Karl's Corner - 08/23/2002

touring: Reading Festival, UK
...Reading Festival 2002! Well, today the festival kicked off right with warm temperatures, sunny skies, and 50,000 fresh faced fans in search of 3 days of rock. We arrived on the site after the Moldy Peaches were finished, so we dont know how things got started. We caught some of The Soundtrack To Our Lives's set, which was closely watched by Oasis' Noel G. [now fortunately looking quite well after his US tour auto accident]. Pat Wilson liked this set as well. Then the Dandy Warhols played, and took us all by suprise, playing 10 minute Spiritualized-ish jams for a while, then morphing into a more 80's synth pop sound. Then it was The White Stripes' turn to rock, and now things started to heat up! They were tight and sharp and full of vim and vigor, playing a bunch of old blues songs, some originals, and decidedly not playing their big hit song. That's pretty darn cool. Then it was our turn, and weezer grabbed the stage and shook it hard. The roar of the crowd when the guys took the stage was awesome! place went bananas and the crowdsurfing really picked up, as endless waves of people bobbed and churned. Everyone had a good show, and with the help of our super-crew overcame the minor tech things that tend to crop up at these festival gigs where theres no soundcheck. Pat was really on fire, and later said, "I represented." True that! The finale had a nice rock finish, with Pats drums flying everywhere in a rare display of weez rock hitting the magic boiling point of destruction and chaos!! Nice work! Then the crowd got a serious treat, as Jane's Addiction put in a rare show, sounding epic. Right when they started, it quickly clouded over and started raining - thus continuing what is apparently a Reading tradition where at least some rain falls each day... if not a ton of rain! Tonight wasnt so bad, with the showers letting up later on. Then Pulp went on. Pulp had but one big song in the USA, but here in England they have been massive for years, and commanded the attention of the whole place. Finally The Strokes played last, headlining the Reading festival after only having been around about a year. Over here in the UK they got really huge, really fast! They rocked it out, with singer Julian back on his feet at last. 
...the first Reading fans' tales that came in:
*"...im writing to tell you how much the reading rock festival weezer show rocked!!! oh my god, it was amazing. and i swear, all i could hear/see afterwards were people hurrying to buy weezer shirts then throwing them on and saying in very loud voices how awesome it all was...and it reelie was awesome. the sun was even shining for weezer! (since it rained right afterwards) but the sun was nothing compared to the show u guys put on! it was amazing- the songs got everyone stoked. and it was truly brilliant how everyone around me knew all the words to every single song! the set list was amazing. rivers was so rock god-ish- throwing his guitar up behind him, raising his arms like jesus or something. scott, brian, and pat were all so great too! especially when pat destroyed his drums at the end- that was pretty pretty rad! the show was heart stopping and it was a wicked experience--> the high light of the entire reading festival, and i already know that even tho i havent exactly lived the next two days...but watching weezer today...dude, you guys killed everyone else. you rocked england." ---kayleigh
*"...Just wanting to say what a kickass show Weezer put on at Reading. The atmosphere didn't really get electric until the guys turned up on stage after what seemed like a 24 hour wait after the White Stripes left. Great to hear all the Weezer super-hits and so much of the Blue Album. Rivers was loving the Weezer chants and his screams of appreciation made everyone smile. The whole band seemed on fire and in end the we were sad to see them go. Cheers!" ---Vaincher
*"...I just got back from the Weezer show at Reading, and I can tell you, I traveled for 3 hours there and back just for them! It was total chaos, but definitely worth it to see my favourite band. They really rocked it out last night, and from what I can tell, the guys particularly enjoyed this show, and Rivers was smiling constantly and jumping for joy. I'm really happy they played SIAS, but....In Dreams? Ah well, all in all I think it was a pretty great set. Hope to see the Weezer again when they return to our shores (Soon, hopefully)! Rock On Tokyo! Note: The pit was totally psycho dude! People need to calm down, they're not Slayer, for god's sake." ---Mark, from Colchester
*"...your show was definitly the best gig of the day. Amazing, awesome (can't find my words... I'm french ,-) I love your music, your attitude on stage, your sense of humor... and the great respect you have with your fans. What a good surprise to be able to read a review of that first reading02 day on your website with great pictures..." ---Nicolas - Oxford.
