Sunday, October 26, 2008
weekend randoms: michelle wie, say hi to your mother for me
Wednesday, October 22, 2008
asics onitsuka tiger - mexico 66
Tuesday, October 21, 2008
the house, san francisco (north beach)
Tangent: I'm trying to avoid using the word " fusion". I don't think it's a relevant word anymore considering how connected the world has become. Food has been affected by globalization as much anything else. Fusion is more of an expectation than not. Culinary points of view should be described as "traditional" if it is any different.
Monday, October 20, 2008
weezer at san jose events center - 10.13 (part 2)
I've had some time to think about the Weezer show I attended last week and will now try to articulate some thoughts I had during the experience. You can find my first impressions of the show here: weezer at san jose events center (part 1)
At the time, Rivers was heavily involved with a strict yoga discipline, and it had been documented that he was celibate for a two year period. There is plenty of sources that speak to Rivers inability to strike a desirable balance in his life. All it takes is a listen of Pinkerton and one gets a sense of how conflicted he was with the decadent and hedonistic rock lifestyle. So yoga served to center him.
Thus, I assumed that the yoga accentuated Rivers timid disposition at the concert. He was no showman on stage, briskly moving from one song to another with very little interaction with the audience. He looked completely uncomfortable, and at times, terrified. If he could, I think he would have elected to have his back turned to the audience. The crowd didn't care, we were all so excited to see the band come after there had been some rumblings about possible breakup. Additionally, all Weezer fans 1) love to sing along and barely notice what's going on on stage and 2) enjoy Rivers' eccentricity. I thought that he might vomit on stage, but he managed to get through it without incident.
Rivers anti-celebrity that night worked in the same way that a lot of the Weezer universe has survived - through amplified contradiction. For example, the best of Weezer's playlist bridges sugary pop melodies and heavy guitar crunches. Likewise, the shy, fragile lead singer confidently pens and blows lyrics like "What's with my homies dissing my girl?" and "God damn you half japanese girls". The geek-and-cheek, boyish charm was all part of the show, unintentional or not.
That night the band did all of their entertaining through the music alone.
Weezer at Warfield SetlistSan Jose Events Center, San Jose, 2008
Rivers was the exact opposite last Monday night. He spent more time running frantically across stage, falling into rock-induced seizures, and hamming it up with the crowd than actually singing. My original thought was that Rivers is different, but I don’t think that’s the case as I've had more time to digest the night's happenings. I think it's more that he's returning to something or perhaps fulfilling the rock god incarnate that he has always dreamed of realizing. It reminds me of “In the Garage” off of the first record in which he looks back on days spent in teenage isolation, imitating his favorite shredders of the day with all of his rock heroes taped to his walls approving his every move.
He is Peter Pan, suspended in time, jumping up and down on a trampoline, without any notion of his years. His band mates? They just let him carry on. They play and sing with little movement, intentionally contrasting Rivers’ youthful exuberance. Between this and the other extreme which I previously experienced, I really can't say I prefer one or the other.
But I do have a strong opinion on the music.
What drew me to Weezer early on more than anything else was the infectious pop melodies and Rivers' beautiful voice. This is slowly slipping away with a democratization within the band. Its evident on their latest album in which each other band mate sings lead vocal on a track. I don't like it. Those are three to four cuts per record that are void of Rivers, and I find those to be a waste. I actually think that Shriner and Bell both have decent voices, but Weezer is still Rivers, unfortunately. Their sounds and their words do not fit into the Weezer anthology.
This democracy was evident much too frequently during the show as well. The rest of the gang sang a bulk of the lead vocals on past classics while Rivers would lurk around the stage, waiting for the perfect opportunity to slide across the floor and cut into a crunchy guitar riff. The band even had Tom DeLonge of Blink 182 - I mean, Angels and Airwaves come on stage to butcher the first verse of "Undone (The Sweater Song)". The sharing might make the band happier to make music, but this really isn't Weezer music when Rivers isn't singing it, and worse, when he's not writing it.
My favorite moments occurred when Rivers reminded me more of the shy guy, standing quite still while his guitar and vocals led the way. Some of those numbers include "I Am The Greatest Man That Ever Lived", "Hash Pipe", "Keep Fishin'". One highlight of "Undone" was Rivers going pretty berserk on drums (check out link above).
Some Links
The audio isn't great, but here is a YouTube link for the band playing the a capella into guitars rendition of "Suzanne" in San Diego (I unfortunately couldn't find the San Jose version).
Return to GreensandBrowns home page.
Tuesday, October 14, 2008
Weezer at San Jose Events Center - 10.13 (Part 1)
- The best moment for me was the B-Side "Suzanne". The boys started the number in a capella (a la barber shop quartet) and seamlessly went into a heavier, guitar crunching version of the song. I thought they executed it quite well, and it was cool to see them showcase the harmonic abilities that have highlighted their musical catalogue since their first album
- "I need some Rogaine to put in my hair" - Rivers is balding pretty noticeably and seems to be embracing it by growing out his hair and accentuating the look
- Trampoline on stage (more explanation in future post)
- I don't think Weezer could get away with not playing both "Undone (The Sweater Song)" and "Buddy Holly" at a concert. However, as ML astutely pointed out, Rivers looks like Buddy Holly no more
- Weezer isn't Weezer without Cuomo's lyrics and voice. There is a clear departure from this beginning with The Red Album and evident in the sharing of lead vocals during the show (including "My Name is Jonas", "Say It Ain't So", "El Scorcho", the list goes on...). This is not promising for the new record as half of their latest album is a throwaway without Rivers' lead vocals
- Rivers to bassist Scott Shriner: "Thank you for rocking my heart and soul"
- Kneepads
- Lots of college students and younger. It looks like the boys and their record label have done a noteworthy marketing job through MTV and YouTube
- My Name Is Jonas
- Pink Triangle
- Perfect Situation
- Say It Ain’t So
- Suzanne
- Keep Fishin’
- King
- Undone (The Sweater Song)
- Pork & Beans
- Dope Nose
- Troublemaker
- Thought I Knew
- Hash Pipe
- El Scorcho
- Time (Pink Floyd cover)
- The Greatest Man That Ever Lived
- Island in the Sun - HOOTENANNY
- Beverly Hills
- Heart Songs (via LP)
- Sliver (Nirvana cover) - ENCORE
- Buddy Holly
Saturday, October 11, 2008
mushroom pizza (with an egg)
Friday, October 10, 2008
really, let's remember this...
The first entry in a blog can be pretty intimidating. It really says so much about what one may be most interested in. I have attempted to blog in the past and concluded that I really didn't have much to say. Additionally, I feel that there is too much nonsensical content in the blogosphere. If you aren't an expert at something, don't write about it.