Venue: The Star Theatre @ The Star Performing Arts Centre, Singapore
Date: 11th October 2023
Promoter: LAMC Productions
Review by: Maisha G.
Special Thanks: The LAMC Productions team
Photos by Alvin Ho
A band synonymous with quirky lyrics and labeled as ‘geek rock’, the song “Island In The Sun” has provided a safe haven for many millennials of today, having the song on shuffle brings about the nostalgic path of life. They were playing “Africa” by Toto as the background music before the show started and I was chuckling to myself as I remembered the band released the Teal Album as they did their renditions of the early 80s and 90s popular hits. My personal favourite was their take on “Stand By Me” – gets me every time.
For the second time in Singapore, Weezer seems to have an affinity for our tiny red dot, singing praises about our own island in the sun even before the show began. I decided that I was not going to spare a single second seated down while these funky dads on stage rocked the night out like they were teens again. I must admit though I have not had the capacity to keep up with new releases for any artist but I knew Weezer would take me back right where I left off with much ease.
“My Name Is Jonas” was the opening track to the night and you see the crowd cheering and looking at each other in disbelief and awe; an amalgamation of emotions as the night brought them on a journey down their teenage years. I am personally a fan of their self-titled album with Rivers looking like the man of every teenage girl’s dream (of which I am guilty too). It was the album that got me properly acquainted with the band and they got to the best part and the crowd roared in unison – “The Workers Are Going Home! Yeah, yeah, yeah!”.
Just before the show, I bumped into a friend who wanted them to perform the song “Beverly Hills” so much that he was practically giving me a prelude to what he hoped to happen later in the show. As fate would have it, the second song in and the unified clapping of hands and the random foot stomps that you can hear, echoing through the crowd, the energy was building up exponentially.
Contrary to popular belief, “Everything Will Be Alright In The End” was one of their more favourable albums released after their magnum opus that is Pinkerton (the self-titled one for me) and with the song “Return to Ithaka” was a good transition into the night of more of the popular numbers.
“Pork and Beans” was the song of my time and when I told people the title name, I either got weird looks or just someone who enjoyed the humour as much as me. I never thought a song named after an unconventional dish could be such a bop but it is Weezer we are talking about so I should have known that. The crowd was not stopping for anyone at any time and I looked around to see people in my age range though my back was already aching more than it should after standing for a good 30 minutes, I knew that I was going to carry on and relive the memories of when I used to ‘mosh’ into the crowd without a care in the world and not worrying how my back would fare after the ordeal.
It was right after “Undone – The Sweater Song”, when Rivers strummed to an oddly familiar tune, more familiar to everyone there and we were quite stumped as we heard the words he sang into the microphone – “Whenever I am feeling low, I look around me and I know”. I looked at my friend on my right and said “Isn’t that the National Day song?”. We were mouthing to the lyrics of the song we have known ever since we were 11 years old, one of the songs we could feel patriotic for the country and River sang it so effortlessly – the song titled “Home” by Kit Chan. And it was impressive how he knew to tap on the most well-liked song and not fumbling through any of the words to the song just showed that he did put in the work and the time to identify with their fans in this tiny red dot. It moved the crowd and we thought that it was that monumental moment for us Singaporean fans, Rivers decided that he would up the ante by trying durians on stage. He really wanted the full Southeast Asian experience by challenging his palate by eating durians which have had many bad reviews and the faces of revolt after taking a whiff of the King of Fruits. The smell was waning in the air and the look on Rivers’ face was something unexpected until he said “SHIOK LAH”. The crowd cackled into fits of laughter and I just said to myself – ‘Oh Rivers, you’re of one a kind’.
The night went on to “Island In the Sun”, it is almost like a basic starter kit to like Weezer by liking that one song but it was so anthemic that I could not stop myself from singing to each and every word and mouthing to the rhythm and harmony of the song. Not to forget “Hash Pipe” where I was just laughing the whole time when the animation was playing in the background. I could hear the crowd around me singing their hearts out and many of them seemed like they had lost their voice at that juncture so as the show was closing to an end – “Say It Ain’t So” reverberated through the hall and each and everyone went wild, dancing in their own quirky move and I was trying to hold myself back by your usual swaying from side to side and with the very minimal space that I have to move, I was not so sure whether I could grow rowdy. But we all expected the unexpected and we were just jumping and singing and all that mattered that night was we got to sing the songs we love out loud without any care in the world.
We were treated to an encore and I was close to feeling disappointed thinking that they would not have performed “Buddy Holly” but boy, was I wrong. I was so distracted by the animation clip that was playing in their background whilst they performed the song – a roller skating rink with people from all walks of life, just enjoying the song like how we the audience would.
I have not been to many shows this year as my schedule would not allow me to but I am beyond contented to have watched one of the many bands that I have grown to love, which music would still be relevant in the years to come. Imagine introducing your children to these songs (when they are of age of course) about the literal title of the songs and they would chuckle and love the band just like how we did when we were their wee age.
Thank you LAMC Productions for making this night a memorable one for us millennials who needed a good getaway from our busy lives and reliving our teen years.