What did I expect?

I had been waiting to see Weezer in concert for eight years. They’re one of my favorite bands. I think Pinkerton might be the best album of the nineties. Seriously.

I didn’t get to see them on their last little tour because I had no idea it was going to sell out as quickly as it did. This is a band who hasn’t released an album since 1996 and hasn’t had a hit since “Buddy Holly” in 1995. And suddenly they’re selling out shows in four and a half minutes. Back when they were on MTV, the only touring they did was as the opening act for mediocre acts like No Doubt.

So in November when I heard about the Yahoo Outloud tour I was all over that shit, checking the website every fifteen seconds until the tickets finally went on sale. I ended up scoring tickets for the Chicago show. This was back in November and the show was last night. I had been waiting a long time to see Weezer.

Is that why I wasn’t blown away by them? Were my expectations too high? I don’t even really know what I was expecting, but something left me feeling a little let down. Maybe it was the short set. They didn’t play for very long, and they didn’t dig very deep into their repertoire, leaving out all of their great b-sides and rarities except for “You Gave Your Love to Me Softly” which is a great song from the Angus soundtrack. Where were “Jamie,” “I Just Threw Out the Love of My Dreams,” and “Suzanne”?

But that’s not it. I don’t expect every band to be Bruce Springsteen and play all their obscurities over an exhausting four-hour set. And I don’t really mind letting a band play whatever they want to. Who am I to create a set list? Plus, they played a handful of new songs that all sounded good. So what was it that disappointed me?

All the songs sounded just like they sound on the albums, right down to the guitar solos. That’s sort of annoying, but hey, they sound great on the albums, so why should I bitch about that? They jumped around and acted goofy enough, the stage looked cool enough, and they played well enough, so what am I bitching about? What did I want?

I wanted to feel the thrill, the magic of a great rock show. One of those experiences that blows your head off. But I left the theatre, walked across the street to the Green Mill, drank a few draft Pabsts, and enjoyed the smooth Hammond sounds of a local jazz combo.