 Dual '90s bands pack in hits
Foo Fighters show rock muscle, Weezer gives hope to nerd guitarists at CSU concert stop
The pairing of the Foo Fighters and Weezer is a testament to the continued survival of two bands that came to prominence in the alt-rock-soaked '90s.
Both bands have been around for about a decade, released five albums and are fueled by magnetic if very different personalities. The Foo Fighters' Dave Grohl was, of course, in Nirvana but has since built a reputation as one of rock's nice guys (unless you're asking Courtney Love) and someone who appreciates how cool it is to be a rock star. Weezer's Rivers Cuomo is king of the geek rockers: a maladjusted, nerdy brainiac able to translate insecurity, confusion, humor and a dash of self-loathing into catchy hard rock tunes anyone can hum.
The dual headlining tour, which stopped at Cleveland State University's Wolstein Center Saturday night, saw both veteran bands playing about 80-minute sets packed with hits.
Weezer came first, opening with My Name Is Jonas, the first song from its 1994 self-titled debut (commonly known as the blue album), and proceeded to take the very enthusiastic and young crowd on an 18-song trip through its catalog. Cuomo lived up to his unofficial title of geek-rock god -- always looking happy but slightly uncomfortable as he awkwardly stalked the stage with and without his guitar, buoyed by the harmonies of his bandmates.
Cuomo also gave the band members some time in the spotlight, with each singing lead on a song. Bassist Scott Shriner fared best, on Dope Nose. Like Grohl, Cuomo knows his way around a singalong hook, packing his tunes with ``whoa-ooh-whoa'' choruses, including a hard rockin' Hash Pipe (sung by drummer Pat Wilson) that morphed into Blur's popular Song #2 (which has its own Whoo! Hoo! chorus). The band even whipped out rarely played songs from its commercial flop, but beloved sophomore album, Pinkerton, as well as the Foo Fighters' early single Big Me. Near the end of the set, after Cuomo performed a solo acoustic version of Is land in the Sun on the increasingly common small stage in the back of the arena, the band brought up a fan named Joey to play guitar and sing Undone (The Sweater Song).
While Weezer brings hope for nerds with guitars, the Foo Fighters were all rock muscle. Grohl, confident and affable on stage, promised to rock the crowd's tuckuses off and the quintet delivered -- playing hard-charging and occasionally manic versions of tunes from all its albums, including the rock tunes from its new electric/semiacoustic double disc In Your Honor.
Grohl, masterful at playing to the crowd, shouted out his Warren, Ohio, birthplace and mentioned summers in Youngstown and ``Grandma's house in Niles,'' much to the delight of the crowd. Mostly, the band simply rocked, playing hit after hit, with Grohl repeatedly encouraging the crowd to sing ``LOUD!''
Britain's Kaiser Chiefs opened the show with a short set of their peppy XTC-inspired tunes from their debut Employment, trying very hard (and mostly succeeding) to warm up the crowd. |
