they are one of the best live bands out there.

Opening act Tokyo Police Club played songs that sounded mostly alike, and didn’t get much
reaction from the crowd, except for the drunk guy 3 rows behind me who kept yelling “Who
are you guys?” and “Where’s Weezer?” Tokyo Police Club’s keyboardist was the focal point
of the band, as he seemed to be having a non-stop seizure on stage. The band definitely
worked up a sweat, but I don’t think much of the energy they expended transferred to
sparsely populated crowd. Tokyo Police Club has done numerous Weezer covers, and there
wouldn’t have been a better time to pull one out than that night.

Though they couldn’t fill GM place more than halfway, they did manage to draw a
contingent of four Other Press members, which is no small feat given the radically different
musical tastes often expressed at this paper’s meetings. For the sake of fairness, I should
mention that I was the only Other Press member there who liked the second opening act,
Angels and Airwaves, but since I’m also the one who’s writing this review, let me tell you
how great they were. This band is completely different from Blink-182, which their lead
singer Tom DeLonge spent 13 long years in before the band grew up and moved onto other
things. Most of the songs have a new-age religion feel, and DeLonge’s mannerisms on stage
could easily be those of a would-be cult leader. In particular, he liked to stand on top of a
glowing platform and strike dramatic poses. It’s a little bit creepy, and a bit pretentious,

but once you get past that, the songs are pretty dang good. I think they make a perfect
compliment to Weezer, both bands are more than little dorky, but if the music connects with
you you'll see that as part of their charm.

It was a nice touch when Tom DeLonge and A&A’s drummer Atom Willard got to join
Weezer on stage for “The Sweater Song.” Rivers Cuomo was happy to share the spotlight,

 

many times a different member of Weezer would get to take a turn on lead vocals, and each
band member got to perform the song they wrote from the latest Weezer album (a.k.a. The
Red Album). Patrick Wilson did a stand-out job on lead for his song, “Automatic,” and also
during a cover of Pink Floyd’s “Time” from Dark Side of the Moon. The best moment of
sharing came during the encore when several hardcore Weezer fans got to come on stage

to play along with the band for two songs—“Island in the Sun” and “Beverly Hills.” Those
who passed Weezer’s audition got to bring an instrument of their choosing, and there was a
violinist, a xylophonist, a banjo player, and even a trombonist, much to the crowd’s delight.
After the concert was over, I couldn’t help but rhetorically ask, did they choose the wrong
venue? If so, it’s nothing new for this band. Last time Weezer was in town, on the tour to
support 2005’s Make Believe, they played at the Commodore Ballroom, and scalpers were
charging over $100 for a single ticket. It must have been an opposite scene outside GM
place, where no doubt a fire sale was taking place by the time Weezer hit the stage. At least
this time Weezer has a much better album to draw from. Make Believe was seen by many
fans as a creative flop, and some considered the album a grand sell-out to stadium rock.
The new album has re-energized the band and the fan base, particularly with its two new
singles “Pork and Beans” and “Troublemaker.” “Troublemaker” was my favourite song of
the night, followed by “Jonas” and “Buddy Holly,” which closed the show. Other songs
performed that night which I won’t forget anytime soon were “Say It Ain’t So” (amazing to
see live), “Hashpipe” (the best song from their third album), and “El Scorcho” (which was as
ridiculous as ever).

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