Weezer @ O2 Academy Brixton, London - April 5/16

This concert has been a long time coming. I was a fan from the first, back to '94's Blue album. And Island in the Sun is probably my favourite pop song....Of. All. Time. Weezer seem to play a lot of festivals, and as you may know from reading below, I avoid festivals unless they are really really packed with amazing bands I can't bring myself to miss. Then, finally, back in 2008, Weezer were playing Vancouver and I was on the verge of buying tickets when I checked out the date with my brand new (at-the-time) boyfriend, Steve. Uh-oh. Same date as his best friend's wedding, of which he was the best man, and of which I was his date. Can't really wriggle out of that one. Many swear words were invented and tested out that day. It's probably a good thing I didn't know then it would take another eight years for this to finally happen. But it has. And it was great.

It wasn't great in exactly the way I thought it would be though. Based on the many mellow songs Weezer has, I was worried it would be a more sedate show than I really like. Sure lots are poppy and make you want to move, but not in a moshing kind of way. But fans mosh to Weezer. There was a definite crush up front, not helped by some idiotically placed permanent barriers on the O2 Academy floor. Maybe I was a little less sweaty than I would be after an Against Me! gig but I jumped up and down a whole hell of a lot. Many songs live are more energetic than off the albums, Island in the Sun being a prime example. The prettiness of it got lost somewhere between the fans screaming along and the less sparse, simple arrangement of the recording. The perfection of the "hip, hip" moment, produced perfectly on the record, was just an approximation on this night, but it was enough for me.

I heard plenty of North American accents, as we wound our way from the bar towards the stage. The crowd looked to be about 75% geeky college boy, which makes sense. No bad asses in sight, and a few cute, if straight-laced, girls. I'd say most in their mid to late 20s, but it's harder to tell as I get older. But, they seemed a good deal younger than that when Weezer closed the main set with the Sweater Song and a violent grappling of a jumper ensued after someone held theirs aloft. They will have a good story as to how they lost a sweater during that song at a Weezer concert, but the garment, I'm sure, is history.

So, my impression is that Weezer live are a massive and bouncy sing-a-long band, even though the band themselves are pretty low-key. I thought that the show would be more centred on the new, White album, as it only dropped 4 days ago, and the show seemed to be promoted in that light (and it's a bit of a trend to do whole albums these days), but we only got 5 out of the 10 new tracks. My favourite new track Do You Wanna Get High? was my least favourite new live song of the bunch which was weird, but there were so many other highlights it was fine.

Setlist:
California Kids
My Name Is Jonas
Hash Pipe
Back to the Shack
L.A. Girlz
El Scorcho
The British Are Coming
Pork and Beans
(If You're Wondering If I Want You To) I Want You To
Do You Wanna Get High?
Cleopatra
The Waste Land (Instrumental)
Thank God for Girls
Say It Ain't So
The Good Life
You Gave Your Love to Me Softly
King of the World
Island in the Sun
Undone- The Sweater Song
Encore:
Beverly Hills
Buddy Holly

Full Set recorded by fan, Vaso Proiou:


Or watch on youtube, with comments and song timing marked.