 5/24/97

Fast-forward 7 months and a lot has changed in my life. I started seeing a girl named Rose at the tail end of the 1996 summer and she ended up being the one I lost my virginity to (late bloomer). Jack had also moved out of the townhouse because he had somewhere to live for free. The guy that was sleeping on our couch, Chip, took over Jack’s room. Once Jack’s free stay ended he persuaded me to get another place with him across town where rent was cheaper. That second residence with Jack lasted all of about 4 or 5 months before we moved out. It wasn’t exactly our choice but everything turned out alright. What happened was about a month after we moved in we had a new apartment manager and she decided to move into the apartment that shared a wall with ours. Not ideal for a couple of 19 year old males who like to party. After several warnings and an illegal run in with the cops the final straw came when our buddy Joe backed into my downstairs neighbor’s car in the middle of the night. Joe was drunk and therefore fled the scene. These people could barely speak English but went up to the manager’s place and proceeded to complain. We were to be evicted but luckily for us the assistant manager of the place was the mom of someone we knew by association. She also happened to be the manager of the apartments right down the street. She loved us and not only prevented us from technically getting evicted but put us in a place down the road with no upstairs neighbor, a drug dealer next door, and a huge field outside the back sliding glass door. She said we could be as loud as we wanted to and nobody would mess with us. She was right. I also started working at a place called Autobahn Autocare Center. It was essentially the same job I had at Super Lube but it paid more because now I had the title of “Supervisor.” Right about this time Rose and I also broke up because she decided to move with her family to Corvallis, Oregon.

As far as the concert I don’t remember too many details. I remember Weezer opened for No Doubt and that was the real reason I wanted to go to the show. They were still touring for Pinkerton and had these creepy trees on the stage. They played many songs from the Blue Album and Pinkerton because those were the only albums they had to choose from at the time. No Doubt was touring for the album Tragic Kingdom and played all the hits from the album. I feel lucky to have seen them again at this point in the time before Gwen Stefani became a mega-star.

Rock N Roll Recollections

Fuzzy recollections of bands that rocked my world