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Dave Grohl

of the Foo Fighters

Rivers Cuomo

of Weezer

Dustin Hawthorne

of Hot Hot Heat

Photos courtesy Rodger & June Caldwell Pix

Ever been late to a great concert? The 405 South was jammed & the doors to Long Beach Arena open in 45 minutes. With miles to go I clenched my teeth & cursed the idiot in front of me, fully realizing that there were several hundred idiots in front of him that were really the problem. After creeping along for the longest time the waters suddenly parted & soon the lights of Long Beach were in view. This town loves a good party & there were several going on tonight. Gratefully there were big signs directing traffic to their destinations, George Carlin this way, some forgettable theatre & convention that way, CONCERT THIS WAY! I took the parking attendants good advice & grabbed the spot near an exit to avoid the crush after the show.

Outside the ticket office, the famous & infamous KROQ radio had a live-cast van setup blaring 311 & other KROQ favorites. The loud music & lively banter from the DJ steered us towards the front entrance & Will Call. I joined the throng of bemused parti-goers watching some drunken clod doing a quite impressive air guitar for a free T-shirt or some such bauble. On to the show.

Hot Hot Heat kicked off their set with Talk to Me & was met with enthusiasm by the early arrivers though the arena was far from packed. It’s clear that these brash Canadians love their job. They play with confidence & seemed determined to get the party started with a bang. Musically tight, dance rock grooves; with undeniably clever & memorable lyrics seem to be the components of each song. It also gives each song a certain sameness that grows repetitive. It occurred to me that this is the band the Killers wish they could be. Steve Bays (singer/keyboardist) pranced about the stage, striking the occasional rock star pose, pulling the fans into the song while security literally pulled some of the crowd surfing fans over the rail. Bandages, the song that has been banned from airplay by some absurd logic that ties it to the War we find ourselves in, seemed to stand out as the band hit full stride. After a generous set time of about fifteen of their best from the last three albums they appropriately finished with Good Night, Good Night.

Weezer is a far different band from the days when they opened for Guns n’ Roses in London at the special request of Axl Rose. My theory is that the sabbatical of higher learning that Rivers Cuomo took to attend Harvard for a year is clear proof that college is over-rated. Don’t get me wrong. I’m a big Weezer fan & this show did not disappoint.

They opened the set with Jonas & Weezer fans numbering 5,000 strong joined in singing the lyrics at the top of their lungs! The enthusiasm grew with Say It Ain’t So & Surfwax America churned up a swarm of crowd surfers to catch the choice waves of rock rolling throughout the arena. Weezer standards from their Blue & Green albums were clearly the strong favorites, Undone (the Sweater Song), Don’t Let Go, and Hash Pipe, followed by a mini-jam session on Only in Dreams complete with confetti cannon. Rivers has been closing the shows on this tour with an acoustic version of Island in the Sun. A curious & quirky finish for a set packed with some kicking rock riffs. The signature guitar breaks are what makes that song a hit. A great show overall, no question about that. I do have a couple of questions though. Who are the third guitarist & keyboardist they’ve added? They were there at Coachella too & I can find no mention of who they are anywhere. They add nothing sound wise. The minimal, deceptively simple guitar interplay between Rivers & Pat held up by the thundering rhythm section (currently Scott Shriner & Patrick Wilson) is THE Weezer sound. All things must change especially when molded by a mad genius.

That madman frontman for the Foo Fighters, Dave Grohl kicked off the set in high gear with an impressive intro accented by powerful strobes flashing against a semi-circular black curtain with symmetrical pinholes that created the effect of thousands of pinpoints of light sparkling in a dark sky. The Foo’z have incorporated an under-rated & often overlooked feature into their tour. Strobes & lasers!! The set included old & new tunes including In Your Honor, My Hero, Up in Arms & one of my favorites Learn to Fly. It was all presented by a well tuned & oiled machine that barely paused to take a breath between songs. Dave Grohl’s drumming skills transfer well to his rhythm guitar work & drives the whole band like he’s riding a stolen Harley. Foo Fighter fans were delivered what they came for; relentless, fast & hard rock & roll until your pretty much exhausted or just really, really need to get another beer.

All in all each band packed a maximum of music into the longer than currently fashionable set times. Well worth the price of the ticket. Which is more than anyone will say about them $10 beers they slam you with a Long Beach Arena.
 

LA guitarist Rodger Caldwell

has been shooting the action ever since a resourceful high school teacher offered a photo class to him as a last-ditch attempt to keep him from dropping out. Jerry’s pit pix grace such sites as hip-hop and world music's Fly Global Music Culture in the UK.