Weezer and Pixies Rock Grand Rapids

Nerdy nostalgia took over Van Andel Arena in Grand Rapids Wednesday night as alternative rock mainstays, Weezer, and elder statesmen, Pixies, brought their US tour through Michigan. Hits and history alike were the focus of the night, rather than an emphasis on newer material, though Weezer included a fair amount of cover songs from their self-titled (teal) album, released earlier this year (yet only one from their self-titled (black) album, released just a few weeks ago). The crowd was a blend of older fans who were there for Pixies with mild interest to indifference toward seeing Weezer, and younger fans who felt and reacted the opposite way, though most seemed to enjoy the sets from both bands.

The production for each group was professional and well-executed but quite different when comparing. After a short opening set from Basement, Pixies took the stage to the sounds of The Beatles’ later-era B-side, “You Know My Name (look up the number”, and launched right into “Where Is My Mind?”, one of the most-notable and influential songs, followed by another early classic, “Nimrod’s Son”, before veering off into a segment of newer material from the current decade. Singer/guitarist/songwriter, Black Francis, led the band through tight performances of 22 songs in 70 minutes, bringing new life to old favorites as the group experimented with arrangements and tempos throughout their show. While still able to hit most of the tougher, higher notes, Francis’ voice is gruffer and more gravely than the band’s original recordings from 30 years ago. Bassist/vocalist, Paz Lenchantin, replacing departed founding member, Kim Deal, did well to replicate Deal’s bass parts and most of her signature vocals, and she got a few minutes in the spotlight later in the set singing lead on a spirited rendition of “Gigantic”. While it would be impossible to include all of the band’s greatest hits and fan favorites in their slightly-shorter set time, and considering their surprise reunion tour was, itself, 15 years ago, the modern version of the band did a great job balancing older and newer material alike and presenting each song with passion and well-rehearsed skill. Other classic songs that were featured included “Here Comes Your Man”, “Gouge Away”, “Hey”, “Caribou”, “U-Mass”, “Wave of Mutilation”, and “Debaser”.

After another set change, slightly longer than the first, fans were delighted to see Weezer emerge from behind a large curtain that surrounded the stage, wearing the matching, striped jackets and hats they recently sported on an episode of The Tonight Show, and again performing a barbershop quartet arrangement of the first verse and chorus of “Buddy Holly”. They then ducked back behind the curtain to begin the show, proper, and the band started off with a strong 5-song punch of tracks from their first two (and best) albums, including “My Name is Jonas”, “Pink Triangle”, “El Scorcho”, and the full-length “Buddy Holly”. A few songs including, “Undone-The Sweater Song”, “I Want You To”, “Pork and Beans”, and “Beverly Hills”, were shortened for time or featured alternate lyrics, usually changed for comedic effect, but with some lines left out completely in a few cases. Over the course of the show, the backdrop and stage design changed every 5 songs or so, keeping things visually engaging and different from one block of songs to the next. One stage set resembled the “Buddy Holly” music video while another resembled a garage band practice, and later in the show, everything from brightly-lit disco balls to classic-metal flash pots were used to accompany the various moods in the songs that were included.

About half-way through their set, front man, Rivers Cuomo, boarded a small prop boat that was wheeled slowly around the outer rim of the main floor, allowing the guitarist to perform solos to audience members who were further away from the stage. During this portion of the show, Cuomo performed two songs on his own with only an acoustic guitar, including Weezer’s mid-00’s minor hit, “Perfect Situation” and a cover of The Turtles’ classic, “Happy Together”, which also included a verse and chorus from Green Day’s “Longview”, itself celebrating a 25^th anniversary this year, along with Weezer’s self-titled debut LP (blue album), both released in early 1994. Among the 7 (!!!) cover songs that were played or referenced throughout their performance, most of which were from their recent covers album, most notable was a nearly-perfect take on Jane’s Addiction’s, “Up the Beach”, the opening track from Nothing’s Shocking. The track is more an atmospheric introduction or transition than a proper rock song, and most in the audience probably didn’t really notice it or even know what it was, but it was a very notable choice for the band to include. Also played were TLC’s “No Scrubs”, Black Sabbath’s “Paranoid” (with guitarist Brian Bell on lead vocals), and their two recent ‘80s cover hits, “Africa” and “Take on Me”, celebrating almost all corners and decades of the rock ‘n roll timeline. By comparison, they included no songs at all from 6 of their own 14 albums. Even when the band stumbled at times, or when planned parts of the show didn’t quite play out right, their performance was charmingly awkward, much like the group itself. Fans and newcomers alike were dazzled by Weezer’s showmanship and responded well to their proud-geek spirit. And so, a random Wednesday evening in Grand Rapids concluded with a triumphant “Say It Ain’t So” as the smiling and satisfied audience headed back into the Michigan non-spring evening.

Pixies Set List

(The Beatles “You Know My Name” intro tape)

Where Is My Mind?

