Last night, Weezer delivered a brilliant show at Piece Hall in Halifax. Just days after their Glastonbury performance, the band were in incredibly high spirits and ready to put on another fantastic show on the hot summer evening.
We arrived in Halifax just in time to get a good spot for Bad Nerves, a punk rock group from Essex. Having heard the first support, Teen Mortgage coming into the grounds, we were ready to hear some more great music. When Bad Nerves came on, they instantly brought a high energy and good feel to the venue.
They urged fans to get involved, hyping them up as they leapt across the stage and whirled around the mic stands. For their song ‘Sorry’ they had the whole crowd waving their arms in time to the beat. As the set progressed, the songs grew faster and faster, then suddenly stopped for a deathly freeze frame, leaving fans in suspense before returning with even more spirit and vivacity. This was the perfect way to build anticipation for the main event.
Fans burst into cheers as the stage fogged up with a thick blue haze. The audience was a sea of hands making the signature Weezer W, with everyone getting involved to welcome them to the stage. The four-piece band confidently took to the stage, with frontman Rivers Cuomo shouting, ‘Are you ready for some Weezer?’, bringing the crowd to life.
The band’s visuals told a story, the screen lit up throughout the entire set, showing the interstellar space voyage to the Blue Planet, disrupted by Bokkus the alien and his duelling antics. It felt like something straight out of a video game, bizzare but not too distracting that it took away from the band. From shooting laser beams to dodging asteroids, the whole scene was completely bonkers and reflected the fun energy of what Weezer is all about.
Mid-set, they played ‘Island In the Sun’ and fans loved it. They cruised along, falling into the relaxed rhythms for a moment of peace in contrast to the rest of their angst-filled set. For me, the real highlight of the set was ‘Beverly Hills’. The distorted guitar and bass lines powered the song, highlighting the satirical, envious lyrics. This went hand in hand with the crowd chanting the iconic lines ‘Living in Beverly Hills’.
The encore felt like the moment that everyone had been waiting for. Fans burst into cheers when they heard the iconic guitar intro to ‘Say It Ain’t So’, but the real showstopper was ‘Buddy Holly’. Piece Hall was bursting with energy as people enthusiastically sang along, dancing to the fast-paced bridge and following the rhythm. It ended the evening on a remarkable high and in good spirits, with people beaming from ear to ear as they left the venue.
WORDS BY KATIE LEE
PHOTO CREDIT – CUFFE AND TAYLOR/PIECE HALL
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