Why Australia Went To See Weezer Even Though They Suck Now

Australian music fans were dead keen to see Weezer when they finally returned to Australia last year, even though plenty of fans like their old stuff better than their new stuff.

Speaking at the Australian Institute Of Music's recent Tomorrow's Ideas Leading Today conference, Sounds Australia's National Live Music Coordinator Dr Ianto Ware gave a keynote address on his introduction into music in suburban Adelaide – making particular note the impact the internet had and the 'community' that Weezer made in those early stages of the web.

A self-proclaimed 'nerdy teenager', Ware, who is now one of the music industry's top advocates, said that Weezer's online presence in the early 1994/95 period allowed fans to find like-minded individuals and foster real-world ties.

“This really hit home with me a little while ago because I went and saw one of the bands I used to love when I was 14, who really have put out some shocking travesties since then,” he said. "So a while ago I went and saw Weezer… they haven't put out a good record in a quite a long time and I went and saw them and a few of my nerdy old men friends also went and saw them and afterwards we were like, 'They weren't very good, were they?'

“But deep inside ourselves our 14-year-old selves were just pissing themselves with excitement that we finally got to see Weezer.”

Ware then asked that give the band had released some “horrible monstrosities” since he fell in love with then, why did he – and so many others his age – go and see the band?

“Because they picked up on that Weezer thing in 1994/95… so effective was the mechanism of embedding that band in our cultural life that we would fork out 100 bucks to stand in a field to watch a band that none of us really liked anymore. When you look at it from a purely mercenary status, it's a victory for marketing.”

For the record, we really liked Weezer's shows.

Watch the full video of Ware's fascinating keynote below, the Weezer talk starts around the 12 minute mark.

You can also watch Peter Garrett's commentary on Labor education reforms and the future of education, which on the day was largely overshadowed by the coroner's insulation report that dominated the press conference following his speech.

There were also keynote speeches from Rdio boss Colin Blake and Deezer's Thomas Heymann.