Nimrod’s Son

All the Saints

Here Comes Your Man

Death Horizon

Mr. Grieves

*(still working to verify which song was played here)

Cactus

Motorway to Roswell

Gouge Away

Blown Away

*(still working to verify which song was played here)

Hey

Caribou

Saint Nazaire

Head On (The Jesus and Mary Chain)

U-Mass

Gigantic

Wave of Mutilation

Debaser

Vamos

Winterlong (Neil Young)

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Weezer Set List

Buddy Holly (barbershop quartet)

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(Happy Days intro tape)

My Name is Jonas

Pink Triangle

El Scorcho

Buddy Holly

Undone-The Sweater Song

(If You’re Wondering If I Want You To,) I Want You To

Pork and Beans

Can’t Knock the Hustle

Paranoid (Black Sabbath)

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Perfect Situation (Rivers solo)

Happy Together (The Turtles)/Longview (Green Day) (Rivers solo)

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Up the Beach (Jane’s Addiction)

Beverly Hills

Surf Wax America

No Scrubs (TLC)

Island in the Sun

Africa (Toto)

Hash Pipe

-------------------(encore break)-----------

Take on Me (A-Ha)

Say It Ain’t So

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Dookie at 25

Green Day’s major label debut introduced the pop punk trio to audiences around the world and made them one of the most successful rock bands of the 1990s. Dookie, released in early 1994, established a next-generation take on the classic sounds of Ramones, Sex Pistols, and others, but included enough hooks to propel 5 hit singles up the charts and sell over 20 million copies, making it one of the highest-selling albums of all time.

Singer/guitarist/songwriter, Billie Joe Armstrong, plays the role of the jaded, Gen-X punk, a bit younger and even brattier than Nirvana’s Kurt Cobain, who coincidentally checked out around the time Dookie was beginning to make an impact. His lyrics alternate between storytelling from various character perspectives and personal reflections of his own, though it’s never quite clear which are which. Tales of everything from adolescent confusion, feelings of rejection and misunderstanding, and simply acknowledging or even reveling in one’s own chosen grossness somehow matched up perfectly with the crunchy hooks and undeniable melodies. Bassist/vocalist, Mike Dirnt, and drummer, Tre Cool, are the album’s (and the band’s) secret weapon, carrying the rhythm and dynamic throughout each song and helping to connect the tone between each track. Their lightning-fast fills and accents are vastly more-technical and noteworthy than Armstrong’s guitar playing, which is quite rudimentary most of the time, allowing the band to keep one foot in traditional punk while also showing off their musical chops and standing out compared to their contemporaries and inspirations. Armstrong and Dirnt’s harmony vocals are among the best in ‘90s rock and beyond and still hold up very well on this and most of Green Day’s other records.

Green Day more than any band in the spring and summer of 1994 were the right band at the right time. Young radio listeners, many just discovering what was then called “alternative” music, or more aptly, modern rock, were also introduced to punk, in general, and pop punk, specifically, by the parade of hit singles from this album. The production and sound of Dookie became the template for many other groups over the next decade (until Green Day helped to change that trend again by releasing American Idiot in 2004.)  While not all groups inspired by this album are of equal value or importance, it is safe to say that without it, an entire sub-genre of rock music in the '90s and early '00s may not have existed and certainly would not have been on the radio and MTV every ten minutes (back when MTV featured music-based content, of course). While 21^st century Green Day has been predominantly politically and socially focused, Dookie is firmly centered on a generation gap-style perspective, with the 17-year-old narrator of “Coming Clean” lamenting how “Mom and Dad will never understand what’s happening to me” and defiantly struggling then celebrating leaving home to live on one’s own for the first time on "Welcome to Paradise".

At 15 songs in 40 minutes (including Tre Cool’s silly hidden track, “All by Myself”), the album moves very fast, and while it has dynamic moments, there are certainly no full-on ballads (or any harmonicas, trumpets, or accordions) to be found. The first single, “Longview”, told the tale of the typical Gen X slacker who, like the Ramones before him, just wants to have something to do, but has no place in the 9 to 5 world. In this case, the narrator ends up wasting time watching TV and masturbating instead. Not typical subject matter for songs on pop radio at the time, but that’s part of what made it resonate. “Basket Case”, the follow up hit, exploded on MTV and radio alike and helped make the group a household name in addition to landing them a spot onstage at Woodstock ’94 in August. After that, the band rode the wave as high and long as they could for the next year while they quickly and quietly worked on their next LP, Insomniac, released in 1995. Additional radio singles, including “She” and “Welcome to Paradise” were featured regularly on rock stations, and “When I Come Around” became another smash hit on radio and as a music video.

