[NOTE: This review was written back in March of 2001 and was never run anywhere until now. As you read this, please disregard the whole "Green Album" hubub that has surrounded the band in recent months, and remember what it was like to go to a fucking awesome concert.]

7 Years.

It took me 7 long, arduous years to finally see Weezer.

[On a side note, it took me 4 long years to see the Get Up Kids.]

Was it worth the wait? Omigod yes.

Thanks to Yahoo!, I was getting to see Weezer for the first time. I was praying that this "corporate sponsorship" wouldn't ruin the fun atmosphere that I was expecting the concert to have. If anything, Yahoo! added a lot to the whole spectacle. They allowed fans to check their mail, play video games, and get their pictures taken with cardboard cutouts of Weezer, all for free. A congratulatory nod goes out to the folks at Yahoo! for not overdoing it. Now, on to the concert.

Ozma was ok, I liked a few songs ["Epeline", "Battle Scars"]. VERY derivative of Weezer, but they have potential. They did a nice cover of the Tetris theme song[!], too. Just tell their keyboard girl and the singer/guitarist to move!

The Get Up Kids came out, and as I got ready to sing along with every word, a special guest ventured out to join them -- 2, to be precise. Are you ready for this? ROBIN ZANDER and RICK NIELSEN of CHEAP TRICK came out and did two Trick songs with the Kids! It was incredible, absolutely incredible. The Kids put on a wonderful show even after the Tricksters left, playing "Don't Hate Me", "Red Letter Day", "10 Minutes", "I'm A Loner...", "Company Dime", "Shorty" "Action and Action", "Holiday", and more. How could anyone top this amazing set? I was about to find out.

In between acts, the venue was piping in various songs [Rumor has it Weezer hand-picked them]. While getting ready for the =w=, the crowd tested out their vocal chords with such songs as "I Wanna Be Sedated", "Hot For Teacher", and the classic "Bohemian Rhapsody" by Queen. The rendition from the crowd was nothing short of awe-inspiring, and it brought the whole crowd together to prepare for the rock onslaught that was surely about to begin.

And then they took the stage.

Weezer, in a word, rocked. Opening with a slow, ballad-like new song [appropriately titled "New Song"{note: this is now called "I Do," and is available on the UK import}] got the crowd ready for the rest of the concert and Weezer's new studio album. The Weez continued with "My Name Is Jonas", "El Scorcho", "You Gave Your Love To Me Softly", and "The Good Life". All were virtual sing-a-longs with the band, even "You Gave..." which is a fairly uncommon b-side. This crowd was die-hard, if nothing else.

There was then a short break for guitar changes, and Rivers and company played 4 new songs in a row -- "Christmas Song", "Island In The Sun", "Don't Let Go", and "Hash Pipe". Out of the four songs, the strongest material seemed to be "Christmas Song" [which had already been released to KROQ at the holiday season] and "Island In The Sun", a melancholy number that seemed very touching to Rivers. To be honest, I simply cannot remember what "Don't Let Go" sounded like at all, but I know I enjoyed it. "Hash Pipe" was the strangest out of the four, sounding very angry and distorted, possibly the interpretation of what a Weezer song would sound like while high.

After another guitar change, the rock continued with "In The Garage", "Tired Of Sex", and "Say It Ain't So" [and let's not forget those two pesky singles they had blow up on them, too]. After plowing through "Why Bother" head on, Weezer abruptly exited the stage. The crowd was not so satiated. Chants of "Weezer, Weezer" sprung up, as well as lighters and the =w= hand sign. This crowd would not let the band go without a fight. Finally they made their ways back out and knocked the whole audience dead with "Only In Dreams" and "Surf Wax America". In the climax of "Surf Wax", red confetti was released from the ceiling, raining down upon those lucky enough to be front and center. As the crowd pumped its collective fist in the air with the refrain of "You take your car, I'll take my board", one must wonder what was going through Rivers' head at that moment -- did he have any idea what kind of a monster he has created over the past 7 years? If one looked closely, one could see a small glimmer in his eye, indicating that even though he might not ever show it, he knows that this monster cannot be slayed by any fad or trend. Weezer is most assuredly here to stay.

See my pictures from the concert here!