Photos By Vicky Zeamer
(vicky@rockscope.com)

Still Cool

Weezer didn’t need to “play it cool” to actually be cool, and maybe they really “don’t care”, and maybe, just maybe they really are “The Greatest M[e]n That Ever Lived.” After 16 years, most bands fade out, but Weezer manages to preserve their magic formula for hits. Cuomo says with confidence, “Even a little rusty, we're still the coolest band in the world.”

After a bold statement like that one, Weezer went on to prove that to be a fact. Opening with a song off of Maladroit with the chorus, “I'll appear /Slap you on the face and / Enjoy the show,” they all emerged in white jumpsuits and did just that. Like a monster truck, they came out fully turned on and ready to go.

This Tuesday (9/23) was the first night of the national tour. There was maybe a little trip or two off of a trampoline, but nothing major. That was no mistake; there was a trampoline on stage. With the help of it, Cuomo was able to achieve high, butt-kicking jumps.

The set stretched from one side of the rink to the other, with a large light panel behind them. Blue, purple, yellow and white lights flooded the stage (author’s note: a photographer’s dream.)

Churning through just as many classics as newer songs, the audience felt fulfilled and eager to make the best of the night. Strong songs like Say It Ain’t So had every person in the arena screaming at the top of their longs to the familiar tune.

Surprisingly, six out of 21 songs, including the opener, had lead singing parts done by other band members, while Cuomo stayed in the background either playing guitar parts or off stage all together.

The songs off of the newest album, The Red Album, seemed to get praise as well. Specifically, the hits Pork and Beans, The Greatest Man That Ever Lived, and the tour’s namesake track, Troublemaker were hot tracks. Cuomo took on a stage persona that can only be explained by nerdy, almost rapper-like, confidence. Listening to the tones of the songs described above, it can be heard in the tone.

Mysteriously, Weezer is able to convey these tones without ever giving off the emotion as cocky and self obsessed. Their charm flows effortlessly from their bodies. It poured off the stage, and everyone’s feet got stuck in it, making it impossible for the audience to leave without it stuck to their shoes.

The only complaints that could be drawn about the evening were that it felt too short, and no one wanted to leave. While some may argue their older albums are superior to the newer ones, this show trumped any other Weezer concert in their history.