Weezer lets music do talking at Long Beach

By Mary Williams
Daily Bruin Senior Staff

Sitting in the stands and looking down on the floor and stage at
the Long Beach Arena on Friday was like watching a really good
Weezer concert rather than participating in it.

The crowd, with its arms in the air, cheered on the band, which
played an excellent set. The colored lights that flooded the stage
seeped out onto the audience, illuminating the bobbing heads,
pumping fists and crowd surfers in the same light that bathed the
group.

During the song “Only In Dreams,” fog enveloped the
foursome and turned purple with more lighting. The band was so
shrouded, in fact, that the only view of singer Rivers Cuomo for a
minute was an enlarged shadow, hanging in the fog that was
suspended over the audience. It looked very cozy.

Unfortunately, not everyone had this intimate experience. The
oversized arena, which usually houses hockey games, was poorly
suited for a concert. The stage was imbedded in the seats at the
far end of the rink, giving those in the majority of sections a bad
view of the performers. To add to that, there was a persistent and
distracting echo off the walls, which was especially noticeable
during sets by openers Jimmy Eat World and Tenacious D.

Weezer’s set was energetic and fun, including old and new
favorites. On several songs, like the beloved “Say It
Ain’t So,” “Undone” and “Hash
Pipe,” the crowd sang along with the band.

The group virtually excluded songs from its second album,
“Pinkerton,” playing only “Tired of Sex,”
while including the majority of the songs off its other two
albums.

Even though the performance was essentially the four members of
the band standing onstage with very few effects, playing pop rock
songs, their incredible draw was evident. The show sold-out every
seat, even the ones that were so high and so far back that those in
them must not have been able to see anything.

Cuomo didn’t have much to say that night, restricting most
of his comments to the names of the songs Weezer was about to play.
When guitarist Brian Bell had problems with his instrument, briefly
stopping the show, Cuomo seemed to have a hard time thinking of
comments to fill the time.

“So, yeah,” he said into the microphone finally.

“I’d have to also say, “˜Yeah,'”
added temporary bass player Scott Schriner.

Cuomo asked the audience to say “yeah,” which it
did, before Bell’s guitar was returned and the search for
something to say was over.

This was the opposite of opener Tenacious D, who seemed to have
no trouble talking.

Its two members, Jack Black and Kyle Gass, bantered with each
other and the audience, keeping the mood light and tongue-in-cheek.
Black is an outrageous and hyperactive performer, who got the
crowd, even those in the stands, to laugh at his antics.

Jimmy Eat World gave a high-energy performance that very few
people were in on time to see. Much of the audience was waiting in
the enormous lines outside the venue, as singer Jim Adkins careened
around stage with his guitar, showing an enthusiasm that was not
matched by those in the half-empty arena.

The venue didn’t do justice to the bands that played,
which surely would have gotten more crowd response in the stands
had they been more visible to the audience members.