Karl's Corner - 07/29/2002

Enlightenment Tour Day 24: Atlanta, GA; HiFi Buy Amphitheater
Main Stage: Sparta, Dashboard Confessional, Weezer [Strokes cancelled due to injury]
Second Stage: The Special Goodness, Rooney, Home Town Hero, Am Radio
Well, today finally marked the return of Weezer to Atlanta, after far too long of an absence! The Atlanta peeps came out in force to welcome the Weez back, and it was a grand sight to see. Everyone was grateful for the show of fan support after such a long time away. Once again we were firing on all cylanders as all 7 bands on the bill rocked it out no matter what stage they were coming from. There was one odd incident during Dashboard's set, where all the power to the entire building suddenly cut out right in the middle of "Screaming Infidelities". No sound, lights, or electicity anywhere. Then is started coming back, and amps fired up, the PA came back and the lights started to fire up again. What happened? No one was sure at the time, but some sort of massive circuit breaker type thing was suspected. Usually here are backup generators in place that handle the load in case if such an event, but apparently not today. After a few confused seconds, Chris C. and the DC Crew picked up the slack and rode the storm out. By the time of the Weez set, the troubles were few and the loud rock music was out in full force! The Hi-Fi Buy ampitheatre is one of the few on this tour with a non seated front floor section, so the pit was moshing. Some of the time, anyway. 
"Weezer World Cup" Foosball Challenge #8: Atlanta- 99X
Foosball Challenge #8! 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. Today was Brian's first foray into the competition, and he held the defensive position with panache.
Todays match results:
Round 1: Team Weezer (Cuomo/Bell) V. De-Weezed (Jason Norman and Blake Mason) : Winner: Team Weezer. Score: 10-1. [De-Weezed brought furious play, a pretty tense match! Mid game position switch yielded their lone goal]
Round 2: Team Weezer (Cuomo/Bell) V. The Strokes (Christian Gabrial and Brent Norman) : Winner: Team Weezer. Score: 10-3. [one of the toughest matches yet, The Strokes [heh] were bringing it strong!! Only the second time a challenger team scored first!]
Round 3: Team Weezer (Cuomo/Bell) V. The Rookies (Ryan Tisdale and Beth Byron) : Winner: Team Weezer. Score: 10-5. [second highest challenger score of the season so far! A VERY tense game, The Rookies had the lead on 3 separate occasions! Very strong defense, longest game so far]
...pic #26 L to R: MerkinMuffley, bokkasrealm/hoblie, slim mackeral, Rivers, tired of chex, RealFrogs, unknown swigger in background...Not pictured: Jargo, catch624, SinisterLinizter... 
...the first batch of Atlanta fan's tales that came in...
*"...The Special Goodness was awesome! Pat is a really talented guy. The song selection was great for Weezer. Weezer seems really energetic and seemed to interact a lot with the crow and we really appreciated it. The side stage preformances rocked our friggin socks off. Especially Rooney and AM Radio. We were able to meet Scott and he seems like a really great guy. We look forward to seeing them again in Nashville. Rock on! sucamido..." ---vasos termigosc
*"...Think of how Eddie Murphy would feel after meeting Richard Pryor. That's how I feel after seeing my rock & roll heroes up on stage. I got to the concert a little early and waited in line for a long time. I broke a sweat before the gates even opened. It was HOT. After a while Sparta took the stage. They put on a really good show and did a good job working the crowd. Although Karl setting up the camera before their set got a bigger crowd response. The highlight of their performance, for me, was "Cut Your Ribbon." Then Dashboard took the stage. It'd be unfair of me to review their live show considering I'm not a big fan of them to begin with, but they Chris Carrabba did seem to have a way with the crowd and they did sound pretty good. After a long, long wait and a lot more sweating, Weezer took the stage. Rivers came out in his suit and jacket and rocked from the start. Maybe it's me, but was there a lot of James Bond type stuff going on? Rivers in his suit, the James Bond music inbetween sets... Oh well. I couldn't have asked for a better set list. "Surf Wax," "El Scorcho," "Why Bother." My favorites. I'm at home, cold from my sweat, deaf, and I can't really feel my legs, but it was sure worth it. I have nothing to compare that show to because it's my first Weezer experience, but all I can say is I hope it doesn't take them so long to come back here again." ---Guns&Jewelry
