Virginia hoedown at George Mason University
- Foo Fighters, Weezer, Kaiser Chiefs, Oct. 10, 2005
- Patriot Center on the campus of George Mason University, Fairfax, Va.
- All three bands played solid sets, but Foo Fighters stole the show as local hero Dave Grohl wowed the Virginia audience.
Kids these days, I swear. Not even foul-smelling teenagers who can’t seem to find their seats can ruin a good concert. Kaiser Chiefs, Weezer and Foo Fighters made sure of that on October 10 at the Patriot Center at George Mason University in Fairfax, Va.
The crowd was still trickling in as Leeds, U.K.-based Kaiser Chiefs kicked off the show on their final night of the U.S. leg of the tour.
It’s a shame that more people didn’t make it into the arena in time to catch Kaiser Chiefs. The band has been a household name in the U.K. and Europe for a while now, but they got their first real taste U.S. fame at Live 8 in Philadelphia last July.
Kaiser Chiefs frontman Ricky Wilson set the tone for audience interaction early in the night. He probably spent more time than he needed to reminding the audience of the band’s name, but they’re new here, and you can’t blame the man for letting his internal huckster slip out in front of a captive audience.
Wilson, however, knew his band was there for a reason: To get the crowd ready for Weezer and the Foo Fighters. The few Kaiser Chiefs fans in the audience were an easy sell, but the rest of the audience caught on when Foo Fighters drummer Taylor Hawkins joined them onstage on vocals and tambourine for their most recognizable song, I Predict a Riot.
A lot of strange stuff from the U.K. that washes up on these shores is rightfully ignored by American audiences, but hopefully the Kaiser Chiefs won’t join the ranks of things like the British monarchy and the Crazy Frog ringtone. With strong endorsements from the likes of Weezer and the Foo Fighters, that doesn’t really seem likely.
Weezer finally realizes they’re not alone
Weezer fans are easy to spot. They usually wear dark-rimmed glasses and sweaters and look like they’re on the verge of crying. Some of them apparently have trouble finding their seats, so they stand in front of me. At least one of them forgot to shower. They know their leader is about to preach to them when they hear the familiar first few notes of My Name is Jonas. That usually perks them up pretty quickly.
Hanging around the Foo Fighters must have had some effect on Weezer, because the band actually learned how to engage its audience.
Getting the audience involved is a fairly new concept for the band. Sure, it doesn’t take much to flip the switch for the doppelgängers, but that’s not really the same thing. On past tours, the band was usually content to come on stage, play their songs and leave. This time around, however, they could barely stay put. The members played musical chairs with their instruments, with Brian Bell and Rivers trading the lead spot several times, and Rivers even hopping on keyboards and drums for some tracks.
Rivers and the crew played a solid set with a mix of old favorites and newer material from Maladroit and Make Believe, and wowed the Foo Fighters fans in the audience with a flawless cover of Big Me, which the Foos aren’t playing on this tour. Weezer certainly wasn’t a new name for any members of this crowd, but it was nice to see them remind their army that there’s music beyond of the W. They were preaching to the choir when they toured with Saves The Day and Ozma in 2002.
Rivers disappeared from the stage during Hash Pipe, to appear on a platform at the sound booth for an acoustic version of Island in the Sun. It was impressive to see him actually leave the stage and get that close to the audience as he faced the back stands for the whole song.
Drummer Pat Wilson took the lead on guitar and vocals for Photograph while Rivers played drums as they transitioned into another note-perfect cover on Blur’s Song 2 before jumping back into an extended version of Photograph.
Weezer ended their time on stage with Brian Bell picking an audience member to accompany them on acoustic guitar for Undone before closing with Buddy Holly as their signature confetti bombs rained paper on the Patriot Center crowd.
Dave Grohl comes home
It was clear from the beginning that Dave Grohl was enjoying himself.
The Foo Fighters are loud. Very loud. The kind of loud that would border on annoying if they weren’t so good at being loud. As soon as your ears adjust, you realize that they’re not just playing, but playing well. Bands face their only true tests in front of live audiences, and it’s easy to hide behind savvy production, but it takes an incredible amount of raw talent to ace the live test the way the Foo Fighters did.
Normally when a performer talks about the highway into town and names a few of the local high schools, it’s just pandering to get an easy reaction out of the crowd. It means a lot more when you attended three nearby high schools and got high a few times at the college you’re playing at even though you never took a class there. That’s the kind of thing that really get the crowd going.
The Foo Fighters had the most impressive video and light show of the night. A giant semicircle-shaped screen rose above the stage as they started their set with In Your Honor. Three roughly F-shaped screens hung above the stage, showing a black and white live feed of the band playing before you could actually see them. Colored spotlights coordinated with the hues of the video screens throughout the set, and green lasers that would make Pink Floyd proud matched up with the screens and lights on a number of songs.
Rivers Cuomo wasn’t the only one who couldn’t stay in one place on stage. When he wasn’t sitting in Taylor Hawkins’ seat at the drum kit, Grohl was climbing on the amps and talking to the audience between songs. He made his way along the side of the pit back to the sound booth platform during Stacked Actors, and in the middle of the song, the band put on their best Led Zeppelin impression for a tease of the solos from Whole Lotta Love. Grohl played the part of Jimmy Page while the ghost of John Bonham seemed to possess Hawkins on drums. For the audience members who recognized it, and they were clearly in the minority in the mostly high school-aged crowd, it was one of the highlights of the Foo Fighters’ set.
The Foo Fighters capped off a powerful and crowd-pleasing set with Breakout and their first hit, Monkey Wrench.
Three great bands were made even better by a crowd that was having fun, even if some of them did stink.
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October 12th, 2005 at 1:31 pm
Wow, Chris. This sure is a test comment. Signed, your pal, Chris.
October 12th, 2005 at 4:36 pm
white stars are empty…
colored stars are full…