Weezer, Tenacious D & Jimmy Eat World

I just want to start off by saying, "Damn, what a show!" If it wasn't enough to see Weezer, kings of the nerds (who chicks actually want to hump), there was the appetizer of Tenacious D, the newly popular musical-jokesters.
Jimmy Eat World was already in full force when we walked through the door. They pranced through their set, highlighting both the MTV savvy songs, and the less well-known ones. Their songs sound fairly similar to each other, and I became anxious for them to pack it up and make room for Tenacious D.
Somehow, two ordinary, crude, overweight men have stolen the hearts of America's youth. But if you think about it, those are pretty much the characteristics of most young Americans nowadays. Stage stealer, Jack Black, and his lead guitarist Kyle Gass, double-handedly blasted through a set of hilarious songs, complete with ear-friendly acoustic guitars. Neither man ever cracked a smile, even when crooning the lyrics from my personal favorite song, "Fuck Her Gently." If you're wondering why Black's name sounds so familiar, it's because he also dabbles in writing and acting. He appeared in High Fidelity, with John Cusack, and stars in the new film, Shallow Hal. The D made their debut on the 1994 film, Bio Dome. With their jaw dropping lyrics, entertaining facial expressions, and Black's galloping /chicken dancing around the stage, The D is pee-your-pants funny.
After an extremely long set change, Weezer strutted on stage and the preteens went wild to "Island in the Sun." After almost being suffocated by hundreds of squealing, spiky haired, wannabe nerds, we squeezed our way out of the front of the stage and onto the sidelines. This turned out to be a good move since the man himself, Jack Black, appeared from behind the speaker to watch Weezer. No one seemed to notice him and my gal pal and I raced over to meet Mr. Black, and managed to fandangle his autograph. After this, the night hit an all-new high. We sang extra loud to "Buddy Holly" and hopped extra high when the hard chords began hit on "Hash Pipe," one of the singles off the Green Album. Fans folded their hands into giant "Ws" and waved them frantically, hoping to catch the eye of Rivers Cuomo, Weezer's frontman. One of the highlights was "Only in Dreams" where sparkling, silver confetti exploded from the stage, like the dawn of a New Year.
Weezer knows what they're doing. They played all the hits off the new Green Album and the favorites from the Blue Album. The sold-out auditorium bounced, and in a few cases played air guitar to the sandpaper smooth songs. The only disappointing moment was learning that Weezer played the same set, in the same order, at all of their shows. An exception was a new song that had never made its way to an arena before. It was catchy and melodic, sure to appear on the next album. I went home happy, still embraced by the comforting sounds of "Say it Ain't So."
By the number of smashed, black, horn-rimmed glasses I saw scattered on the floor, I would say the show was a success.
- Rachel Krampfner

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