Weezer at the Cox Arena

I am proud to say I was in the Weezer fan club back in 1994. My member number was #870. I first saw Weezer in 1995 with the mighty Archers of Loaf and Shufflepuck at the Hollywood Palladium. Sophia Coppola and Spike Jonze were standing next to me checking out the show.

I managed to catch Weezer numerous times over the years at the Whiskey, Universal Amphitheater, Shoreline Amphitheater, Irvine Meadows, Glass House and making a quirky appearance on the Warped Tour. Weezer has been on tour supporting the Red Album backed by Angels and Airwaves and Tokyo Police Club.

Tokyo Police Club






I just caught Tokyo Police Club less than a month ago at the Detroit Bar. Elephant Shell has been consistently popping up on my ipod with its sullen Casio keyboards and propulsive bass lines. Tokyo Police Club didn't waste anytime on stage as they feverishly tried to play as many songs in their set as possible.

I was amazed how comfortable Tokyo Police Club appeared on stage. Their sound was mixed well as Graham Wright's keyboards floated above the driving bass and guitars during "Juno". Dave Monks (Vocals/Bass) had opted for a Fender bass for a cutting round sound for "Your English Is Good" as the crowd clapped along during the intro to the song. Greg Alsop (Drums) was the driving force behind "Tessellate". Josh Hook (Guitars) added his technical noise flourishes to "Nature Of The Experiment". I only wish Tokyo Police Club were given a few more minutes to throw some in some extra songs into their set.

Angels and Airwaves







Talk about home field advantage. Cheers from the nearing capacity crowd started as a large Angels and Airwaves backdrop was revealed. Angels and Airwaves hail from San Diego and is fronted by Tom Delonge (Vocals/Guitars) who used to play in Blink-182. Tom surrounded himself with an ensemble cast of local heroes most notably Adam Willard (Drums) who used to play in Rocket From The Crypt. Angels and Airwaves are finishing up their tour behind I-Empire as they were on the Warped Tour this summer.

I think Tom likes synthesizers more than I do as I spotted a Moog Voyager, Kawai 88 and a Yamaha Motif Xs7 on stage along with massive amounts of guitar gear. Dialogue sampled from a launching of a space shuttle was pumping through the soundsystem as a swell of synthesizers started to amass. The cheers grew louder as the members of Angels and Airwaves took to the stage. Tom had his custom signature Gibson Hollowbody chiming out the notes for "Everything's Magic". David Kennedy (Guitars) and Matt Wachter (Bass) helped carry the sonic load by occasionally going to their keyboard stations to create a large wall of sound for Tom's ambitious songs.

A musical toy box intro gave way to the machine like drums and underlying piano riff for "Start The Machine". Tom seemed to be having a good time on stage, as he realized nothing beats playing to your home crowd. The marching drums and gigantic swirls of delayed guitars for "Heaven" were punctuated with blasting lights to give the song an epic feel. Tom later switched guitars to a war torn custom signature Gibson hollowbody guitar adorned with an Angels and Airwaves logo that looked pretty cool.

Tom did a little bit of VH1 storytellers when he explained the meaning behind the song "Sirens" which apparently is true to the lyrics in the song. The delay was cranked to epic again for an extended version of "The Adventure". I don't think The Edge from U2 uses that much delay. Adam was killing it on the drums as Tom's phaser pedal was set to stun. Tom announced they would be back in one year as they closed out their set to a large hometown ovation.

Weezer









I recently spun Weezer's blue album and realized how awesome their guitar tone was for that album. It was the perfect blend of fuzz and distortion. I was blown away though when I spotted two Diezel VH4 amplifiers on stage. Weezer joins the ranks of Muse, Tool, and Smashing Pumpkins as devoted users of Diezel amplifiers.

Clad in white jump suits, the men of Weezer started to crank out the chords of "My Name Is Jonas". Rivers Cuomo (Vocals/Guitars) didn't even sing the opening lines of the song as Brian Bell (Guitars), Patrick Wilson (Drums) and Scott Shriner (Bass) alternated vocal duties. I instantly had flashbacks about tuning my guitar down one half step to play the whole Weezer blue album from start to finish. The hits did not stop all night as they tore into "Pink Triangle" from the underrated Pinkerton album.

A wahstastic version of "Perfect Situation" had me singing along with the crowd during the chorus. It had been so long since I had seen Weezer live that I forgot how much I enjoyed their songs. "Susanne" was a total shock to me as I still have the Australian import cd of "Undone (The Sweater Song)" on which it was originally featured but found new life on the cult classic movie "Mallrats". Weezer had shed their white jumpsuits for some slick red track suits with Weezer emblazoned on the back to coordinate with the color of their new album.

