Summer is in full swing, and Bold Sphere Music at Champions Square kicked off its season with a repeat offender and one of their musical influences. Weezer played Champion Square with Panic! at the Disco back in June of 2016. This time around they had the honor of bringing along seminal alt gods The Pixies. I was a bigger fan of this lineup than last time around, and I think the Weezer set, both musically and stage-wise, was far superior this time around. While the huge, colorful set pieces from last time were gone, they were replaced with a more minimal set. On the outside it seemed odd, but as the band was near the end of their main set, it made total since. Gone were the obstructions that would have easily caught fire, as the band went full on pyro. Needless to say, the crowd was shocked. After the band finished their Turtles/Green Day mash-up of “Happy Together” and “Basket Case,” Rivers rode a scooter off stage and to the back of the seating area next to the soundboard. The B Stage was an island in the middle of the crowd, next to the soundboard. He remarked upon the fact that he wanted to come and entertain the back of the crowd and went aptly enough into “Island in the Sun” and concluded his brief stint there with a fun cover of Oasis’s “Wonderwall.” Both songs were backed by the band and Rivers on acoustic guitar.
No strangers to a cover, Weezer ended their main set with Toto’s “Africa.” It’s a decent cover, but I personally don’t understand all the hype. In other cover news, I was hoping to hear the Pixies play their cover of “Head On” by the Jesus and Mary Chain, but alas it didn’t appear in the set. They performed a nice compilation of the band’s history, with “Doolittle” and “Surf Rosa” getting the most attention. Paz is still holding her own; the Kim lovers may as well face it: She’s not coming back.
A co-headliner tour can be a bit risky, but Weezer has managed to make some smart decisions and keep their fans coming back for more. The addition of the Pixies this time around, for me, was the perfect touch, and there wasn’t a mass exodus after Weezer played. All in all, it was a great way to kick off the summer season of shows at Champion Square.
