Weezer at Fantasy Springs Special Event Center on Saturday Night

Driving to the Fantasy Springs Resort Casino for a show in 100 degree weather is quite the gamble. Luckily, I gambled and won as Weezer rocked the Fantasy Springs Special Event Center. Security guards had problems from the opening drum shuffle of “Undone-The Sweater Song” keeping fans in their seats.

A bespectacled Rivers Cuomo greeted the audience in Spanish strumming his acoustic guitar revving up the crowd. “El Scorcho” was as hot as the title suggests with Scott Shriner and Patrick Wilson playfully volleying a soccer ball between them. The evening heavily leaned on their debut album as the distorted guitars roared for “My Name Is Jonas.”

Palm-muted guitar chords continued to pummel the crowd as “Hash
Pipe” found Cuomo changing the lyrics to “Peace Pipe” as a reference to
the Indian-owned casino. The rocking refused to stop with “The World Has
Turned And Left Me Here” sounding just like it did in 1994. Hearing the
rarely played b-side “Susanne” made the perilous drive out to Indio
worth it.  

Guitarist Brian Bell switched to
the keyboards for “Perfect Situation” as Cuomo encouraged the crowd to
sing along “like angels in heaven”. The audience went crazy when Cuomo
ventured out into the crowd for their cover of Foster The People “Pumped
Up Kicks.”

Cuomo would introduce the band
members while they sang a line from “Pork & Beans” as Josh Freese
was billed as being straight out of Orange County. “Say It Ain't So”
continued the deluge of songs from their debut album as the fans next to
me played along with their air guitars.

“Longtime
Sunshine” was introduced by Cuomo as a song they have only played a few
times as the song is from their scrapped second album Songs from The Black Hole.
“Beverly Hills” had Bell rip off a sweet guitar talkbox solo that would
have impressed Peter Frampton. Bell also stepped it up during “Holiday”
taking a turn on lead vocals.

Security was
challenged again during “(If You're Wondering If I Want You To) I Want
You To” as Cuomo circled the entire arena with cell phones and camera
flashes keeping you up to date on his location. “Only In Dreams” had
Bell hug some adoring fans in the front mid song. Cuomo would appear by
himself for the opening chords of “Island In The Sun” before being
joined by the rest of the band during the encore.

“Buddy
Holly” closed out the night in grand fashion as the the whole band
joined Josh Freese on the drum kit for a gigantic drum solo below their
giant flashing “W” sign. I wouldn't be surprised if Weezer returns to
Indio again for Coachella. Weezer will return to Orange County on
September 10th at the Doheny Days festival.

White
Arrows by the way of Los Angeles impressed with their synthesizer
soaked psychedelic opening set that included a convincing cover of Bruce
Springsteen's “I'm On Fire”. They gleefully mentioned it was a dream to
open for Weezer. Their merch table was busy upon my departure which is a
good sign for the up and coming band.

Personal Bias: I'm considering attending the Weezer Cruise.

Crowd: Gamblers, High rollers, and very dedicated Weezer fans.

Random Notebook Dump: I forgot to use my ticket stub for ten dollars of free slot play.

“Undone-The Sweater Song”

“El Scorcho”

“My Name Is Jonas”

“Hash Pipe”

“The World Has Turned And Left Me Here”

“Susanne”

“Perfect Situation”

“No One Else”

“Pumped Up Kicks”

“Pork And Beans”

“Say It Ain't So”

“In The Garage”

“Longtime Sunshine”

“Beverly Hills”

“Holiday”

“Pink Triangle”

“(If You're Wondering If I Want You To) I Want You To”

“Only In Dreams”

“Island In The Sun”

“Buddy Holly”