Karl's Corner - 07/11/2002

update! =rwa=news has some unfortunate info on canceled strokes dates, 7/14's mtv specials, and more! 
Enlightenment Tour Day 6: Chicago, IL; Tweeter Center
Main Stage: Sparta, Dashboard Confessional, Weezer
Second Stage: Loudermilk, Home Town Hero, Am Radio
Well, at last the main stage and side stages have been reunited at one location. Now, concert goers who'd rather not sit around waiting for the next main stage act can step over to the side stage, grab a soda and check out some cool new bands. Its a non stop music marathon, for all to enjoy. Okay, that was sappy. But it is pretty cool, having up to 7 bands playing one show! Tonight was the first gig of the tour with no "mosh pit", as the seating went right to the stage. Fortunately the crowd was pretty hyper anyway, and the energy flowed the wqay it ought to. Both Sparta and Dashboard have been turning in really solid sets, and it looks like the crowds are pleased with what theyre seeing. We're starting to settle into an Enlightenment groove!
Tomorrow in Detroit, there will be the first fan-weez foosball challenge, before the show! In most cities from Detroit onward, the local radio station will be choosing winning fans who get to come backstage before the show and challenge the band to a mini-foosball tournament! 
...bottom r pic; l to r: ace, The_Funky_Sherlock_Holmes, Sugaaaaaah, eXxy, a_bokonon, spiffy_kimbean. Not pictured: jigga what, TheGrudgeX, skyblue5232... 
...the first batch of Chicago fans' show reports that came in via email...
*"...What a great show. The fact that I saw everyone in the house making the weezer logo with their hands was amazing. The whole set was solid taking a lot from each album (minus the green) yet I was stoked that they played so much from pinkerton. Butterfly was a complete and total surprise yet I don't think as many people appreciated it as others. Rock On!" ---matt o., orland park, IL
*"...Awesome show at Tinley Park tonight! Please pass my thanks on to the band, I love how many Pinkerton songs they played. I saw them last September, and this show was a thousand times better. I can't say enough good things about this concert, great job!" ---Rob F.
*"...two words: Simply Amazing. Thank you weezer. ---Bryan
*"...i just got back from the tinley park (chicago) weezer show w/ Dashboard and sparta....s***. It rocked so unbelievably hardcore i'm still amazed, this was the 5th weezer show i've attended, and this was the best by far. I was skeptical of a huge venue like the tweeter center but wow, AWESOME. To Scott a happy birthday and keep rockin, I think you rocked harder tonight then i've seen yet. I was also skeptical of the electric butterfly as it is my favorite weezer song, but it was really special as lame as that sounds it blew me away. Pinkerton is my favorite album and to have 6 songs from pinkerton made me practicaly explode. Pat's rising platform was rockin along with the fire spewing =w=. SO HARDCORE, THANKS FOR ROCKING ME AGAIN =W=" ---ABneR
*"...Gotta say thanks to the band for putting on an excellent show! I didn't expect for them to pull out so much Pinkerton...kickass treat, yo! The pyrotechnics display was breathtaking. haha. I'm so giddy, my hands are shaking whilst I'm typing. Rivers was so cool with his whole suit and sunglasses look. Rivers ruled the school with his guitar solos. Righteous. Oh crap! Happy birthday to Scott! I hope it was good one! Pat was beating the stuffing outta his skins! I wish the Special Goodness had played here. Oh well. Brian kicked all sorts of ass on the geetar. Brilliant show, dudes. BTW, I'm in deep *** with my Mom. She bailed my and my two friends asses from freakin' Tinley Park. We're originally from the city. Thanks again, weezer." ---Anna.
