"They say I need some Rogaine to put in my hair," Rivers Cuomo wails on Weezer's gargantuan radio hit "Pork and Beans." Oddly enough, quite a few audience members at the ACC last night needed Rogaine in their hair too. It was a fairly diverse crowd, but three distinct demographics stood out: 30-something Gen-Xers with a burning sentimentality for post-grunge alt-rock; adolescent emo-punks rigidly holding fast to the belief that Tom Delonge is the next messiah; and college-aged hipsters dressed like they're going to a poetry reading.
The latter class was undoubtedly in attendance to see the incumbent princes of indie hipsterdom, Tokyo Police Club. While the Newmarket art rock quartet delivered the requisite bouncy backbeat with a new-wave tinge, even their most loyal cardigan-wearing fans seemed to have trouble tapping their Converse-clad feet along to the music. This can be attributed to a murky sound setup that smudged the band’s slick nuances; the intricate guitar and synth harmonies of “Your English Is Good” and “Tessellate” sounded as winsome as gravel in a blender. Dave Monks' sleepy Julian Casablancas-style croak was shaky at best, as if the lead singer had been rudely awakened by the crowd's cadaverous reaction. Luckily, few songs exceeded the 2-minute mark, and in a matter of handclaps, they disappeared.
Up next was the self-proclaimed “biggest adventure in music history,” Angels & Airwaves. From the get-go, these guys displayed a degree of pretention like no other, attempting to force-feed the audience a sublime moment by blinding us with an epileptic barrage of probing lights. The music itself was even more pompous; U2-knockoff anthems replete with propulsive drum rhythms, slap–back-echo-laden guitar, and melodies meant to be sung with arms outstretched, while looking over a cliff. Delonge cavorted about on stage with foolish abandon — assuming Jesus Christ poses, saluting the audience, and taking giant slow motion steps like he was walking on the moon. Epic as the he strived to be, it was hard not to smirk at his farcical lyrics ("Did you know that I love you?/ Come and lay with me/And all this day/ I will love you") and pseudo-philosophical between-song banter ("As the winter rolls in and the clouds turn the sky grey, you must wake up and sing this song"). While songs like "The Adventure" were meant to be life-altering, they sound more fit as the backdrop to a Mercedes commercial. Once the head prankster in Blink 182, Delonge is now the laughing stock — everyone's in on the joke but him.
The minutes leading up to Weezer's set were full of heart-pounding ancticipation. But soon after the opening strains of "My Name Is Jonas," the audience was shocked and perplexed. They heard Rivers sing the lyrics ("My name is Jonas/I'm carrying the wheel") but his lips weren't moving. Could it be that our beloved king of vulnerable sincerity was guilty of Ashlee Simpson lip-sinc fraud? Not quite so. In a startling twist of events, bassist Scott Shriner took the lead vocals, bellowing out the lyrics with a Costello-esque baritone. This new democratic order would remain a constant throughout the entire show, with all four band members juggling frontman duties. From the onset, Cuomo had a seemingly somnambulant demeanor, looking half-awake while singing the epiphanic hook to "Pink Triangle" ("I'm dumb, she's a lesbian") and nearly falling arse over turkey during the solo. The famed nerd-rockers were dressed to kill, however, decked out in matching white jumpsuits. Three songs in, their white garments were switched for red ones, and as Rivers stripped down to his, a rousing female crowd response seemed to finally get his mojo working. With his tousled hair and short moustache, Cuomo looked like a modern-day Charlie Chaplin, capering around the stage and gyrating his hips to the barbershop swing of "Susanne," a fan-favourite b-side.
Each band member displayed musical prowess perhaps unbeknownst to most Weezer fans. In addition to Shriner and rhythm guitarist Brian Bell showcasing their vocal chops, drummer Pat Wilson got his also got his shot in the limelight. After strapping on a Fender and taking center stage, Wilson decided to charm the Torontonian audience by displaying his knowledge of Canadiana, launching into a medley of Rush hits including "Limelight" (no pun intended), "Spirit of Radio" and "Tom Sawyer." This was followed by "Automatic," a spacey The Bends-ish number that sees Wilson take lead vocals and guitar. Even Cuomo got to step outside his box, doing his best Alan White impression as he took the skins for a cover of Oasis' "Morning Glory," which Wilson dedicated to Noel Gallagher in light of last month's V-Fest attack. Anything but maladroit, the band's finesse peaked during "The Greatest Man That Ever Lived," a schizophrenic opus shifting from rap-rock to wall-of-guitar-power-pop to balls-out punk, and climaxing with a flawlessly-executed hymnal a cappella breakdown.
As part of their ongoing celebration of the YouTube culture, at one point Weezer even invited 20 amateur musicians on stage to jam out with them on a couple of songs. While this could've easily spelt a recipe for disaster, the ensemble pulled off an impressively cohesive groove, including an accordion solo during "Island in the Sun" and a cowbell solo during "Beverly Hills."
Of course, those nostalgic Gen-Xers were thrown quite a few bones to chew on this evening. Weezer unleashed a cannonade of '90s era hits, from The Blue Album's "Buddy Holly," "Say It Ain't So," and "Undone (The Sweater Song)" (which was bastardized by a Delonge guest spot) to Pinkerton's "El Scrorcho." And as a special tribute to the grunge era that served as the antithesis to Weezer's Geek-Chic alterna-pop, the band performed an angsty rendition of Nirvana's "Sliver" as part of the encore, complete with wailing feedback and throat-ripping screams. Despite two-thirds of the audience not recognizing the song, Rivers seemed quite content with himself. As Weezer's once critically-lauded legacy stands awash in tomato juice, Cuomo is just fine doing the things he wants to do. And he doesn't give a hoot about what you think.