*"...That was possibly the shortest concert I've ever seen. What you played was great, but you were only on stage for like an hour. That's piss poor where I come from. For $34 a ticket, that's pretty damn weak. Time to go back to the drawing board fellas. You suck," ---Mario and Adam
*"...wow... i mean WOW. that was the most awesome-est concert EVER! sparta was really interesting and entertaining, dashboard was cool especially since they played lots of their old goodies...and then WEEZER! pink triangle started it off and was amazing....the greatness continued throughout the entire night. for an hour and 15 minutes i forgot how hot it was in atlanta and was completely lost in weezer. great show guys....great!" ---Megan T
*"...Just got back from the spectacle of rock and roll beauty that was the Weezer show in Atlanta. When I slooshied that music, it was gorgeousness and gorgosity made flesh! I'm from New Jersey very near the Camden show, but was out of town, so I made arrangements to see the weez in AL and boy was it worth it. The show had an awesome start with Rooney and AM Radio. If you've not yet heard them and you're not sure, definitely check them out, I talked to some of the Rooney guys and they were awesome dudes. So Weezer delivered an amazing set before the roaring crowd, and as Rivers put it, they "served up the heavy metal 1996 style." A great set, a great performance, and an amazing show. Keep on rocking guys." ---~Steve
*"..We got there late. We missed the Strokes[?], and the Special Goodness. All is good though. Weezer brought the house down with a lot of Blue Album and Pinkerton songs. I missed my favorite bands 25th Anniversary show last year (the Misfits), but this totally made up for it. I think Weezer is my new favorite band. Rivers' witty comments cracked me up through out the show. "....This song is straight from Hell. ::lights turn red and Buddy Holly plays::." All in all, it was a great show. Anyone living in the remaining cities of the Enlightenment tour should definately see it. =W= Peace out!" ---Adam "Undead" Chao
*"...The stop in Atlanta of The Enlightenment tour was much appreciated! Georgia was treated to a great performance by all. I arrived early to catch The Special Goodness. Unfortunately because I arrived in the opposite entrance than the side stage it took me awhile to get them. For some reason we were not immediately allowed into the amphitheater area halting my hearing of them; however, what I heard rocked and was great getting to hear Pat sing and play lead guitar. Then I returned to my seats to begin checking out the main stage and vibe. Sparta took the stage and I was quite impressed. However, I am quite curious as to why the lead singer occassionally took on a British accent. Dashboard Confessional took the stage shortly after. Which if you like whine with your cheese it should have been an awesome performance with the exception of the sound problems. And then Weezer, the reason most people flocked to the amphitheater. Everything from the setlist to the =w= were awesome. I especially enjoyed how Rivers conversed with the crowd. His random chat like "Amen brother" and "we rock" were highly enjoyed. The only negative thing I have to report about their show was the sound quality at moments, but the guys continued to rock out despite the small technical difficulties. The concert was awesome and I look forward to next year seeing as he atated they'll return with another great show!" ---Katie Boardmember: Kitkate
*"...WEEZER KICKED ASS!!!!! too bad there was no only in dreams and jonas to get jiggy with but still they played an awesome show and i was glad to see so much pinkerton in there. keep rocking! The second stage was really good. We got to meet and discover new bands such as Rooney, Hometown Hero, and Am radio. Sorry Pat we missed the Special Goodness due to our **** friend that couldnt get us down there in time. Also we had to walk around to find our ride home. We cant wait until weezer comes back and rocks our socks off again." ---Cory A. Bobby P. Ryan P.
