It had been six years since the last time I saw Weezer and I was super excited to see them last month at The Shoreline Amphitheater! On the surface the three bands on the bill:
Weezer,
Panic! at the Disco and
Andrew McMahon in the Wilderness seemed like a weird mix-match but it actually worked because they're all positive, up-beat pop. Plus the line-up targeted a wide age-range of fans which was a really smart ticket selling move!
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Panic! at the Disco @ The Shoreline Amphitheater 7/31/2016
photo by Marc Fong |
I saw Weezer a handful of times when I was in High School and I owned the Blue album but I was never a die-hard fan, so I was kind of surprised just how excited I was to for this show. I don't know if I was more excited for Weezer or for the nostalgia of seeing Weezer but it felt good to be giddy. It had also been a couple years since I had been to a show at The Shoreline Amphitheater and the first one-off show I can remember seeing there in almost a decade (eek!).
It took about 15 minutes to walk to the end of the ticket-holders line and another 15 minutes or so to get into the venue. I don't remember the lines ever being so long but I did get to enjoy the warm amber waves of the sunset as I waited and that's when I noticed how young the crowd was. Maybe they were there for Panic! or Andrew McMahon in the Wilderness? Maybe cool Aunts and Uncles brought them? Maybe Weezer's demographic is younger than I remember or I'm just older. Andrew McMahon in the Wilderness was over by the time I got inside and seats in the 100's, 200's and lawn space was quickly filled by gaggles of fanatical Panic! at the Disco teenage fans and families.
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Panic! at the Disco @ The Shoreline Amphitheater 7/31/2016
photo by Marc Fong |
I never really got into Panic! at the Disco but it was fun vibing off the energy of the fans that I was surrounded by! Everyone as far as my eyes could see, practically jumped out of their seats as soon as Brendon Urie and the rest of the band hit the stage. There was no shortage of pizazz on stage as the Vegas native paraded around in a Cheetah print blouse and a blue blazer, delivering hit after hit with a blaring energy. I've gotten use to seeing phones being held up to snap pictures at shows but everyone around me was videoing the show on their phone and I do mean the show. Not part of a song or a whole song or two, the whole show and everyone around me was doing it! It was weird, little un-comfortable and sad that kids (and their parents) weren't actually enjoying being there, at a live show.
Brendon Urie gave a very personable performance more so than I would have expected with insights to growing up on Las Vegas and a brief shout-out for LBGT rights.
The singer probably made some fans blush when he took off his shirt before he jumped on the drums for a super charged drum solo followed by some back flips near the end of their fully entertaining set! I was happy that they played the one song of theirs I actually know and probably their most well known song, "I Write Sins, Not Tragedies."
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Panic! at the Disco @ The Shoreline Amphitheater 7/31/2016
photo by Marc Fong |
The change-over between bands was painless and quick, a pleasant surprise with a bigger production at a big out-door amphitheater and
Weezer was on-stage within a half an hour after Panic! at the Disco. They opened with their new single "California Kids" off their 2016 self-titled album also known as
The White Album. Once again everyone on their feet and if Weezer hadn't already grabbed everyone's attention, they definitely had it after explosions of confetti shot out from both sides of the stage before the end of the first song. They went on to play two older songs in a row, "Hash Pipe" and "My Name is Jonas".
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Weezer @ The Shoreline Amphitheater 7/31/2016
photo by Marc Fong |
Unexpectedly, all the feels swelled and fluttered in my chest at the sound of the soft, melodic chords of Jonas. That's the Weezer I grew up listening to. That's the Weezer I love.
Back in the day Weezer was indie before indie was indie, I forget that they've evolved and since soared into the pop stratosphere since their Blue album days.
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Weezer @ The Shoreline Amphitheater 7/31/2016
photo by Marc Fong |
They sounded great, they looked like they were having fun and the crowd ate it up. Known for being a little awkward, Rivers' stage presence and performance was what fans have come to expect but his full-on aqua-marine eyeshadow and liner was a bit awkward. Though I wish they would have played more classics, the set was pretty well balanced with songs from their album catalog minus
Pinkerton. I wouldn't have guessed that
Panic! at the Disco and Weezer would make for such a dynamic bill. It was a good night for a pop show!
Both bands will be at City of Trees in Sacramento September 10th before their Summer Tour is over and they do their own thing.
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Weezer @ The Shoreline Amphitheater 7/31/2016
photo by Marc Fong |
Weezer set-list 7/31/2016
1. California Kids
2. Hash Pipe
3. My Name is Jonas
4. (If You're Wondering If I Want You To) I Want You To
5. Pork and Beans
6. I Love The USA
7. Perfect Situation
8. Thanks God For Girls
9. Dope Nose/Back To The Shack/ Keep Fishin'/The Good Life/Surf Wax America
10. Undone (The Sweater Song)
11. King Of The World/Only In Dreams
12. Island In The Sun
13. Say It Ain't So
Encore
1. El Scorcho
2. Buddy Holly
