On the last Saturday in November, Weezer fans from across the city gathered in worship of geeky 90s alt-rock as Buenos Treehouse and George Gadd + The Aftermath performed Weezer’s first two albums in full at The Bodega…
Breakout power-pop record Weezer (or “The Blue Album”, after the band’s persistent habit of releasing self-titled albums with different hued covers) and the less polished, more introspective Pinkerton are some of the most loved rock albums of the 90s.
Scattered with vocal arrangements reminiscent of the Beach Boys and lyricism ranging from the ultra-nerdy (In The Garage), to laments on loneliness (The World Has Turned And Left Me Here) to the ethically questionable (Across The Sea) there really is something for everyone amongst these career-defining albums.
To warm up the eager crowd, Beans McQueens took the stage to perform the “best of the rest” from Weezer’s now extensive catalogue. Picking out hits from their thirty-year career on guitar and occasionally the kazoo, Beans McQueens really got the room singing.
Weezer’s mid-career radio singles Island In The Sun and Beverly Hills went down a treat, followed by deeper cuts such as Memories and a version of California Kids with some very enthusiastic crowd members singing backing vocals. Briefly joined on stage by Nottingham legend Stanley Mackerel, this was a fun and upbeat opening to the evening.
Working in chronological order, George Gadd + The Aftermath were up next to rip through Weezer in album order. The sound was chunky but balanced, aided by some fun synthesiser parts and their full band set-up. It’s hard to not sound good when working with such high-quality songs, but George Gadd + The Aftermath really sounded fantastic.
They moved from the heavy distortion of My Name Is Jonas to the softer moments of Undone and Only In Dreams with ease. The band clearly had a great time and were viewing the event with a good sense of humour; “If only this many people turned up to our regular gigs!” quipped Gadd himself as he left the stage.
Finishing off the night were Buenos Treehouse, performing the Pinkerton in album order. Although this album is often seen as Weezer’s darker, edgier younger cousin, Buenos Treehouse had no problem bringing every song to life with amazing warmth and energy.
Weezer’s songs have a reputation for being enjoyed by the introverted and awkward, so it was no surprise lines like “Why bother? It’s gonna hurt me, it’s gonna kill when you desert me” resounded around the room as the entire audience joined in.
Fan favourites El Scorcho and Pink Triangle were incredibly well received and the band ended with a soft and careful rendition of Butterfly. Buenos Treehouse briefly left the stage before returning for an encore of B-side You Gave Your Love To Me Softly, to the delight of the most hardcore fans in the room.
This rounded out an excellent night of music that Weezer themselves would have been proud of - roll on the next one!
We have a favour to ask
LeftLion is Nottingham’s meeting point for information about what’s going on in our city, from the established organisations to the grassroots. We want to keep what we do free to all to access, but increasingly we are relying on revenue from our readers to continue. Can you spare a few quid each month to support us?
