WeezerIt was only fitting that a night designed to celebrate an album released nearly 20 years ago began with Ball Park Music, the Brisbane band fronted by a pretty useful Jarvis Cocker impersonator. Pedestrian musically, the opening act at least provided us with the opportunity to observe an Entertainment Centre with a vast number of seats covered by a black curtain. It's just as we Weezer fans simultaneously hoped and feared: we are fans of unpopular music.
Cloud Control next. Glorious. Bathed in red light throughout, they managed to conjure the sort of heart-swelling response the Arcade Fire might have elicited in their place. Gold Canary and new song Scarred were highlights.
Weezer commencing their set with Memories was deliberately, if grimly, ironic. It's a song that yearns for an unattainable past. On a night when most of us present were there for the promise of a full play through of Weezer's 1994's self-titled debut, also known as The Blue Album, it rang true. It meant that the first half of the set, including songs from recent albums, garnered only a lukewarm response. On the trip back through the excellent (El Scorcho), the acceptable (Pork And Beans) and the awful (Beverly Hills), it became clear that the focal point of the night would come only afterwards.
There's not much left to be said. The Blue Album stands tall as one of the most perfect pop records this reviewer has heard. Songs from it were last played live in this country in 1996. This show was a long time coming. As the band rattled through My Name Is Jonas, Holiday, In the Garage and closer Only In Dreams there was collective sighing and fist pumps. The show we had hoped for had happened. We had travelled back in time, if only for 45 impossible minutes.