One of the best parts about Dookie’s songs include the non-singles, which are just as good as the big hits but for different reasons. “Burnout” opens the album establishing the angsty boredom theme, followed by “Having a Blast”, a violent daydream fantasy about a suicide bomber. “Chump” and “In the End” both build on themes of jealousy and frustration following the end of a romantic relationship, which had been explored heavily on the band’s first two albums. Those independently-released records, however, had a more-innocent tone that also included a bit more pop than rock, which the band would not revisit for another four years, when they brought some humor and other musical styles into tracks that appeared on the Nimrod album. “Pulling Teeth”, probably the most pop-leaning song on Dookie, compares a metaphorically-abusive relationship with literal restraint and torture, and the memorable closer, “F.O.D.” (fuck off and die), directed at some unfortunate but unnamed antagonist, ends the album with a musical and lyrical exclamation point. It’s safe to say that this particular album is easily one of the best and most-significant of 1994, the ‘90s, and arguably, in all of rock history.

Other albums celebrating 25 years:
Corrosion of Conformity-Deliverance
Bad Religion-Stranger than Fiction
Rancid-Let's Go
Helmet-Betty

25 years of Weezer’s Blue Album

Of the many excellent releases from 1994, two, in particular, best captured the awkward teenage years and the experience of growing up.  Green Day’s Dookie, which will be discussed in a future article, and Weezer’s self-titled debut LP, better known as The Blue Album. These 10 songs, pounded out in just over  40 minutes by the group’s original four members, helped bridge the gap between the end of mainstream grunge rock and the earliest examples of emo (and its many subgenres) and, along with Green Day, pop punk and all its related styles. Rock and pop fans alike were simultaneously introduced to the strange brilliance of singer/songwriter, Rivers Cuomo, who weaves personal experience into Gen-X storytelling that moves quickly and with focused precision throughout. While some may only recall the major success and new wave pop of the still-catchy, “Buddy Holly”, others began a 25-year relationship with a prolific group that continues to experiment and dares to challenge their audience as just last week, they released their second LP so far this year alone, with a third on the way.

It’s hard to believe now, with the band’s large and still-growing catalog, that this collection of songs, and a handful of related B-sides from singles and soundtracks, were all the Weezer fans had for over two years and also laid the foundation that would sustain them through a 5-year hiatus where many gave up on the group or assumed they had come and gone, leaving some solidly memorable songs behind. These tracks revel in their simplicity while embracing big hooks that engaged rock fans of all types on songs like “No One Else”, “The World Has Turned and Left Me Here”, and the Beach Boys-referencing “Holiday” and “Surf Wax America”. Original bassist, Matt Sharp, lends his signature falsetto backing vocals to most tracks which gives the songs a quality the band has never quite been able to regain following his departure a few years later during their lengthy break.

“Buddy Holly”, a gigantic hit on radio and MTV alike, with it’s unforgettable Happy Days-themed video directed by the great Spike Jonze, was the album’s biggest success, but its lead single, “Undone – The Sweater Song”, introduced the band to viewers of 120 Minutes and Alternative Nation a bit sooner. With its slow tempo, meandering pre-verses full of dialog, and abstract lyrics, “Undone” is arguably an odd choice to release as a major label album’s lead single, but in retrospect, it represents the band the best of the record’s 10 songs, though it might not be the most-representative of the sound of the album itself. The third and final single, “Say It Ain’t So”, did not hit as high as “Buddy Holly” but showcased Cuomo’s personal songwriting style which continued to develop more so on the band’s second, and arguably superior, LP two years later, compared to the broader approaches of “Undone” and “Buddy Holly”.

Drummer Pat Wilson and guitarist Brian Bell contribute strong performances that drive the songs as they range in dynamic and tone and compliment the unique styles of Cuomo and Sharp. Producer, Ric Ocasek, of The Cars, anchors the album’s sound in early ‘90s rock but with clear connections to late-‘70s and early-‘80s new wave with additional synth pop references that recall moments from his own band’s many hits. Ocasek would return to work with Weezer twice more on subsequent albums, but it’s easy to say the band’s debut would have certainly had a different sound and vibe without his assistance, as they had originally wanted to produce the record themselves.

All told, Weezer’s debut is notable among their many albums for several reasons. Its songs feature an honest naiveite, though from a more general perspective, than any of their subsequent releases and a certain type of excitable energy to match on most tracks. Songs about pining for lost love, anxiety about holding on to current love, relationships within one’s family, and reflections on time spent alone or with friends pursuing personal interests, such as the Kiss posters, X-Men Comics, and D&D components discussed on “In the Garage”, allow listeners to find bits of themselves and their own lives or pasts within them. Starting with 2001’s Weezer (aka The Green Album), many of the band’s songs became stories about other characters or exercises in narrative songwriting from various perspectives rather than exploring the territory covered on The Blue Album. The band’s first album is also the most-firmly based in rock rather than varying into fusion with other genres and toying with experimentation that often led to mixed results.  While Weezer’s sound and style have continued to grow, and new fans are made every day, the foundation for their entire project, 80’s covers and all, can be found in these 10 excellent songs from 25 years ago.