Tom Delonge came out to assist on the vocal duties for "Undone (The Sweater Song)". Rivers would later rock the headset microphone for "Pork And Beans" as he would power slide across the stage while singing the song. Rivers absolutely shredded during the solo of "Dope Nose". The goodwill amongst the bands continued as Josh from Tokyo Police Club came out to play a little guitar for "Troublemaker" as Rivers paraded around the stage. Patrick stepped up to the microphone with his Fender Stratocaster for a ripping version of "Automatic" from the new album.

Brian showed his dexterous guitar skills for a wah soaked solo during "Hashpipe". "El Scorcho" took an interesting turn as Rivers jumped onto the shoulders of a security guard to solo in front of the crowd in true rock show fashion. The highlight of the night surprisingly was their cover of Pink Floyd's "Time" with the vocals handled superbly by Patrick. I also have to mention his guitar solo for the song was probably the best guitar solo by a drummer that I have ever witnessed.

A collection of devoted Weezer fans joined the band onstage for "Island In The Sun" as a flute solo was incorporated into the song. "Beverly Hills" and a rousing cover of Nirvana's classic B-side "Sliver" continued to keep the energy off the charts. The show hit its apex with a house burning rendition of "Buddy Holly" replete with a giant electronic flashing "W" Weezer logo. That is what I call a "Rock Show".

The Cure at the Cox Arena

My Southern California tour of The Cure came to a close with one final stop at the Cox Arena in San Diego. Since my photos from Santa Barbara were used in OC Weekly for my review of their Shrine Auditorium show, I was looking forward to offering both the photos and review of their San Diego on my site.

65daysofstatic





The instrumental bludgeoning sounds of 65daysofstatic continued to grow on me with each successive live show. It was tough for me to appreciate their noisy racket in Santa Barbara because they were playing in the direct sunlight. Their dark and foreboding tunes fared much better in the vast confines of the Cox Arena with minimal stage lighting. 65daysofstatic released a new EP entitled The Distant and Mechanised Glow of Eastern European Dance Parties which is a pulsating electronic whirlwind of synthesizers and programming. 65daysofstatic opted for some of their more metal tinged instrumental tunes for the crowd. I recommend you listen to "Retreat! Retreat!" which is from their album The Fall Of Math for a good representation of their sound.

The Cure


The epic lead off song from Disintegration, "Plainsong" sparkled as bright as the background stars projected against the towering screens behind The Cure. The Cox Arena was electric on this particular night as they stood and cheered throughout the nearly three hour set. The fluid guitar lines of "Prayers For Rain" poured over the audience and drenched everyone in sound as Simon Gallup (Bass) dialed up some jet engine flanging on his Gibson Thunderbird Bass. A screaming wah pedal lead was quickly backed by Simon's pulsating bass line as The Cure embarked on "The Walk".



Jason Cooper(Drums) showed off his drumming skills with the syncopated beats of "To Wish Impossible Things" with Simon's bass quietly creeping along in the background. The stuttering bass line of "Pictures of You" was hypnotic as Porl Thompson (Guitars) added coats of atmosphere with his 12 string guitar. It was a spine tingling moment as the cheers from the crowd were deafening after Robert completed his first verse. Robert Smith's songwriting skills have been well documented but his tremolo picking during "Lullaby" was strong enough for me to appreciate his guitar technique. "From The Edge Of The Deep Green Sea" had Robert on his custom Schecter acoustic guitar as Porl shined with a wild shredding solo.



The Cure have been releasing new songs around the 13th of every month. "The Perfect Boy" is one of The Cure's new songs that I anxiously await as it is could have been included on Wish. "Hot Hot Hot!!!" had a loose almost funk feel to the song as Porl was frequently using his wah pedal. I already downloaded the new Cure song "The Only One" as it is an instant classic with its propelling bass line and shimmering guitar lines. "The Blood" was a nice surprise in the setlist with its seductive guitar lines as Robert had a nylon string guitar.



Another spine tingling moment of the show was the back to back wallop of "In Between Days" and "Just Like Heaven". The Cure didn't stop as they continued to play hit after hit. The windy visuals of "Jumping Someone Else's Train" perfectly fit the hyperactive bass line. Robert Smith used a glass slide to replicate the screams of "Lovecats". The multiple encores kept coming with "A Forest" perfectly capping the night. I have to give a lot of credit to the enthusiasm of the San Diego audience for making this the best of the three Cure shows that I saw.

