 Review: Weezer, Foo Fighters complement each other
Never mind that each of their new albums have done lukewarm business and neither has ever been an "it" band of the moment. Both the Foo Fighters and Weezer acted like the biggest bands in the world Sunday night at the Xcel Energy Center, and if nothing else, they each came off as relevant and entertaining as ever.
For a price that usually only buys one act at this level ($40), the 14,000 or so fans got double the talent and three times the fun. British openers the Kaiser Chiefs didn't subtract anything, either.
Weezer, in particular, fed off the camaraderie of the co-headlining tour so much, it even played its own version of the Foo Fighters' "Big Me."
"I got plenty of rest last night, so I'm ready to rock," Weezer's forever-awkward and timid frontman Rivers Cuomo said. Yeah, watch out Jagger.
Cuomo wasn't kidding, though, a point perhaps proven by the fact that he didn't wear his trademark big-rimmed glasses during his band's 80-minute set, which kicked off with "My Name Is Jonas." He also let each of his three bandmates sing one of Weezer's standard tunes (best of the bunch was bassist Scott Shriner's "DopeNose").
Cuomo didn't shy away from the limelight, though. He grabbed the microphone and danced around the stage guitar-less for "El Scorcho," and he encouraged audience participation for "Buddy Holly." At the start of Weezer's one encore, he sang a solo acoustic "Island in the Sun" on a small stage near the back. Pretty audacious acts for a guy who purportedly doesn't come out of his house for weeks on end.
Weezer's set threatened to derail when the band copied Green Day's fans-take-over routine for "Undone -- The Sweater Song," but the band recouped and nailed "Hash Pipe" for a strong finish.
Any chance of Cuomo upstaging Foo Fighters frontman Dave Grohl vanished within the Foos' venomous opener "In Your Honor," when the former Nirvana drummer was bathed in spotlight and growling like a James Hetfield in Vans shoes. From there, he and his trio of bandmates breathlessly tore through two of their mightiest numbers, "One by One" and "My Hero."
Always a personable guy, Grohl built up the sweet lament "Up in Arms" by reminiscing about recording Nirvana's 1993 album "In Utero" at Pachyderm Studio in Cannon Falls, Minn.
That the Foo leader has fought a hard fight since then was proven by the vast number of familiar rock-radio hits in the bursting 90-minute set, including "Learning to Fly,"This Is a Call,"Stacked Actors,"Times Like These,"Everlong" and the latest hit "Best of You." One other new song, "D.O.A.," also came off as a worthy addition to the list -- a list that, judging by Sunday's rabid crowd response, should only keep growing. |
