Weezer!
Last night The Pilot and I went to the MTV Weezer taping at the Hard Rock in Orlando.
Getting tickets was a feat in itself....when they went on sale a couple of months
ago they sold out in 18 minutes! Primo seating in the balcony went in less than
four minutes. The only way I managed to get seats was to be online and on the
phone (on hold) with the venue five minutes before the box office opened. It worked,
and I had great balcony seats (for only $14!!).
The opening act was The Fray. If you’re from Colorado, I’m going
to tell you something that you already know......they were great! As a general
rule, I’m not too impressed with opening bands–either the sound
is muddy, too loud, unvarying, or imitative. However, The Fray caught my attention
from their first song and entertained me all the way through their set. The
music was full, the lyrics (yes, I could hear them!) were poetic and haunting,
and the songs were diverse both within a tune and between the songs....plus
the lead singer plays keyboards! Listening to them was an unexpected joy. If
you haven’t heard them yet, you can catch a couple of songs here.
Weezer, of course, was =w=, and small venues like Hard Rock suit their music
and style. Because it was a taping for television, there were several large
cameras on remote booms, many camera folk moving around, and large advertising
on the back of the set. The taping also had some affect on the performance...it
was shorter, and tended to be more formulaic–they even had to repeat Beverly
Hills so the crew could get the taping just right (never mind that some of their
past–and future–hits are better. This is the current hit and all
important!). But that rant aside, the show was great! I love their energy! The
crowd around me sang to every song...not just Say It Ain’t So (which was
awesome). And they did Peace (from the new dvd)–one of my new favs. The
one thing I want to know is...who was the extra guitar player on a few of the
songs at the beginning of the set? I wonder if I was supposed to recognize him....he
wasn’t introduced like the girl (Stephanie) who sings a few “Gimme,
gimme”s on Beverly Hills).
At this time, the show is supposed to air on MTV on August 3rd.
Before the show started, The Pilot went to find the ‘smoking lounge’.
On the way back, she found a tucked away elevator and took it, and ended up
riding with three of the band members (and the mystery guitarist)! I was jealous!
I kept commenting on her luck, but she would have none of it. I guess the years
of being a pilot and flying with famous people all over the world has made her
a bit jaded. Too bad it couldn’t have been me in that elevator–but
I don’t smoke, so I was busy at the bar getting another martini! Wrong
habit for that night.
5:39:23 PM 
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