Karl's Corner - 12/02/2001

...well, it looks like people in this town really like to mosh it up. At times there was a seemingly endless stream of crowdsurfers coming over the barricade, and the mass pushing from side to side up front was looking pretty severe. There were some reports of injuries beyond the usual "getting squished and needing some oxygen" cases, and I spied at least one person being rolled to first aid on a stretcher after the show. Perhaps some of the previous nights Ozzy Osbourne show mayhem infected the crowd? I really hope everyone was ok. Please, be careful, folks!
...above right: Duvall coming correct with the good stuff... 
...webmasters reunion: Anuj (+ his posse) meet up w/ karl after the madison show... 
...some fans' "p.o.v.'s"...
::: "The month of apprehension for the day to come, the pre-concert three car
::: frenzy to the alliant, the slightly late start, the pleasant appearance of
::: Duvall, 19 friends, a few introduced backstage bettys, a little Bryan Adams
::: and Chop Suey from Kg and Jb, friendly and pleasantly smoky atmosphere for
::: all, a couple of shoulder rides for the ladies, an ex-girlfriend
::: intermission sighting and uneasy chat, plenty of wisecracks about the
::: unfriendly tattoed shoving wife beater man who jammed out to big pimpin,
::: many new friends (where else would someone make way for you to go ahead of
::: them), a perfect my name is jonas that one couldnt help but feel, a
::: masterpiece photograph, an arid hashpipe, the oncoming threat of an end to
::: it all, and then the encore, the truly out of body experience i achieved
::: when surfing during the aptly named surfwax america is unparalleled and
::: indescribable, it was the feeling you get when just release all your worries
::: and give yourself in to the music. this wasnt a show, it was a sensory
::: experience, and one that should be aptly praised in its entirety. thank you
::: for it all gentlemen." --Owen
::: "What a lovely day it began as I departed from my hometown of Roscoe, IL
::: with five of my dearest friends; the sun shining brightly in the pellucid
::: sky, looking so beautiful and promising was taken by my party as a good omen
::: of my day ahead. The first part of the day we spent roaming aimlessly down
::: State Street enjoying the beautiful day, where we stumbled upon what we
::: thought were two more omens further guaranteeing an evening of joyous mirth
::: and splendor at the Weezer concert: amazingly enough, my comrades and I just
::: so happened to pass by both Brain and Pat on separate occasions. (To Pat I
::: said, "Hello. Play a good show tonight." I dared not to say anything else
::: as I had no intention of being obnoxious and pesky, but rather respected his
::: privacy as he took a casual stroll. Pat - this probably won't help you to
::: remember me whatsoever, but I was wearing a blue Oxford University hoody,
::: jeans, and had black glasses.)
::: Anyway, we next departed from State Street and headed for the Alliant
::: Energy Center to get in line early. We were among the first people there, as
::: we arrived at 3:00, and remained outside in the cold for the next three hours
::: that followed, knowing that a spot up front near the stage would adequately
::: compensate for our shivering, near frozen limbs. Finally when 7:00 rolled
::: around and the doors were opened, I darted in as I was the first let in from
::: my group. What wonderful feeling it was as I soon found myself second row,
::: center. In a short while Duvall took the stage and proved to be worthy of
::: opening up for the evening's headliners.
::: Then, as they finished and the crew set up for Tenacious D, some pretty
::: smart people in the back decided it would be a good idea to try and rush to
::: the stage, creating a domino effect of Weezer fans in front of them. This
::: continued to happen, and many fans were injured helplessly crying out in
::: agony to be taken out of the violent crowd. Next, when Tenacious D took the
::: stage all hell broke loose, and hell so happened to come from the friendly
::: people behind us. I was being crushed from what seemed like all directions;
::: the air was being squeezed out of my lungs, and was tossed about in the sea
::: of hot and sweaty (not to mention foul smelling) crowd of fans. I would like
::: to thank the two ogars that were in front of me, who remained passive as
::: shouted in fear of my life, "Oh my God! I can't breathe! Help! Get me out
::: of here!" who just glanced at me and went back to saluting Tenacious D with
::: the horns, instead of helping me up so the event staff could lift me over to
::: my safety. I gasped for breath in panic, and due to lack of oxygen was near
::: to passing out where I would have been left to have been trampled on by the
::: savage crowd. Miraculously I escaped, though I'm not sure how, but became
::: separated from my group. My prime spot which I had waited so long for in
::: vein was now gone, and most of my my friends were no where to be found, but
::: at least i was alive. I know this is getting rather lengthy, so here is all
::: that I have to say in summery to the reckless and inconsiderate bastards who
::: made my night miserable: BURN IN HELL!!!" --Brett Daniels
::: "Just wanted to pass along a quick note to say the Madison show rocked. As a
::: Smoking Popes fan, it was a cool surprise to see Duvall hit the stage to
::: begin the evening. Tenacious D was freakin' hilarious. And Weezer rocked
::: like nobody's bid-niz. It was my first time seeing any of them (well,
::: except for a couple of the guys in Duvall, I guess), and none of the acts
::: disappointed. Nice to see Rivers messing with the Gibsons. Everything
::: sounded great, too. Which is saying something, since that arena wasn't
::: exactly designed to have good acoustics.
