Weezer Concert Review: A Faithful, Outlandish Homage to a Cosmic Musical Career
The last moments of the concert brought out some of Weezer's best musical work; the band went all-out in tribute to their debut and, arguably, apotheosis.A space shuttle sat center stage at TD Garden on Sept. 10, directly beneath a giant blue “W.” Circular screens flanking the spectacle displayed “five minutes until lift-off.” The clock ticked down — accompanied by the shouts of a packed arena of fans — to the sparks and f0g machine-induced smoke of an explosive takeoff. As the ship lifted into the sky, Weezer took the stage and kicked off the show with “II. Anonymous,” an astronomical start to their space-themed “Voyage to the Blue Planet” tour.
This introduction, which came complete with a video introducing the interstellar plot of the concert, set the tone for the next hour and 40 minutes: Lighthearted, fantastical, and absolutely unrelenting.
The curated setlist was one of the performance’s many strengths. Weezer performed a wide cross-section of their songs from the heavier “Hash Pipe” to mellow “Island in the Sun,” with even the pensive “Any Friend of Diane’s” making the cut for the first section of the concert, which underscored their ascent through the stars in pursuit of the titular “Blue Planet.” In many ways, the first part of the setlist felt as though it had been directly picked by fans themselves, which is unsurprising given the “Setlist Survey” link on the lead singer and guitarist's website.
The vibrational hodgepodge was kept afloat by a stellar vocal and instrumental evening for the band. Lead vocals from Rivers Cuomo ’06 sported a clean and straight-off-the-album sound that added to the faithfulness of the performance without subtracting from artistic value. Guitarist and backup vocalist Brian Bell, bassist and backup vocalist Scott Shriner, and drummer Patrick Wilson were similarly at their best. Taking essentially no break between songs, the musicians delivered nonstop excellence.
The narrative and extravagant set of the concert drove the energy of this lengthy homage to Weezer’s incredible discography. The stage, covered in large asteroids, lights, and backed by a huge screen displaying zany cosmic imagery, took advantage of the large, open space at TD Garden.
During “Perfect Situation,” narrative and showmanship cohered, as planets descended from the ceiling over the stage while the screen displayed a battle between the alien “Bokkus” and the protagonist space shuttle. Serving as the main antagonist of the concert and primary plot agent of the voyage, Bokkus is himself a throwback to Weezer’s glory days as the mysterious brain-child of Wilson.
Shot down by Bokkus and crash landing in the “Pinkerton Asteroid Belt,” this provided the perfect segue into a brief selection of five songs from the album “Pinkerton,” including favorites like “Getchoo,” “Why Bother?,” and “Pink Triangle,” which brought much-needed rock energy to the stage as the audience prepared for the main event — landing on the “Blue Planet” for Weezer’s performance of the entire “Weezer” album, also known as the Blue Album.
This final segment — complete with a final battle with Bokkus and Cuomo-shaped aliens known as “Weezoids” — was a pleasurable assault on the senses. Engaging visuals and a sincere demeanor from the performers made up for their otherwise stiff disposition on stage. Upon “landing,” the band re-entered, placing a W-shaped flag on the “Blue Planet.”
“One small step for Weezer, one giant leap for Weezerkind,” said Cuomo in the moments leading up to “My Name is Jonas,” the song that kicked off the Blue Album performance.
The last moments of the concert brought out some of Weezer’s best musical work, including mind-blowing instrumental interludes from Shriner and Bell. Every note burst with a musical integrity and intensity that only a return to the Blue Album could offer. The band went all-out in tribute to their debut and, arguably, apotheosis.
Several crowd-surfers and a mosh pit demonstrated the buzz of the audience. Cuomo remarked that was the first time he’s ever seen anyone mosh to “Only in Dreams,” a hit that closed the concert with all the pomp and blue-confetti one could expect from the evening.
The lead singer summarized it best.
“What a voyage!” said Cuomo.
—Staff writer Aiden J. Bowers can be reached at aiden.bowers@thecrimson.com.