The Black Sessions (Weezer): Difference between revisions

| Recorded    = [[February 21]], [[1995]]<ref name="rechist">[[Karl Koch|Koch, Karl]]. "Radio station performance, 2/21/95 - Paris, France "The Black Session" show.". ''Recording History''. Archived from the original on Weezerpedia at [[Recording History - Page 8#Radio station performance, 2/21/95 - Paris, France "The Black Session" show.|Recording History - Page 8]].</ref>

'''''The Black Sessions''''' is the title of {{PN|Weezer}} [[Weezer concert: 02/21/1995|February 21, 1995 performance]] on the French radio show ''C'est Lenoir''. It was bootlegged and circulated on cassette in the '90s, at one point gaining the title '''''Live in Paris & Boston''''' from [[Karl Koch]]. The performance is believed to have been pressed officially as a promotional CD and sent in limited quantities to radio stations for re-broadcasting, though proof of these promos is tenuous. Since the early '00s (and into the '10s), the bootleg label Sangatte Records has sold CD-Rs of the recording in fake promotional sleeves.

''The Black Sessions'' was a regular series of live performances on the French radio show ''C'est Lenoir'', airing on [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/France_Inter France Inter]. On [[February 21]], [[1995]], at Studio 105 of Maison de la Radio in Paris, France, Weezer played an opening set for [[Radiohead]]. They performed six songs from ''[[Weezer (The Blue Album)]]'', with fans often considering this show to contain more "raw" recordings of the tracks than their album counterparts.{{Citation needed}} "[[Undone - The Sweater Song]]" is performed with unique spoken segments (as it often is when performed live); notably, [[Rivers Cuomo]] sings in French in the first verse, and [[Matt Sharp]] sings the chorus of the Radiohead song "Creep" in the second. Weezer's portion of the show was filmed by Karl Koch.<ref name="rechist" />

According to Koch, recordings of this performance were later made into a very limited set of promotional CDs for the purpose of re-broadcast.<ref>[[Karl Koch|Koch, Karl]]. "page 1: Blue Album era releases (1992-1995) (+ re-releases)". ''Collectors Discography''. Archived from the original on Weezerpedia at [[Collectors Discography - Page 1]].</ref> In the [[Collectors Discography]], a digital catalog of physical Weezer releases which was first created by Koch in [[2001]], it is claimed that there exists official promo pressings from [[1995]] which are nearly identical to later bootleg pressings. Later, on the [[Weezerpedia]] Discord server, Koch suggested that a copy of an original promo is owned by Matt Sharp or [[Brian Bell]].<ref>[[Karl Koch|Koch, Karl]] (as Karlophone). (March 22, 2022). Discord message. Archived from the original on Weezerpedia at [[Weezerpedia Discord Q&A with Karl Koch - March 2022]].</ref> While it is possible that an official archival or promotional version of the performance was pressed in 1995, evidence of this has never surfaced. It can be assumed that an official release which shares the sleeve design of later bootlegs does not exist (despite Koch's claim), as all existing ''Black Sessions'' CDs which utilize the same art (including those of other bands' performances—of which there are many<ref>"Sangatte Records". Discogs. Archived from the original at https://web.archive.org/web/20220717160233/https://www.discogs.com/label/65782-Sangatte-Records.</ref>) are verifiably bootlegs created after 2000. It is likely that Koch simply mistook a bootleg "promo" as having been authentic, or otherwise lost information in translation when speaking to the French radio station's staff.

The bootleg label Sangatte Records is the main progenitor of these fake promotional discs. The label burns CD-Rs of different shows which have aired on France Inter, most notably ''Black Sessions'' and ''Les Inrocks'', and sells the discs online claiming they are rare promotional or limited edition copies. The known years of release of Weezer ''Black Sessions'' bootleg releases include [[2004]], [[2008]], [[2009]], and [[2012]], however the exact number of unique versions is not known. Different iterations of the bootlegs have minor differences in design and packaging. Sangatte additionally released bootlegs for [[The Black Sessions (The Rentals)|the Rentals' ''Black Sessions'' performance]] and [[Weezer concert: 08/18/1996|Weezer's 1996 performance at La route du Rock]].