To celebrate the 30th anniversary of their iconic self-titled debut album, “Weezer” (known by fans as “The Blue Album”), Weezer embarked on a world tour. Joining the ride are legendary ’90s acts Dinosaur Jr. and The Flaming Lips. On Sept. 18, Bridgestone Arena hosted the intergalactic spectacle, taking attendees through the band’s greatest hits and their origins.
The concert started with a short set from influential alt-rock band Dinosaur Jr. The three-man group brought a powerful sound that made the band feel much larger than it was. They played fan favorites “Feel the Pain” and “Start Choppin’” as the crowd was mesmerized by the immense wave of sound. The trio of Joseph “J” Mascis, Patrick “Murph” Murphy and Lou Barlow energized an already bouncing crowd.
After Dinosaur Jr. took a bow and cleared the stage, a curious sight unfolded. Deflated balloons and what appeared to be giant pink piles of cloth were brought out to the stage. Over the speakers, a voice urged the crowd to get ready and hyped. It was The Flaming Lips’ frontman, Wayne Coyne. A few minutes later, the psychedelic rock band took the stage amidst lasers and lights while Coyne threw streamers into the crowd.
Coyne is a fantastic singer and frontman, always making sure the crowd is engaged not just with the music, but with the whole experience. After the first song concluded, Coyne read out a note to dedicate the next song, “Suddenly Everything Has Changed,” to a fan whose mother had tragically died in a car accident the week before. It was a touching moment that added even more sentimentality to an already heartfelt song.
What came next was my favorite part of any The Flaming Lips show. Remember the pink tarps from earlier? Those were actually giant, inflatable pink robots. As the band launched into the iconic “Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots” Parts 1 and 2, I was mesmerized. As the audience joined in singing “hey hey hey hey,” Coyne brought out custom balloons reading “F*** Yeah Nashville,” which he tossed into the crowd. He kept urging the audience to cheer, scream and sing along, never letting the energy dip. As the band’s time came to a close, another inflatable surprise in the form of a rainbow appeared as the band broke into their last song, “Do You Realize?”
It was time for the main act. The stage was set, and at its center stood a rocket emblazoned with the Weezer logo. The screens next to the stage displayed a countdown, 10 minutes, 5 minutes, 1 minute… 3, 2, 1. The rocket started to rise, with smoke filling the arena as sparks flew out from below. Hidden inside were the band members: Rivers Cuomo, Patrick Wilson, Brian Bell and Scott Shriner. The journey began with a collection of hit songs from the band’s history (excluding songs from “The Blue Album” which came later).
During “Beverly Hills,” Cuomo made the hometown crowd cheer when he replaced the lyric “livin’ in Beverly Hills” with “livin’ in Nashville.” Of course, the band played fan favorite “Island in the Sun,” and the crowd joined in with a chorus of “hip hip.”
As the band played, the screen behind them displayed an intergalactic journey, showing the band flying through space toward a distant planet. Suddenly, disaster struck. The ship was attacked by an alien and damaged in an asteroid belt. Cuomo asked the ship’s computer to identify where the band had crash-landed, and trusty M1 revealed the location as the Pinkerton asteroid belt (named after the band’s second album). The band’s new objective was to find the parts of the ship that broke off during the alien altercation as they played songs from “Pinkerton.” Finally, the ship was complete and ready to continue its 30-light-year journey to the Blue Planet, but when we got there something was wrong. The band disembarked in outfits inspired by Star Trek and planted the Weezer flag on the planet. The only problem was the planet was dying and Cuomo theorized that the only way to save it was through playing “The Blue Album.” The crowd went wild as the planet was restored more and more after every song.
Cuomo kept the crowd extra happy when he and Bell sprinkled in even more Nashville references during the dialogue on “Undone (The Sweater Song).” They sang lines like “Hey, can I get a ride to Broadway?” and “Have you ever been to Tootsie’s? I wanna go to Tootsie’s.”
By the time “Say It Ain’t So” finished, the planet was almost completely restored and a mob of Weezeroids (residents of the planet that had an uncanny resemblance to Cuomo) filled the screen behind the band. The band ripped blazing guitar solos, iconic riffs and revitalizing music that healed not only the planet but our souls. Weezer was unapologetically weird, and that’s cool. The incredible music makes the band iconic, and the theatrics were the icing on the cake. The show reached its climactic end, with the guitars wailing, drums pounding and bass trucking along. It was an incredible evening that celebrated an iconic band’s history. As I left the arena, I was reminded of what united the crowd that night — our love for a band and our drive to, as Cuomo put it, “Weez on!”
