Karl's Corner - 07/20/2002

Enlightenment Tour Day 15: Hartford, CT; CTnow.com Meadows
Main Stage: Sparta, Dashboard Confessional, Weezer
Second Stage: Loudermilk, Home Town Hero, Am Radio
Well, the CTnow.com Meadows was just a massive, massive structure, with just about the widest possible stage one could reasonably build. Were there enough Hartford fans to fill this joint? Well, they filled up the seats, while the lawn was left a little bare. But that was ok, because there was a TON of seats full of people anyway... plus it rained for a bit, making the lawn not the funnest place to be at times. Tonights viewers got a rare "Butterfly" performance, and of course another dose of the rock, smoke and fire they deserved. 
"Weezer World Cup" Foosball Challenge #4: Hartford- WMRQ 104 FM
Foosball Challenge #4! Today before the show there was another fan vs. weez foosball challenge. In many cities on the Enlightenment Tour, 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! [your local radio station should be talking about the contest, if theyre not, then its not likely to be happening in your area]. There are usually 6 winners per show, and they divide up into 3 teams who face off vs weezer for one game each.
Todays match results:
Round 1: Team Weezer (Cuomo/Wilson) V. JVC (Noah Lambert and Brian Hajdamowicz) : Winner: Team Weezer. Score: 10-4. [tougher match than the score shows, team JVC got lots of shots on goal and kept the pressure high]
Round 2: Team Weezer (Cuomo/Wilson) V. Team Minckler (Kyle Minckler and Gretchen Minckler) : Winner: Team Weezer. Score: 10-1. [a rough match for Team Minckler, they may be planning a coaching change]
Round 3: Team Weezer (Cuomo/Wilson) V. Vigoritaville (Charlie Vigorita and Kathy Vigorita) : Winner: Team Weezer. Score: 10-3. [the Vigoritas had bar match experience but couldnt pull out the stops]
...And that wasnt all the foosball action for the day. After the show, some impromptu matches got underway with various player combos including Pat, Rivers, me, various fans, and the mighty Sparta soundman, (master of the feared robot style), who schooled us all! 
pic #21 L to R: Who?, Prock, [?]
...pic #24, L to R: ace, Pat, Ben (Sparta sound dude), wherewasmymind, EvilAdam, jon7572, DaFlavah. not pictured: sayitaintno (apologies) 
...the first batch of Hartford fans' show tales that came in...
*"...Went to the Hartford show, man did it kick ass. Rivers seemed a bit chatty tonight. Butterfly was amazing, with a twist that was awesome, Tired of Sex had the crowd going, and Patrick up in the air was unbelievable. Hope the drumsticks he threw out didn't hit anyone! Hashpipe rocked, of course, and Across the Sea was great to hear as well. The ending was crazy, with Rivers and Scott leaving the giutars going (reverberating) on their own, coming back to tune it or play a few chords, and damn did that hurt my ears, I was 14 rows back next to the speakers. Though I did notice the crowd lulled a bit during the Pinkerton songs, perhaps not everyone is properly aquainted with it yet...but I did buy the cd autographed! Overall, EXCELLENT SHOW!!!!!!" ---j.r.
*"...hi. i just got back from the weezer concert at the CTnow.com Meadows Music Theatre and wanted to tell you that it rocked. i had won lawn tickets from radio 104 (wmrq) for my dad and myself. once weezer came on we could not see a thing so my dad advised me to hop the fence. well i did and thank god i did beacuse i had a pretty good view of the band. the =w= shooting out flames was beautiful and the sound was encridble. on our way out everyone was cheering and talking about how excellent the concert was. i am so happy i listened to that crappy radio station for 8 hours to win tickets. my dad was also given a free ticket from a fellow weezer fan so that he did not have to hop the fence as i did. i wore my message board ID tag and i did not see another .commer out there. well the concert was bad ass and i loved every moment of it. weezer has to come back to connecticut!" ---tori (confused panda)
*"...Hey Karl, just got back from the hartford show it rocked. We got in real late cuz I did'nt really wanna see dashboard--no offence to them. We got hooked up from my friend with front row, right up against the rail. We didn't get to watch rivers rock out take control in his pimpy suit cuz we were busying getting past the security dudes. But then we were up there and in the garage was up next then I saw you walk out right infront of me with your camera. I was gonna say whats up but someone beat me to it and you gave them the devil horns--rock. The show was great though, rivers was such a homie. There was rad amounts of pinkerton and blue songs and the version of butterfly rocked. How come the guys didn't play say it ain't so? Oh well, I won't complain, the show rocked and I hope rivers and the boys come back to connecticut again. keep rocking, later." ---Nick C.