*"...Just a quick note to say that WEEZER WERE AMAZING!!! Not that we expected any less of course, but i can honestly say that weezer have been the highlight of my summer! Weezer were so great! You guys rocked out big styley, nearly everyone i spoke to said that you should have head lined, but paying for a day ticket to see the weez was worth every penny!!You guys were amazing, the set list was perfect for a summery English day and I had such an amazing time! Hopefully see you guys sometime soon!!! Thank you so much! Keep Rocking!" ~ Fliss (ditzymuppet)
*"...Hey, I've just got back from Reading Festival and just had to tell you how great the Weezer show was. I've been lucky enough to have seen Weezer before but this was something different...the guys totally rocked in new and unimaginable ways!!! Afterwards people all around me, soaked with sweat but with a look of euphoria spread across their faces, were talking of how this was going to go down as one of the legendary Reading Festival performances. So thank you guys for coming to play in the UK again, you have so many fans here who all firmly belive in Weezer - the greatest rock force on the planet!!!" ---Jonny, from Reading UK
*"...I've always wanted to write one of these fan reports but unfortunately I had never been to a Weezer concert before but this weekend that all changed. You see I'm from Ireland and Weezer don't exactly play here often! Last Autumn when Weezer were due to tour the UK some friends and I were going to travel to the UK to see the band but unfortunately that tour was cancelled but then when the Reading Festival line-up was announced and Weezer were on it, I knew I had to go and I didn't care how much it cost!! Straight away I was able to convince 4 of my friends that it was worth going for Weezer alone never mind all the other great bands that were there! Anyway we all bought our tickets, booked flights and waited 4 long months for the end of August to roll along.....So last Thursday I got up early not having been able to sleep the night before with excitement and headed to the airport. After about 10 hours travel we finally arrived in Reading. I was so happy. I knew that in less than 24 hours I would have seen Weezer, my favourite band in the world. We set up our tent and found out that Weezer would be on at 17:35. Knowing exactly how long was left until I could see the band I started to annoy people by telling them precisely, down to the second, was left until I would see Weezer!....The next day I was at the Main Stage very early to stake out a good position. While I watched the bands I started to get paranoid that Weezer wouldn't show up!! Anyway The White Stripes came on and I knew we were getting close to the big moment. The White Stripes were amazing but I knew I was yet to be blown away! With The White Stripes set completed the roadies began setting up the stage for Weezer. I started to get so excited. I started to frantically take pictures of everything just incase for some reason I lost all my memories of the gig. 17:35 started to draw closer and the set was fully set-up. The giant =w= had been brought out and everything was ready. I was chanting for the band, WEEZER, WEEZER, WEEZER. Or as the English say WEEZAH, WEEZAH (they don't seem to be able to pronounce 'ER' properly). Anyway then It happened I saw the band come out, I absolutely lost all control. I was shouting and couldn't have been happier. I was expecting an improv at the start so I used that time to take loads of picture then got ready to go crazy. Then the band started into Undone and the whole crowd went crazy. Weezer played an amazing set. The undoubted highlight for me was 'Say It Ain't So'. I've loved the song since I got 'Blue' way back when and I nearly cried when I heard the opening chords! The set was amazing though and left everyone who was a Weezer fan speechless and everyone who wasn't a Weezer fan suddenly became a Weezer fan. I wanted more after Buddy Holly but I knew it wasn't gonna happen. I tracked down all my friends who I had got separated from during the gig and we all agreed that it was the best gig ever and well worth the distance we travelled!....I could go on forever about how amazing the gig was. I keep remembering different things all the time. All I know is that it was utterly fantastic and I can't wait to see Weezer again. Hopefully I won't have to wait 8 years this time again....loads of people made the trip from Ireland especially for them....there are thousands of fanatical Weezer fans who would kill to see them live. I know because I was ordered to buy concert T-Shirts for all the Weezer fans I know who couldn't make the trip and trust me there were loads of them. Anyway thanks again." ---Cheers, David O'Neill
*"...Heya, I just got home from the Reading festival and wanna say how much Weezer’s set kicked arse! I’m a huge Weez fan and was looking forward to their set for ages but nothing prepared me for what happened!! They graced the stage to chants and screams from the 50,000+ large crowd that had crammed around the Main stage. As soon as Rivers shed his first chord and the ‘flying dove’ illuminated, the crowd went crazy. ‘Undone’ was received by huge cheers and the universal ‘Weezer’ hand signs as everybody jumped and swayed to one of the classiest songs that graced the festival. It was such an amazing experience to hear everyone sing the chorus along with Rivers and it really super-charged the atmosphere. The pit in front of the stage was rammed with rock-lovers who, like me, had come to see some truly inspiring music. The energy had obviously passed off onto Rivers and the rest of the band who began to jump and rock around the stage; Rivers at one stage threw his guitar over his head!! ‘The Good Life’ and ‘Why Bother?’ really rocked despite Rivers [past] admittance that “Pinkerton is s**t”. ‘Hash Pipe’ really got the crowd jumping and gave way to a hell of a lot of crowd-surfing! After 56 minutes of pure rock, the crowd reached climax as ‘Buddy Holly’ was embarked upon in conjunction with a cheer that could have been heard as far away as the sister-festival in Leeds! The end of the set had left Scott collapsed on the floor, Rivers gasping in a kind of meditation, Pats drums in pieces and Brian stunned! The powerful chants from the crowd and the sheer energy of the gig made it one totally unforgettable experience. For that hour Weezer had well and truly got the UK to boogie and my god how much did I love it. This gig was long awaited and has left the whole of England gagging for some more Weezer, all I can say is “WE WANT THE WEEZ”" ---Matt W
*"...Hey all you Weezer fans out there, i've just got back from my 4 days/nights of camping mayhem at the Reading Festival and HAD to e-mail praising Weezer for the best show of the whole 3 days of quality music! I've been trying to see Weezer for some time now so when i found out they were at Reading it didnt take me long to get my tickets and what a show! The set list was pure genius, they played all the songs the fans wanted to hear and really turned on the style! EVERYONE was singing their hearts out, and the "Weezer" chants soccer style were funny! "Keep Fishin'" rocked, "Undone" was the best possible start, and well...nothing beats "Buddy Holly" to end! Bouncing up n' done was mandatory and if you werent digging Weezer then you may as well have gone to the dance tent 'cos this was for the fans! As soon as it finished i made sure i had my super cool Weezer T-Shirt and enjoyed walking past many others sporting them (for once it was cool to be dressed in the same outfit as someone else!) Anyways, thanx you guys for treating all your fans and festival goers to some fun in the sun, come back to the UK and tour soon, you know you will sell every single ticket and make us all happy people! P.S...Did anyone see the flying 'V' of birds as Weezer were playing?!..i think they were somehow paying homage to the band, but couldnt quite muster a whole 'W'!!!" ---Ben Andrew, Bedforshire
...in other news, there is a new Scott Shriner interview online, conducted by a fan who asked really good questions. The interview is posted on the Scott Shriner Experience website. Note: If you cant get the website to open [due to high traffic on a free webspace], the interview was quoted in full on this bboard thread. 
Category:Karl's Corner - August 2002