Weezer at Susquehanna Bank Center, Camden New Jersy 9/27

The night of September 27th marked my first viewing of Weezer live. And by preconceived made plans, my friends and I arrived late so as to miss opening acts Tokyo Police Club (not bad) and Angels and Airwaves (pretty awful). But, by worried convention, we actually sat through about fifteen minutes of the Angels and Airwaves set so we wouldn't miss a second of Weezer's set. As for the headliner the hits were there, including the stables "My Name is Jonas," "Say it Ain't So," and "El Scorcho," among others. What was missing, if I need to nit-pick, were some Pinkerton tracks -- aside from "El Schorcho," only "Pink Triangle" was played from their 1996 career defining album. The attitude and stage presence were definitely there though as Rivers made jokes, bounced on a trampoline, Pete Townshend-ed on the stage floor, and volleyed a soccer ball with his feet mid-song, only to kick it in the crowd, bouncing it off a fan's face (funniest moment.)

The momentum of the show took a short, slower turn after the group finished the crowd rousing "Pork and Beans" for a few non-entities from the Red Album such as, "Dreamin'" and "Automatic." The latter displayed a backdrop of computer generated cars, suggesting that "Automatic" will likely be Gran Turismo 5's soundtrack. But, by "Hash Pipe" Weezer had hit their stride, following with the aforemetioned "El Scorcho," "Morning Glory (Oasis Cover)" and "The Greatest Man That Ever Lived."

Two encore's followed, the first with a 30 piece ensamble orchestra (like the Madison Square Garden show three days earlier) performing "Island in the Sun" and the much less liked "Beverly Hills." The following encore introduced the Weezer record player in the center stage, playing "Heart Songs" until Rivers came back out and tossed the player aside. "Sliver" another cover, this time from Nirvana, and the "Buddy Holly" finale closed the night out. The largest problem was the fact that I knew the entire set-list, because it was 100% identical to the Madison Square Garden show. I actually copied the whole list from Stereogum.

All in all, it made for a wonderful show.

Set-List

01 "My Name Is Jonas"
02 "Pink Triangle"
03 "Perfect Situation"
04 "Say It Ain't So"
05 "Susanne"
06 "Keep Fishin'"
07 "King"
08 "Undone (The Sweater Song)" (w/ Tom DeLonge)
09 "Pork And Beans"
10 "Dreamin'"
11 "Dope Nose"
12 "Troublemaker"
13 "Automatic"
14 "Hash Pipe"
15 "El Scorcho"
16 "Morning Glory" (Oasis cover)
17 "Greatest Man That Ever Lived"
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18 "Island In The Sun"*
19 "Beverly Hills"*
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20 "Heart Songs" (playing on a red record player, kicked by Rivers mid-song)
21 "Sliver" (Nirvana cover)
21 "Buddy Holly"