(a) setlist

1. California Kids
2. My Name is Jonas
3. Hash Pipe
4. Back to the Shack
5. L.A. Girlz
6. El Scorcho
7. The British Are Coming
8. Pork & Beans
9. Do You Wanna Get High?
10. Cleopatra
11. The Waste Land
12. Thank God For Girls
13. Say It Ain’t So
14. The Good Life
15. You Gave Your Love to Me Softly
16. King of the World
17. Island in the Sun
18. Undone (The Sweater Song)

Encore:

1. Beverly Hills
2. Buddy Holly

(b) highlights

• most. incredible. setlist. ever.
• Weezer fans are the coolest, nicest, chillest people
•  no, really, that setlist, wow
• most fun, energetic crowd I’ve seen in a while

(c) lowlights

• none; seriously – none

(d) overall thoughts

Weezer was probably the first real “band” I ever listened to. I think I was 6 or so the first time I heard “Buddy Holly” and “The Sweater Song,” and things were pretty much never the same. My older brother introduced me to the band, and even though his interest in the band waned over the years (in a similar trajectory to the general public [i.e. a lot of “original fans” falling off after Make Believe and even more after The Red Album and Raditude]), I’ve always loved Weezer for just being themselves – whatever form that may take.

Their 2014 album Everything Will Be Alright In The End felt like a comeback album in a lot of ways – and I thoroughly appreciated the work it featured – but everything about this year’s The White Album feels like a comeback in an even bigger way. Weezer is sounding more like their late 90’s and early 2000’s selves than ever before: catchy choruses, memorable melodies, and simply Rivers Cuomo-esque lyrics. Everything from “L.A. Girlz” and “California Kids” and my personal favorite, “King of World” felt solid enough to stand beside those early classics.

I’d only seen Weezer once before – at the Bowery Ballroom in October 2014 – so I was excited for this deeply intimate show at the tiny Warsaw in Brooklyn. From the moment the lights went down to the final notes of “Buddy Holly,” Weezer totally killed it. It’s almost startling these days to go to a show and hear hit after hit after hit after hit without the crowd or band losing energy once. It’s a testament to both Weezer’s discography and diehard fans when songs from completely different Weezer eras – “Hash Pipe,” “The Waste Land,” and “L.A. Girlz” receive nearly equal amounts of cheer upon first play.

Rivers Cuomo will always be Rivers Cuomo – in the best way possible. Brian Bell was in top form taking up the vocals on the classic fan favorite “You Gave Your Love to Me Softly” while Scott Shriner remained his usual classy bass-playing self, even picking up a double-neck bass on “The Waste Land.” Pat Wilson, a multi-instrumentalist, gave a classic performance on drums, sitting in the best seat in the house.

Bottom line: It was impossible to not have fun during the wild ride that was the phenomenal setlist, equally nostalgic and timeless performance, and exuberant crowd.