Weezer concert: 03/19/1992

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Weezer concert: 03/19/1992
Tour Pre-Blue Album club dates
Venue Raji's
Location Los Angeles, CA
Date March 19, 1992
Supporting acts Annapurna
Headliner Dogstar
Guests None
Attendance 20-25[1]
Weezer live show chronology
03/19/1992 -
Los Angeles, CA (Raji's)
03/30/1992 -
Los Angeles, CA (Whisky a Go Go)

Weezer performed at Raji's in Los Angeles, CA on March 19, 1992 as part of their pre-Blue Album club dates. Annapurna opened the show, followed by headliners Dogstar, and Weezer closed the night. This was Weezer's first concert.

Overview

Background

The show came together under unorthodox circumstances, with the band only securing their performance slot hours before they were slated to play. Not having planned to perform that day, Rivers Cuomo, Matt Sharp, and Justin Fisher spent the beginning of the day moving into a new home at 2226 Amherst Avenue in West Los Angeles. This house, which would become known as "The Amherst House," was the eventual filming location for the "Say it Ain't So" music video.

Booking

Dogstar only booked the show on the morning of the performance, creating a "a sudden need for some opening acts to try and beef up the draw."[1] Led by Matt Sharp and Rivers Cuomo, the still-unnamed Weezer was "doggedly" searching out opportunities to play, and managed to get on the phone with the Raji's staff the afternoon of the 19th. They were offered a spot on the bill for the show that night and accepted, leading to another urgent decision point: naming the band. As Koch explained in a post on Weezer's social media:


Karlifyhead.png
...a major brainstorming session ensued. In the end, Rivers stuck with his (until that moment unheard by the other band members) "weezer" suggestion, and while nobody but Rivers knew what it meant at the time, they couldn't quite come up with something that sounded more distinctive. One name that got shot down that night was "This Niblet", as well as "The Leafy Green Reefer Machine".


- Karl Koch

The band spent the rest of the day leading up to the show recruiting people to come watch. They reportedly got 17 friends to attend, including members of the band Wax[1]

Performance

Much of the audience thinned out before Weezer's set, as they come to see the headliner Dogstar. The band delivered a performance that Koch described as "totally chaotic," with Cuomo "[falling] right off the stage several times during the set in the middle of guitar solos."[1] Cuomo and Wilson traded instruments at least once, with Wilson singing lead to close out the show. This would mark Wilson's last live lead vocal performance with the band until the Make Believe Tour in 2005[citation needed].

Setlist

Koch documented part of the band's setlist that night, but has not confirmed the order of the songs. The following five tracks are known to have been performed. As this was Weezer's first show, all performances are live debuts.

No. Title
1. "I Can't Forget the Way"    
2. "Undone - The Sweater Song"    
3. "The World Has Turned and Left Me Here"    
4. "The Biggest Animal"    
5. "M.E." (Gary Numan cover; Wilson on lead vocals, Cuomo on drums)  

Three additional songs were "possibly/likely" played, according to Koch:

No. Title
1. "Mega Man" (Wilson on lead vocals)  
2. "Spiderbitch"    
3. "Colmusheen"    

See also

References