WEEZER LIVE IN NASHVILLE

Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...

Live at Bridgestone Arena – Nashville

September 22, 2024 Review by Traci Turner

Residents of Music City were taken on a sonic journey to outer space that included inflatable pink robots, a gigantic rocket ship, and a hellaton of lasers. Weezer brought their Voyage to the Blue Planet Tour to town with The Flaming Lips and Dinosaur Jr. lending support, and I can comfortably say it was like nothing I have ever seen before! The tour hits Los Angeles October 11th and I will forever be angry with you if you do not attend.

Dinosaur Jr. may have had a light crowd, but the cheers were almost as loud as the band when they kicked off with “Little Fury Things.” It felt like being returned to the ‘90s thanks to their distinct distortion, especially when they played their hit “Feel the Pain” and its shredding guitar solo at the end. J Mascis, Lou Barlow, and Murph had a short set, but their cover of The Cure’s “Just Like Heaven” was a standout, as well as the feedback finale.

The Flaming Lips have a stellar reputation for their live shows and even if you can’t name one of their songs, you surely know about their inflatable bubbles.

Wayne Coyne is such a distinctive front-man – in personality and coiffure – and the talents of the band are legend. Coyne is joined by Steven Drozd, Derek Brown, Matt Duckworth Kirksey, and Tommy McKenzie… plus some other guests we will get to shortly.

After “Nashville Cats” as an intro, they started with “The Spark That Bled” and the crowd was already going bananas, the pit now filled to the brim. In addition to the majesty that is his mad scientist hair, Coyne was decked out in a black leather harness that I was coveting.

He encouraged us to “keep things going” – whether it be clapping or screaming – throughout the set and stated that it was “an honor and mind blowing to play on this tour with their friends” and that Weezer’s show was going blow us away. He listed all of the venues in Nashville that the band has ever played, which I thought was a very nice touch.

Coyne did get serious for a moment and said a friend’s mother had passed away. He said the next song, “Suddenly Everything Has Changed,” was for her and a reminder of the “power of music.”

The mood was lifted and “Pompeii Am Götterdämmerung” found Coyne on his knees at the front of stage. But then he stood, began to swing a light like a whip with a large smile on his face, and it all ended with confetti cannons.

Not to be outdone, the special guests arrived as pink inflatable robots took shape onstage and began to dance for “Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots, Pt. 1” and “Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots, Pt. 2.” Coyne held up “FUCK YEAH NASHVILLE” metallic balloons, tossed them into the crowd, where they were divided up and passed like beach balls overhead.

Sadly, the pink robots fell to their demise and Coyne now donned a Wonder Woman robe to sing their monster hit, “She Don’t Use Jelly.” As a mad scientist/Wonder Woman hybrid, Coyne began using a silver foil whip, swirling and swinging it around before grabbing another metallic letter balloon set, this one simply just “FUCK.”

After inflatable lips and eye balls appeared onstage, Coyne told the audience, “This song is a lot funner and more meaningful if you guys sing along. All you gotta do is sing ‘yeah, yeah, yeah,’ and I’ll point to you. But there is a part where you can sing ‘no, no, no.’” If you guessed it was time for “The Yeah Yeah Yeah Song (With All Your Power),” you guessed correctly.

“Love Yer Brain” was followed by a cover of Madonna’s “Borderline,” before Coyne promised we were going to experience “a mind fuck” from Weezer.

All of the guys put on their Nashville Predators hockey jerseys (a common gift to bands from this arena) and closed their set with “Do You Realize??” under a rainbow inflatable and the “FUCK” balloon, which was finally tossed away to the pit.

How in the universe could any band top a leather-harness wearing mad scientist who danced with inflatable pink robots while tossing out “FUCK” balloons? Hey, Wayne Coyne promised a mind fuck!

Without the arena going dark, large video monitors began a news broadcast and a newscaster asked the Weezer – wearing astronaut suits – if they were ready to go “where no human has gone before?”

Guitarist Brian Bell said he was absolutely excited, but bassist Scott Shriner deemed the voyage “stupid” to the amusement of the crowd.

Front-man and guitarist Rivers Cuomo, in a daze, had to be nudged to give his lackluster response of, “uh, interesting.” Poor drummer Patrick Wilson did not get to chime in.

