Weezer and the Pixies
- Marc Von Ahnen
- Apr 4, 2019
- 4 min read
Weezer
I like Weezer, beyond the Blue album and Pinkerton even. When they had that mid 2000s resurgence I was on board 100%. I really enjoyed the Red Album and Hurley. Granted it got a little ludicrous when they got into a habit of releasing a new album every year. It felt like I would blink and 3 new Weezer albums would hit. But I still enjoyed them, I knew a lot of people who complained about their lyrics "they do not make any sense" they would say. My response to that was always "Have you not heard My Name is Jonas?" One of their best songs but very odd lyrics which are kind of Weezer's forte.
They had announced a Des Moines show at the end of March, sadly it was a week after I got home from Boston. Most people would say "well I am going to Boston and should save some money. I guess I will skip this one." I'm not most people and I am not prone to making unwise financial decisions. So of course I was getting tickets... But I chose not splurge and get floor seats or anything. I ended up getting seats in the nose bleed sections. It's better to be there in bad seats than not be there at all, I say.
I needed someone to go with and most of my friends either had plans to go or couldn't make it. So I grabbed ole reliable himself, Wes and told him "I bought you a ticket to go to Weezer and Pixies with me." He was pretty excited even though he isn't really a Weezer fan and I don't think he knew who the Pixies were.
So the two of us get to Wellsfargo Arena and get through the security gates and my tickets make a loud uncomfortable beep. Oh crap did I buy fake tickets again?
The security man pointed us to a table and said "you need to go talk to that woman." I handed her my printed tickets and she said "you've been upgraded!" We went from the nose bleeds stratosphere seats down the level 100! I am not one to jump to crazy conclusions but I assume it's because they have heard about my blog and knew I was a big deal and wanted to pamper me.
Wes and I found our seats and got ready to rock our socks off.
The first band was from London, they were ok. They reminded me of a band I would have freaked out to see in a small club when I was in my 20s. They were fine but didn't really blow me away.
Then the Pixies hit the stage.
I am not a huge Pixies fan, being a giant fan of Fight Club I love at least one of their songs (also Wave of Mutilation and Here Comes your Man) but they never really grabbed me. I was excited to see them because they are so iconic and have a following. Nice to be able to say that I have seen the Pixies.
They were amazing live when it came to playing their music, at one point the guitar player pulled the cord out of his guitar and seemed to be playing the guitar without a guitar. Just making weird noises running his finger over the plug.
My only criticism was that the band made no effort to connect with the audience. The exact opposite of what I saw at Drop Kick Murphy's. A part of me felt like they wouldn't even notice if the crowd was there or not. Now there is something to be said for a band that is so good that they can just let the music speak for itself but come on at least tell me this is the best crowd you have ever seen. My ego is fragile.
Pixies were good but unless you were giant fan I would almost recommend staying home and listening to them.
This is the first time I have ever been to a show that I didn't even know it had started. Weezer just causally walked out onto the stage, with the curtain down and the front of the stadium erupted into cheers! The lights didn't even dim. At first I didn't know what had happened, did someone find out I was in the crowd and going to write a blog about this? I bet. Alas no, Weezer just strolled out, decked head to toe in barbershop garb, and sang a barbershop version of Pork and Beans. If you know Weezer I am sure you know that they march to their own drum, which is one of the things I like most about them. They get shoe horned into genres like punk but no one else really sounds or acts like them.
They then ducked behind the curtain and it then went up reveling a stage that looked like Arnold's restaurant from Happy days!
I screamed "My dog's name is Fonzie." but no one seemed to care!
They started playing Buddy Holly, Africa wasn't far behind. About five songs in Wes leaned over to me and says "This is one of the best live shows I have ever seen!" And he's right! Weezer is amazing live. They are a total blast!
At one point Rivers got into a little boat and "sailed" around the crowd. He got pretty close to Wes and I.
I'm such a Weezer fan that I could probably make a set list of songs that I wanted to hear but didn't (El Scorcho, Keep Fishing, The Greatest Man That Ever Lived (about me I think), In My Garage) I guess that is a sign of a good band if they can't get to all your favorites in one set.
Like I said, Weezer was a blast, not just to a fan like me but to for novices like Wes too.
Vampire Shark Comedy Tour
Sadly, I was unable to get an episode of Dogs I Saw recorded this week.
Here is a link to some older ones if you haven't had a chance to check them all out.
https://www.podomatic.com/podcasts/dogsisaw/episodes/2019-03-27T12_07_52-07_00
Also big news this Saturday is the first (of two) shows in the vampire shark comedy tour! The live show for the release of the third issue of Ahab Van Helsing vs Nosferatu Carcharodon! If you are in the Des Moines area you need to be there!
https://app.tikly.co/events/3350?fbclid=IwAR37g3p8BeEKf0HsuEhgmmZ5FuFNibXoisVfXZ_pJsiduv68KtFQW0GracQ
As always, thank you for reading and if you enjoyed PLEASE SUBSCRIBE.
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