The Wachovia Center in Philadelphia, PA has most likely never seen as many people as they did on Oct. 13, when three bands came to rock. Hot Hot Heat, Weezer and the Foo Fighters held nothing back in an intense night of screams, surprises, and rock and roll. The night began exactly at 7 p.m. with Hot Hot Heat. Despite lead singer Steve Bay’s schizophrenic dance moves which were comparable to seizures, and his at times unsettling voice, they performed quite well. If you’ve ever listened to a Hot Hot Heat album, you basically got the same exact sound seeing them live, which is something many bands can’t pull off, so kudos to Hot Hot Heat for that. Also, they were energetic and defiantly got the crowd in the mood to hear better music. Surprisingly, they only played for about a half an hour, followed soon after by Weezer. Weezer was absolutely incredible. Having seen them many, many times, I can almost predict their set, but during this show, Weezer did many things which were unorthodox to their usual ways. Every member of the band sang at least one song. Instrument switching was a regular occurrence as well, with Rivers even drumming his little heart out on Pat’s drum kit.
The Weezer boys really gave it their all and put on one of the best shows I’ve ever seen them do. Perhaps the best part was when out of nowhere Rivers ended up in the center of the crowd on a small platform to do an acoustic rendition of “Island in the Sun.” Brian also chose a kid from the crowd to come up and play acoustically to “Undone (The Sweater Song)” with the band. I was extremely pleased that even though Weezer was not the headlining band, they still came out for an excellent encore filled with Blue Album magic. It was, in no way, an easy act for the Foo Fighters to follow. They followed, but did not surpass in excellence.
The Foo Fighters had flashy video screen equipment surrounding them and I was honestly surprised that it didn’t shatter every time Dave Grohl screamed that signature scream of his. Though that scream did grow to be obnoxious after a while, the Foo Fighters played an outstanding show. I could have lived without Grohl’s cocky how-are-we-going- to-fit all-of-our-hits-intoone- set statement and perpetual attitude, but it did not deter from their excellent choice of songs to play and also their ability to play them so well. The highlight of their set was the love ballad Grohl played for his wife, who was in the audience that night. Call me a romantic, or a bigger fan of The Colour and the Shape than any other Foo Fighters album, but “Everlong” sounded angelic.
After all of the “hits” were played, the crowd called them out for their encore and they played “Monkey Wrench,” which made sticking around all worthwhile.
Though this particular tour will not be around our area again, I highly suggest that anytime you get a chance to catch Weezer or the Foo Fighters on tour again, you should most certainly go. Both bands aim to please.