The news broadcast ended and a five-minute countdown clock began. A rocket with the Weezer W logo and “Voyage to the Blue Planet” was bathed in blue light. Fog and various beeps and sounds – very Space Mountain-ish – kept us in suspense as the minutes ticked down. As the final minute began, the excitement escalated and swelled.

With the fans screaming the final seconds down, it was time for launch! The rocket spit out clouds of smoke, lifted off with sparkles of fireworks, and suddenly, there were our four space heroes in their blue space jumpsuits.

The foggy stage was now the scene as the band took their positions to the deafening cheers to begin the Blue Planet Voyage Takeoff.

“Return to Ithaka” started the set and at its end, the mist had settled, making the planet of rocky formations visible to all. Also of note: this planet smelled strongly of weed.

“Dope Nose” had some “Troublemaker” tossed in with new lyrics, “Hash Pipe” had such incredible warp speed and 3D visuals that I was hypnotized for a bit (or maybe that was the aforementioned scent).

They took us through “Pork and Beans” before Rivers Cuomo stopped to greet the arena crowd. “Oh boy Nashville. How are you space cadets?” He thanked everyone for coming and joining them on the trip back to the Blue Planet, and the entire band joked about the green-headed alien named Bacchus who destroyed their sweaters.

“Beverly Hills” kicked off a major sing-along with lots of clapping and palm tree, Rodeo Drive video elements. After “All My Favorite Songs,” “Island in the Sun” drew loud shrieks and the little Cuomo solo elicited cheers.

We went back to space imagery – including planets floating down from the ceiling – for “I Just Threw Out the Love of My Dreams” and “Perfect Situation,” during which the fans sang the “Oh ho, oh ho, oh ho whoa,” causing Cuomo to make a heart with his hands.

Sadly, the sweater destroying alien Bacchus threw an ice cream cone at the spaceship and we crashed, DAMAGE flashing across the video screens. A rescue mission was launched.Cuomo asked the ship’s robot where we were and she informed us we needed to obtain parts before we could be on our way. Cuomo asked where we were and she told us: “The Pinkerton Asteroid Belt.”

A cheer went up from the crowd and we were taken through “Why Bother?,” “Pink Triangle,” and “You Gave Your Love to Me Softly.” As they did “Across the Sea,” the ocean and space visuals were truly beautiful, and the video screens showed that all of the ship’s required parts had been acquired and we were ready for takeoff. Back into space we went and at the song’s end, the band disappeared and the ship’s computer stated: “Arriving at the Blue Planet.”

Weezer has vanished, but then reappeared in new outfits. Declaring the planet appeared to be dying; they must save it with the Blue album. Cuomo planted a “W” flag, exclaiming, “One small step for Weezer; one giant leap for Weezerkind!”

They kicked into “My Name Is Jonas” to thunderous applause and cheers of delight, which continued to escalate, then get even louder when they reached “Buddy Holly.”

Suddenly there were Cuomo clones called Weezeroids on the video screens. Brian Bell asked where they were and Cuomo stated they were aliens from the Blue Planet. When Bell asked how he knew, Cuomo said, “Well, because I am one of them. And so are all of these guys,” as he gestured to the crowd. He welcomed the band to “our” home and launched “Undone – The Sweater Song.” They added Nashville locations into the lyrics which was very cool.

By this point, the pit was a jumping sea of people, hands up in the air, heads tossed back in elation as they sang. When it was time for “Say It Ain’t So,” the singing was so loud, the crowd took over for Cuomo.

Alas we made it to the end of the album and before the final song, “Only in Dreams,” Cuomo declared, “We made it guys! Thirty light years! Thank you for sticking with us. Weeze on.” Phones lit up the arena like stars in the Weezer galaxy, but sadly, it was time to return to our boring old earthly life.

Make sure to catch your own Voyage to the Blue Planet with Weezer in LA October 11th. Where else can you venture into space with Weezeroids, pink robots, and Bacchus the sweater destroyer?

SHOW PHOTO GALLERY

by Stephanie Pepper Studios

<<Swipe To View Photo Gallery>>

TO FOLLOW

SID 240924 | JIMMY ALVAREZ | EDITOR