By Chris Moriates
Daily Bruin Contributor
Weezer just might save the world – well, at least the world of
rock ‘n’ roll.
The group’s four indie rock heroes, costumed in their trademark
"geek" attire, put faith back in the fate of rock music, Friday
night at the Hollywood Palladium.
Displaying the pure power of well-written rock music, Weezer
brought a sold out, fanatical crowd to the Palladium for the Yahoo!
Outloud tour, which also featured The Get Up Kids and Ozma.
The celebration began with the high-energy, fun-filled Get Up
Kids, who were in especially high spirits due to lead singer
Matthew Pryor’s 24th birthday.
The Vagrant Records band performed a 45-minute set that featured
songs from its previous albums along with a special birthday
celebration cover of Cheap Trick’s "Surrender."
The Kansas natives of Get Up Kids expressed their appreciation
for performing in Los Angeles, but also sarcastically welcomed,
"All the celebrities and children of celebrities in the VIP
balcony."
After the lively Get Up Kids performance, the stage was cleared
and out came Weezer’s equipment. But instruments and amplifiers
weren’t the only thing set up: Weezer transformed the Palladium
into a typical, low-fi high school gymnasium, complete with a mock
basketball court stage floor, basketball hoops hanging on the sides
of the stage, streamers, cheesy lighting and a home video.
Talk about geek rock at its finest!
As the basketball hoops were mounted, the anticipation in the
crowd began to swell a full 15 minutes before Weezer appeared. When
the quartet did arrive to sit down next to their amps, the vivacity
of the crowd contrasted brilliantly with the extremely slow opening
song.
As the familiar opening riff of "My Name is Jonas" let the
audience know that it was time to rock, the band jumped to its
feet.
Armed with well-known songs that feature melodies and hooks that
are more contagious than a virus, Weezer worked through an
hour-long set and then returned to play a two-song encore for the
chanting fans.
"It’s nice to be home," said lead singer Rivers Cuomo between
songs.
Weezer presented a sneak peak into its next album, which will
come out later this year, with a few new songs placed toward the
middle of the set. Mixing new songs with radio staples such as "Say
it Ain’t So" and "Buddy Holly" kept the energy going.
Cuomo and company returned with an encore performance featuring
"Only in Dreams" and "Surfwax America." The band then left the
stage for the last time in grand fashion; a bass guitar was even
thrown out into the audience. Security, however, retrieved it and
took it back.
Despite the fact that Weezer has not released an album in over
four years, Friday’s show proved that the band is still on top of
its game and loving it. The quartet also plans to tour again
following the release of its new album, so dig up "Pinkerton" and
that old sweater, and get ready to rock it Weezer-style.