*"...Hey! I just got back from the Tweeter Center Show- IT ROCKED! My friend Nicole and I went-the night was the perfect temp, and our seats were awesome! Dasboard was wonderful as always-We ran by AM Radio and they sounded pretty good but we were in a hurry to see Weezer so we didn't get to hear much. I got the Soccer Enlightenment Tour Shirt which was awesome cuz I am a BIG fan of soccer. Well I most certainly felt the Holy Spirit moving-::in River's words:: The guys were awesome and the pyrotechnics were amazing-last Sept at the United Center they didn't play any Pinkerton so I was delighted to hear all my favorites like El Scorcho-Question-How did Rivers survive in that suit? I would have died. Well the show was aweosme and I can't wait for more! Later" ---Eileen and Nicole
*"...I figured I would write up my review of the BEST ROCK SHOW EVER since no one else has done so, it seems...This was the second time I had seen Weezer, the first being when they were in Chicago following the release of Green (the show that seemed to cause Cold to quit the tour). In any case, that show was awesome, not just because of the Weez, but because there was an AWESOME PIT! This leads me to my one complaint about the July 11 show at the Tweeter Center: NO PIT! Now, I understand that sometimes nothing can be done about it, and I am dropping that complaint, because WEEZER ROCKED ME MORE THAN I HAVE EVER BEEN ROCKED BEFORE! That said, lets do a quick recap of the night: PINKERTON!!!!!! To quote Rivers: "Am I reading the setlist correctly? Is it really?..." YES, ITS BUTTERFLY, SONG NUMBER THREE!!! RAAAWWWWK! All I could do for the whole show was sing along, play my air guitar, and hope that Rivers would smile when he played Buddy Holly! I could go on for quite a while about the high quality dose of rock delivered to me, but....Aww forget it, I just have to talk about the effects! PYRO!! YESSS!!! FIRE! FIRE!! FIRE!!! AND PAT RISING ABOVE, TO REVEAL THE FAMOUS =W=!!!!!! Lordy, I squealed with delight at every new suprise they packed into that show. KEEP IT UP! ROCK ON! YOU GUYS RULE! Devotedly forever," ---Vaughn Stewart
*"...hey...just got back from the weezer show at the tweeter center in tinley park. WOW! that was absolutely amazing...all the songs sounded great. of course the songs off pinkerton were the highlight for me...and i think they played like 6 which is awesome! the pyro and the riser and the flying =w= were great...i loved the lighting and the circles and stuff. sparta was great and dashboard i only caught the last like 2 songs of cause i was getting my cd signed by hometown hero who were great. loudermilk was really good too but i didnt see AM radio. amazing show. ROCK ON!" ---tim depaola, tinley park illinois
*"...Tonights show was awesome! We couldn't have asked for a better set list! Jonas, Butterfly, Say it ain't so, no one else, the good life & el scorcho...........just to name a few. And when Rivers said "Come on little pedal, lets make some noise" he wasn't lying. Rivers, Pat, Scott and Brian rocked the house! Hopefully we were as good to them as they were to us. Rivers was funny as hell too, sending hashpipe out to all of his "peeps" or when he took it old skool with "You better check yourself, before you wreck yourself". Dashboard Kicked ass too! And after their show the bass player and guitar player came and sat right next to us! Oh and before the show we saw pat riding his bike around the arena (at least we thought it was pat) And even you walked right next to us in your light blue shirt!!! Wow karl you're famous! This was our first Weezer show and definitely not our last! As a matter of fact were going to the indiana show next week!!! And we couldn't be anymore stoked!!!! C-ya there!!!" ---Mary and Andrea
*"...I just got back from my second Weezer concert, and it was best concert I've ever been to! Although Sparta and Dashboard weren't very good, the Side Stage bands were amazing! Loudermilk opened with some really great preformances, and Home Town Hero totally rowled the crowd up by making us kinda rush the stage. am Radio was the last band to play and they were really really great, although one of the guys made them cut their set short because Weezer was ready to play. am Radio is a totally sweet band. Kevin even walked around with us for a while trying to find a place where we could take pictures with out security seeing us. And Bryce and Jason are totally nice too and talked to us outside their set, even during the Weezer set. Weezer's stage show wasn't as good as on the Dusty West Tour, but the pyro was pretty cool and Pat on the riser with the =w=, and they played an amazing set including an electric version of "Butterfly". They played quite a bit of Pinkerton and Blue and not as much Green, which was really cool. It was altogether a great concert and I liked how the Side Stage bands and the main stage bands' sets were alternated so that you weren't missing anything. Great concert, and I hope to see Weezer and am Radio again in Chicago soon...." ---Tairee
*"...The show at the massive Tweeter Center in Tinley Park was definitely the best weezer show I've had the pleasure to attend (was my fourth weerez concert overall). First off I'd like to say thank you, Weezer, for delivering the best setlist ever. It didn't seem as though the D and D randomizer was still in effect because every song seemed to be a hand picked classic. The crowd was very enthusiastic and responded well to everything the band did; singing along and yelling after the inane comments the snazzy-looking Rivers would make. The show also benefited from the lighting and pyrotechnic effects, which were all well timed. I also viewed the other two bands on the main stage, and Sparta rocked for their whole short set. Although I'm not a fan, Dashboard Confessional did seem to bring many fans to the event, and the fans probably had a great time. I caught a glimpse of AM Radio on the second stage and liked what I saw. Anyways, great show, I couldn't have asked for any better. Happy birthday Scott! That show was money, so keep rockin Ace and company." ---Erik Bengtsen 
Category:Karl's Corner - July 2002