It seemed like it would never happen. 11 years after the release of their excellent debut album, Weezer finally made it to Dublin. Pre-gig, the anticipation was immense. Vicar St. had sold out in less than two minutes, and consequently, tickets for the show were like gold dust. At half past nine, Weezer’s trade mark ‘=w=’ symbol was projected onscreen and mass hysteria erupted. Opening with ‘Tired Of Sex’ from 1997’s Pinkerton, Weezer pushed all the right buttons from the off. Amongst the early highlights were a ferocious ‘Photograph’ and a stampeding ‘My Name Is Jonas’, introduced by front man Rivers Cuomo as "a track that sounds a bit Irish.”
This was as vocal as Cuomo got between songs, although he looked visibly taken aback by the adulation the group were receiving. Early on in the set he was regularly drowned out by an excited audience, but rather than feeding off the adoration, the singer looked increasingly uncomfortable. For the remainder of the set he seemed to do his best to ignore the crowd, although perversely enough he also seemed to be coming out of his shell. But then, Cuomo is not your average rock star. Prone to going on meditation retreats, he reportedly spent 20 days in a closet recently, and prior to recording the recent album Make Believe sold all of his possessions and spent a year living in a one-room black-painted apartment with a sleeping bag, a microwave and little natural light.
Bearing out recent reports of internal friction, the tension between band members seemed palpable and acute. Cuomo has been known to fine them for mistakes, and at one point eyeballed guitarist Brian Bell for fluffing a note on ‘Getchoo’. This aside though, the warmth directed at the band dispelled most of the onstage negativity. They may hate each other, but Weezer rock. Let’s just hope this doesn’t go down as their only Irish appearance.