Chris Ziegler

This Weezer show was a study in spirited schizophrenia, fitting for a band whose leader, Rivers Cuomo, loves to sing about personality crises. The set was heavy on Weezer tunes most likely to be found on mix tapes (but where were "In the Garage" and "Pink Triangle"?), with Cuomo playing geek one song and guitar god the next. A blazing "Tired of Sex" blew away a meandering "Burndt Jamb" with a welcome wave of feedback; a snarly and raw "Hash Pipe" crashed into a deliberate and dignified "Only in Dreams," like the beefy jock-rockers probably ran over a shy Cuomo in some high school hallway long ago. But Cuomo doesn't want to be the guy who looks just like Buddy Holly anymore. Tonight, his dapper suit and tie put him a lot closer to Elvis Costello, and his gawky earnestness was all Jonathan Richman. But there was an intelligence and vulnerability behind what history will recall as "classic Weezer"--1994's debut "Blue Album" and its follow-up, Pinkerton--that was lost behind tonight's not-so-ironic-anymore flashpots and fog machines.Read More