*"...Just got home and the show rocked out! I haven't seen the guys since Pinkerton 1996 tour ala Masquerade and there was way more to see here. I prefer a smaller venue for my fav Weezer tunes though but the pyro was a breath of fresh air. The sound was not up to par however. I don't know if it was the venue or what but I was on the 10th row behind the pit and there was a wobbling bass sound consistantly throughout. All and all I have seen better WEEZ. I still give it about a 7 on a 10 scale. The guys seems stagnent and Rivers seems caught up in erasing the geek rock image with area rock. Matt's quirkyness was definitely missing on the older tunes. scott's bass playing was awsome though but don't get all the pyro if you don't know how to use it. Matt would have jumped off ala DLRoth or something. He rocked on Letterman when they played. Weez looked bored at times and uninterested. My particular disappoitment was when Rivers went to shake the hand off fans in the pit only to get real close, smile, then walk away. Perhaps we maybe should do the same. But still a 7 out of 10." ---JasonBeck
*"...First, some background on this author…I’m 37, which qualifies me for Social Security at a Weezer show, I think. I’ve seen literally hundreds of bands in concert, including 41 Phish, 39 Dead, 8 Prince (greatest performer alive), 8 DMB, and pretty much everyone in between. The only reason I’m really into Weezer right now is because I wanted to see the Strokes and decided to try to hear more than “Buddy Holly” and “Undone” in preparation for the show. Although I saw critic’s raves about =W= now and then, I just assumed they were like every “modern alternative” act these days: a couple songs on the radio and they’re done. Ha! Let’s just say a funny thing happened on the way to me not giving a rat’s ass that the Strokes had to cancel! Suffice it to say that I picked up “Maladroit” first and then proceeded to delve into the back catalog with the intensity of Britney Spears squeezing into those low-cut jeans! Wow, what a fucking body of work, to say the least! How =W= stayed under my radar all this time is beyond me, but now I’m totally rambling---on with my impressions of my first =W= show…. It was a steamy late July Georgia evening like this one year ago tomorrow that I saw my top concert ever, Radiohead. There must be something about high humidity brings out the best in bands that the kids are bopping to these days---very impressive! Seeing that I'm old and everything, I "picked my spot", and only caught the Weezer set. They delivered 80 minutes of power pop the likes of which no one else is playing these days. To get my gripes out of the way, I must say that "set" is an appropriate description for their show--- as in we got the first set, but there never was a second. I recall a preview of this tour in the Rolling Stone that mentioned some songs will be extended jams up to ten minutes long. Don't believe what you read! All of the songs tonight were by the book with no improvation---good thing they're all awesome songs! I suppose I'm spoiled by Phish, who would consider 80 minutes a long first set and have jammed out half of the numbers they played. Back to reality, though, I don't mean to sell this show short, Cuomo's voice showed amazing stamina, and I can't imagine a more tight set of tunes. Most impressive to me was "surf wax" into the searing "tired of sex". The lighted W that rocked often rocked in time with the tunes was also a highlight. And of course the FIRE!, FIRE!!!, also in synch with the music. I must say the bass was a little light from my center-rear first section listening perch, but otherwise the sound was outstanding for a show this loud. The crowd was certainly into it, although again, my perspective is skewed by how many people at Phish shows totally dig music. Much different from the high number of high school kids at a Weez show that have little idea how great of a rock show they were watching. In the end, that's what it was---although I must say I didn't feel compelled to follow them to Nashville or anything, like I thought I might. Given the ridiculously solid catalog of songs Cuomo and Co. have written, the possiblity of following them for another was certainly on my mind prior to the show. The bottome line is, Weezer are best band out there right now, and I'd certainly put the intelligent performance I saw tonight up there against any of the inane shit bands like Korn, Puddle of Mudd, and all of those other jokers are throwing out there. If you've got a brain in your head, and you like great songs in straight-up rock and roll style, this Weezer tour is for you. A band that is in their prime with still a small enough catalog to hear most of your favorites..." ---garrett p 
Category:Karl's Corner - July 2002