The Greatest Band That Ever Lived

When rockers Weezer released their eponymous-ly titled album earlier this year, given the nickname "The Red Album," it was clear that they really didn't care what anyone thought about their music. Various band members penned songs (not just leader Rivers Cuomo), and they traded off on the usual instruments they play. With lyrics like "I'm a troublemaker, not a double-taker/doin' things my own way, and never givin' up," (from "Troublemaker) or "One look in the mirror and I'm tickled pink/I don't give a hoot about what you think" (from "Pork and Beans"), and "After the havoc that I’m gonna wreak/No more words will critics have to speak" (from "The Greatest Man That Ever Lived"), they left it no doubt how they feel about criticism.

To paraphrase, they don't care, they don't care, they don't care.

That set the stage for their stop in Houston on Thursday (10/23) at Reliant Arena. (The arena is more like a convention hall, but the venue was cozy enough, making for a good view and good sound.) The band came on in white over-alls, and burst into the raucous "My Name Is Jonas." Except Rivers wasn't singing. In fact, he relegated his vocal parts to other band members, throughout the show. He even played drums, sometimes. And the guys played and joked around all night, as if having fun was all that mattered. They played rare b-sides. They removed the over-alls to reveal red track suits. Rivers jumped on a mini-trampoline, and ran across the stage sliding on his knees. At the encore, they brought on about 50 people for what they call a "hootenanny", all carrying instruments ranging from flutes, to guitars, to cellos and tubas to play two songs with the band. For the song "Beverly Hills," Rivers invited the men in the audience to sing the chorus parts, and the women to chime in with a high pitched "gimmee, gimme."


They even did a spot-on cover of Pink Floyd's classic "Time." So good, in fact, I have revisited the original, realizing the sonic mastery that song truly is. Drummer Patrick Wilson played lead guitar and sang. When he introduced the number as "very heavy," he wasn't kidding. A perfect rendition.

Rock 'n roll connoisseur Kevin asked his mom what her fave was. She liked "El Scorcho," but "Hashpipe" will always be tops with her. Ever the inquisitor, Kevin followed up by asking me the same question. I went for the weird and wacky "The Greatest Man That Ever Lived." Justin just shrugged and said of the show, "It was alright."

They said they’d be back in 2009. I can't wait.