*"...Hey, Weezer definitely rocked out Meadows Music Theatre. This was the first Weezer show in CT since the green album and subsequent rebirth, and it was well worth it. Awesome crowd response for Butterfly! To my knowledge, this is the first time it was played in quite a while. Also, great versions of Only in Dreams (tho they can't possibly screw that up...it's just too sacred), Hashpipe and Burnt Jamb. Maladroit songs mesh well with everything, and they're are just so many great songs in the catalogue to chose from. Rivers seemed unusually chipper tonite, perhaps elated to be back in Connecticut...He seemed to cap the mood with "you're been a great audience, we've been a great band" as the Weez said goodbye. Can't wait for more shows in the future." ---fm
*"...Hey Karl, I just got back from the Weezer show at the Meadows. This was the best concert I have ever been to. Rivers and company shocked me by playing such songs as "Why Bother?" and "Across the Sea." Other highlights were "Only in Dreams," but "Tired of Sex" was the best song of the night. I thought it was cool when Pat got lifted during "Buddy Holly" and the giant =w= appeared. At the end of the show after playing Hash Pipe the band left, only to appear and finish the spectacular night with "Undone- The Sweater Song." This was the best weezer concert ever!!!" ---Lance Fogg, Manchester, CT
*"...Just got back from the show at the meadows....and it ROCKED!!!! Possibly the greatest show I've been to....ever. With a strong opening of Take Control, I knew I was in fro a great ride. It blew me away when I heard the opening riff to In The Garage. One question I still have..why did Rivers say that Hartford is the epitome of cool? Hartford is far from anything remotely cool, except for when any bands are playing. It must be because he grew up outside of Hartford...but anyway. After some crazy and great lighting techniques, the show hit its zenith....Only In Dreams with Across the Sea a few songs later. Not to mention Why Bother which completely surprised me. Then, without warning, the riser began. As Pat rose to the ceiling with a =w= attached, the show became even wilder. The encore, Undone, was also quite amazing. Although many were expecting more for an encore, I was content with what I received. There were some great openers also. Sparta was amazing. Their vocals are so unique, and there guitar riffs are so vast...they really did rock. Also, Loudermilk on the side stage was great. For some reason, they gave off this sort of Smashing Pumpkins vibe. After their set, a friend of mine and I went to meet them, which was a joyous greeting. They were very nice and talked for a while, shaking our hands and thanking us for our compliments. So overall, the show rocked, and I can't wait to see =w= again." ---Signed, one enormous =w= fan from Farmington, CT
*"...hey, just got home from the hartford show, and i must say it was an interesting experience. i was walking around the grounds before any of the music started and i saw scott through some fencing. he was eating or something, and i got as close as i could, but the security guard walked over, and before i knew it he was gone, it was still pretty exciting. so then i watched sparta, they were pretty good, liked their sound and energy. and dashboard was good too, they went back and forth between heavier and lighter songs, i liked the heavier sound better, but it was a solid set overall. and then weezer came on. they've been one of my favorite bands for a while, but this was my first time seeing them live. the set was solid, i really loved hearing the electric version of "butterfly," and the other highlights were "buddy holly," "holiday," "only in dreams," and "why bother." i was disappointed not to hear "the good life," "el scorcho," and "say it ain't so," especially because i had seen some other set lists that had all of them plus some of the other songs i wanted to hear. but overall it was a great time, my voice was fading half way through because of all the singing and yelling, and i was impressed with all of the guys' performances, especially pat's on the drums. he was awesome, and looked really great up on the riser. i'll see them the next time they come around, and hopefully they can top this show. thanks for the music." ---Chris Wagner
*"Sparta seemed like a very decent band, but I'll withhold any comments regarding Dashboard...Weezer's set was pretty awesome though, especially in terms of the variety of songs played. Pat's riser trick was a surprise, although I sort of feared for his life with him being at such an altitude. I particularly enjoyed the altered Only In Dreams as well as the random feedback session at the end of the show -- awesome stuff. Also, Scott seemed to be really comfortable out there and looked like he was having a good time throughout the whole show. In sum, a really enjoyable show and a memorable experience. Thanks guys." --James (The Red Kaiser) 
Category:Karl's Corner - July 2002