::: On an I'm-an-old-guy note: that was the same arena I saw Iron Maiden,
::: Metallica and David Lee Roth about 13 or 14 years ago, when I was in high
::: school. And Weezer rocked just as hard as any of those guys." --Pat
::: "I bought tickets the first day of internet presale...i was so stoked to see weezer again. i saw them in March at the rave, and they put on a great show.
::: This concert was different, but did not let me down one bit. I really liked the first band, Duvall, but apparently a lot of the people on the floor did not. I would just like to apologize for my fellow weezerfans that showed disrespect to duvall by flipping them off during their set. Then came Tenacious D. To be completely honest, i was all ready to hate them. I had only heard one of their songs before, and they just didn't seem to fit my taste. However, i could not help but love them. They were so hilarious it was impossible not to be entertained by their antics. The saxophone was the best part! The crowd was entranced by them, and it was very pleasant in the mosh pit for several minutes. After D's set, I followed a few people who decided to mush themselves forward. My andrenaline was pumping so hard that I didn't even notice that my lungs were being crushed. However, i could not cheer for Weezer because of the fear of passing out, and this concerned me. They took the stage, and i was enveloped in their sweet sound. Unfortunately, several people fell to the ground and were trampled. I was one of them. I started to panic, and when i was pulled up by a wonderful weezerfan, i decided to head out. The easiest way is up! with the help of more weezerfans i was passed over the front of the pit. From there i made my way back to a more peaceful weezer zone. I wasn't as close, which saddened me, but I was free to sing along with all of my heart. I will not lie, i would have loved to hear more pinkerton. But they did an awesome, awesome job, especially with the new twist to Don't Let Go andthe awesome green lights in Hash Pipe! And it could not have ended better: Surf Wax America was the ultimate encore! The flashing weezer sign on the empty stage with hazy fog in the air made me weep with joy and despair at the same time-it was great, but unfortunately, it was over." --Liz
:::"...there was one moment at tonights show (12/2 - Alliant Energy Center), that thoroughly troubled me...
:::During a lapse in the action, Rivers found himself at the mic looking for something to say. After the applause had died down following (I believe) Hash Pipe, he leaned into the mic and said, "Thanks...we really appreciate it." He then snickered and rolled his eyes. [editors note: have recieved no other independent confirmations of this]
:::I could make many comments about how I perceived this, and how much it truly bothered me...but I think it pretty much explains itself. I love Weezer and Mr. Cuomo is a songwriting genius...I just sincerely hope that he doesn't fall into that self-righteous, rock star martyr mold that so many others have. Weezer is about the music, I know, but its hard to like an a--hole, any way you cut it.
:::That aside, the show was great. Tenacious D are two of the greatest showmen I have ever seen. I know all that "greatest and best band" stuff is about their funny (as hell) fake rock star persona, but I think I might be starting to believe it...
:::Weezer was solid (as they always are) and technically proficient. Scott is a great addition and truly seemed to be enjoying himself. The setlist was a bit disappointing, due mainly to the lack of Pinkerton material, but I understand that there are reasons for that. The new stuff is very solid. I like the more 'metal' riffs. Opening with The Dawn was a great idea. People were kind of like "What is this? What the hell is going on?"...but I think thats why it was such a good idea. And that song rocks serious socks. Gold-toes, baby. Anyway...great show, all considered." --Jim
::: "The show last night was great! Something told me to leave
::: the crowd and the ever ongoing struggle to get to the front last night and
::: I’m glad I did. I’ve been to about three of four weezer concerts in the past
::: and I have NEVER seen a crowd move so vigorously! The term "sea of people"
::: could not better describe the crowd last night. The continuous crowd surfing
::: seamed to never ceased, with great exception to songs ‘Say It Aint So’ and
::: ‘Only In Dreams.’ Most defiantly, one of the best parts of the show was the
::: ENTIRE arena’s reaction to ‘Only In Dreams’. Besides a very few cheers and
::: screams, when weezer played this song it was completely silent. Not only was
::: it weezer but also the fans that managed to make me speechless from the
::: harmony I heard. In addition, people held up lit lighters that created a
::: sense of content ness and possibly awe. Tenacious D created their own sense
::: too. They promised to leave the crowd pleased and they delivered. Everyone
::: Ive talked to said the loved the ‘D’ and that they were funny as H-E-double
::: hockey sticks! I agree. I knew they were funny but not that funny. They were
::: so good it’s hard to single out a best moment or their set, possibly Jack
::: and a fan blowing each other "*-KISSES-*" Basically, it was "Allllll good!"
::: I’m sure those unaware of the tremendous hilarity of Tenacious D left as
::: fans. As for Duvall (formally known as Smoking Popes) they were good. I
::: think they got a nice reaction from the crowd. All in all, the show was
::: good. The band looked kinda tired and were a bit stagnant (except Scott and
::: Pat, cause he has no choice) There was a surprising amount of young’ns there
::: but that only means weezer is getting bigger and there’s nada wrong with
::: that. Im a fan forever and that’s what matters." --Ryann
(...as always, these and many many more fan's stories will be up in the "weezer fans" section, as soon as i dig out from the months-old backlog of great stories and get them all posted!)
Category:Karl's Corner - December 2001