Karl's Corner - 09/15/2005

09/15/05 working, building...

..MB '05 Tour: Day 89: Foozer/Wee Fighters #6: Dallas TX - Smirnoff Music Centre

The Smirnoff Center is a well worn modern ampitheater that probably could use a facelift, but does the job. Weezer has visited this place at least once on the '02 Enlightenment Tour and possibly before that as well (No Doubt Tour '97??). This is the second of only 2 outdoor "sheds" on the Foozer tour, as most everything will be held in indoor arenas. While outdoor venues have to deal with the risk of bad weather, nothing pointed to any trouble as we pulled into the backstage area under very hot sunny skies. However, shortly before weezer's soundcheck, the sky went black and a massive thunderstorm plowed into the ampitheater, with high winds, plenty of close lightning strikes and monsoon level rain. As the rain continued for quite a while without any sign of letting up, there were concerns about power loss and other disasters that could jepordize the show itself. But then the rain suddenly lifted, and the reward of cooler temperatures was had by all. We were back on track with soundcheck, and then Mae set up for their final opening slot of this first leg.

Mae is a good band and a nice bunch of guys, and it's been a real pleasure havng them on board the Foozer train on Leg 1 of the tour. Once this upcoming week is over (wherein Taylor of the Foo's gets married and weezer visits Mexico and Brazil), we will pick up the Foozer slack in San Diego with a new opening act: The Kaiser Cheifs, from the UK.

Tonight things got up to speed fast. People up in the lawn seating were likely a bit bummed at having some rather soggy conditions from the afternoon rain, but it looked like just about everyone was enjoying the show no matter where they were sitting. The message I've been getting from people in the audience is that this Foozer thang is a great combo for a concert. We agree, its been a blast so far, and we can't wait to pick it up in a week in SD!

Thanks to local boy done good Andrew, plucked from the crowd to help out on "Undone" tonight! And big ups to Bryce of The Rocket Summer, taking in his local Foozer show.

fan reaction! (more on the comment page, add your own too)
"...The Dallas show... was ******* awesome. I have to say, Lollapalooza was better, but it was still great. They opened with "Jonas", which was great. "Don't Let Go" sounded amazing! It sounded way, way better than it does on the album. They tweaked it a bit. Scott did a fantastic job singing "In the Garage". They played "This Is Such a Pity", which I'm pretty sure they haven't played in a while. "Surf Wax" was ******* awesome, as always. Brian sang "Why Bother?" and did a good job, although it's pretty LOL that he still hasn't gotten the words right since the last time I saw him sing it (he says "I'd rather start whackin'"). Rivers took off his guitar for "El Scorcho", which was pretty cool. He actually did the talkbox thing for "Beverly Hills", which I didn't think he'd do. "Buddy Holly"'s live intro was extended, and it kicked ass. "Photograph" sounded was pretty cool with the whole Rivers-Pat switch. "Island" acoustic was just great. "Undone"... I'll come back to that one. And they closed with "Big Me", which actually sounded pretty good....So, during "Undone", they said they were going to pick someone to play guitar. I instantly made myself as visible as I possibly could. Scott looked right at me and said, "Sorry, I'm not picking tonight, Brian is."...But... ugh. That's my vent for the day...Before the show, I met Bobby, who was an awesome person. Seriously, he and Scott are probably two of the nicest people I've ever met. I can't get over how great he is. I also patted Karl on the back. Haha. And that's my story. Oh, and I got the setlist!" ---Kel S.

Large size picture link: here, more: 1.

The current tour merchandise can be seen here.
(updated 9/8/05).

...Weezer's new video for "We Are All On Drugs" is getting played on Fuse TV and Much Music Canada, and has now just been picked up by Mtv2, albeit in an altered form: "We are All In Love". Why the change for Mtv you ask? We'll be posting the inside scoop soon. Mtv2 will be putting the video in regular rotation next Tuedsay the 19th. See the regular version here on weezer.com in the media section, and on the other video channels.

...Hey now, on Yahoo!s "Dig It Or Dis It" online video poll, "Beverly Hills" is up against 4 other videos this week! Check it out and vote weezer! Push us over the top!

...Weezer (and Foos and Mae) on Fuse tv, on Steven's "Untitled" Rock Show (taped at the Sunrise, FL show on Saturday)

GUEST..............PREMIERE..............................REPEAT
Weezer.........Mon, 9/19 @ 10p ET, 7p PT.......Tue, 9/20 @ 4p ET, 1p PT
Foo Fighters...Tue, 9/20 @ 10p ET, 7p PT.......Wed, 9/21 @ 4p ET, 1p PT
Mae............Wed, 9/21 @ 10p ET, 7p PT.......Thur, 9/22 @ 4p ET, 1p PT

...This wont last forever, so see it while you can - Weezer's performance of "Beverly Hills" on The Late Show With Dave Letterman, which aired last week.