 Foozer, Strippers Overheat Tour's End
Foo Fighters, Weezer, Strippers Join Forces For Epic Night at the Oakland Arena
Imagine two bands that have defined the modern face of rock and roll in the same venue. Imagine them each playing a phenomenal set list. Imagine seven strippers on stage with them. This is what made the Foo Fighters and Weezer concert last Friday at the Oakland Arena an epic show.
Both bands have a serious track record in the music industry. Dave Grohl cut his teeth playing the drums for Nirvana back in 1990 and Weezer essentially created the alt-rock genre. The announcement of the tour wasn't well received, but by the end of the show it was clear that the two bands were a superb complement for one another.
Hot Hot Heat started the show, lead by the insufferably cute, afro-ed Steve Bays, an entertaining but not particularly exciting opener. They played all of their songs energetically and pleased their fans with hits like "Goodnight, Goodnight," and "Bandages." Though Hot Hot Heat has the alt-boy look down, they haven't quite mastered the art of song differentiation.
After Hot Hot Heat's set, Weezer took the stage. Despite rumors that lead singer Rivers Cuomo is boring live, when Cuomo started dancing crazily across the stage, and interacting with the audience, fans knew they were seeing a very rare side of the Harvard English major. Thousands of college age kids, and a few hard-core 40-year olds, sang along with hits like "My Name is Jonas," "Hash Pipe," and "Beverly Hills." Drummer Pat Wilson took the place of Cuomo for "Photograph" which he morphed into a terrific cover of Blur's "Song #2." Cuomo then appeared at the back of the auditorium and sang a beautiful acoustic version of "Island in the Sun."
Enter first stripper, stage center. The possibility of pranks had been mentioned because it was the last show of the tour, and when a scantily clad woman began rubbing up against a beet-red Cuomo it became painfully apparent that the pranking had begun. His embarrassment was reversed when Dave Grohl, joined him on stage to play "Undone" but rapidly returned when six well-oiled, muscled male strippers danced through the entirety of the last song, "Buddy Holly." Weezer played clearly, energetically and strongly throughout the entire show-even with the six flapping penises, gracefully leaving the stage to allow the Foo Fighters to take over.
Dave Grohl and his band took command of the stage for over an hour of flawless, aggressive, kick ass rock'n'roll. After tearing through "In Your Honor" and two more Foo hits, Dave Grohl preceded to gloat about the "half a dozen hot cock" he procured to dance on stage with Weezer. The Foo continued with many of their better known songs including "Everlong," and lesser known songs like a 15 minute long, amazing version of "Stacked Dead Actors." Drummer Taylor Hawkins sang a wonderful version of "Cold Day in the Sun," allowing Dave Grohl to take over on the drums-a sight that would make any Grohl fan faint with euphoria. The set ended with "Monkey Wrench," leaving every single person in the auditorium giddy with the after affects of what could be the best show to hit the Oakland Arena.
Perhaps the show was so good because the bands were excited for the tour to be over. Perhaps the presence of hundreds of students in Cal shirts helped improve the environment-props to the girls who considered starting up a "Go Bears!" chant. But I'm convinced that the talent and experience of the Foo Fighters and Weezer is the only explanation for this show's perfection. It's doubtful that a tour will ever surpass the greatness of the Foozer combination, a fact that every person in that auditorium understood as they left a show that was pure rock and roll magic.
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