The Cure setlist for San Diego at the Cox Arena (6/3/2008)
"Plainsong"
"Prayers For Rain"
"A Night Like This"
"The Walk"
"The End Of The World"
"Lovesong"
"To Wish Impossible Things"
"Pictures Of You"
"Lullaby"
"Fascination Street"
"From The Edge Of The Deep Green Sea"
"The Perfect Boy"
"Hot Hot Hot!!!"
"The Only One"
"The Blood"
"Sleep When I'm Dead"
"Push"
"In Between Days"
"Just Like Heaven"
"Primary"
"Shake Dog Shake"
"The Baby Screams"
"One Hundred Years"
"Disintegration"
"Boys Don't Cry"
"Jumping Someone Else's Train"
"Grinding Halt"
"10.15 Saturday Night"
"Killing An Arab"
"The Lovecats"
"Let's Go To Bed"
"Freakshow"
"Close to me"
"Why can't I be you?"
"Play For Today"
"A Forest"

Tool at Cox Arena Night 2 (5/3/07)

Did I mention that I really like Tool? I would not normally go to San Diego two nights in a row, but for Tool I would.

I unfortunately missed all of Kinski due to the lovely traffic at the 5 and 405 but made it in time to see Tool's set. I would check out Kinski again when they play a smaller show here in Los Angeles. The lights dimmed and Adam Jones started the tricky riff of "Jambi" and finished it with the usual seering talkbox solo. "Stinkfist" was punctuated with a huge scream by Maynard Keenan (Vocals) that recalled the old days of Tool. Maynard also asked how many people came out from Los Angeles (guilty). The cheer from the crowd was fairly significant. After successfully baiting those people, he said something along the lines that this was San Diego and there are no VIPs here. The crowd roar was much louder at this point. "46&2" ended with a Adam Jones (Guitars) wah drenched finish coupled with a Danny Carey (Drums) drum flurry . One point I forgot to mention with "Schism" is that the visuals are sped up in time when the band picks up the pace. It was very impressive. "Rosetta Stoned" featured some demonic vocal effects courtesy of Maynard at the end. "Pushit" was the highlight for me as it is one of the songs I love to play on guitar. One thing I noticed throughout the show was how much Adam leaves his wah pedal engaged as a filter. During "Vicarious" the eyes on the cover of 10,000 days were projected on the floor that the band was performing. I haven't seen anything like that at other shows. The night ended with Maynard saying you don't have to go home..but you can't stay here. I wish I could have stayed all night.

Tool at Cox Arena Night 2 (5/3/07) Setlist:
"Jambi"
"Stinkfist"
"46 and 2"
"Schism"
"Rosetta stoned"
"Pushit"
"Wings For Marie"
"10,000 Days"
"Lateralus"
"Vicarious"
"Ænima"

Tool at the Cox Arena Night 1 (5/2/07)

No cameras per Tool policy.

My mini tour of Tool continued in San Diego on Wednesday night. The intimacy of the Pearl in Las Vegas could not be beat, but the sound at Cox arena was unbeatable as I had a seat behind the mixing board.

Kinski opened the show at close to 7:30. Kinski is on Sub Pop records and play instrumental atmospheric guitar based rock in the vein of Mogwai, Explosions in The Sky, and hints of Sigur Ros. I mentioned Sigur Ros due to the fact that one of the guitarists was using a bow on his guitar. I was intrigued about the band until I found but their cd's were priced at $20.00. Hopefully their performance on Thursday will change my mind.

Tool came on at 8:45 to the rumble riffage of "Jambi" as Maynard Keenan (Vocals) started into his cowboy dance waving his ten gallon hat around. Adam Jones (Guitars) nailed the talk box solo flawlessly. The setup for the Tool show involves six screens with various imagery throughout the night. During "Stinkfist", they played parts of the video in the background. Maynard's vocals were excellent tonight and he did not skip over lyrics like he tends to do once in awhile. The mix was excellent tonight and I could clearly hear all of Maynard's vocals. Maynard did make a comment before "Wings for Marie" about how polite it was to drink beer and holler during a song that was written about his mother who passed away. "Schism" was electric in that Adam approached the center of stage to a sped up version of the riff. "Right in Two" was a drumming clinic as Danny Carey (Drums) was phenomenal. Danny is interesting in that his Hi-Hat is positioned in the middle of his kit which enables him to use either his left or right hand to keep the rhythm. I was secretly hoping they would play "Swamp Song" but "Right In Two" was a good substitute. I am guessing they will play a similar set on Thursday but I will be happy to be in attendance.


Tool at Cox Arena Night 1 Setlist:
"Jambi"
"Stinkfist"
"46 and 2"
"Schism"
"Rosetta stoned"
"Right In Two"
"Wings For Marie"
"10,000 Days"
"Lateralus"
"Vicarious"
"Ænima"