Why I think Pat should be Weezer's drummer again (tl;dr)

One of the most enjoyable aspects of seeing Weezer live over the past couple of years has seeing them make both line-ups of the band enjoyable to watch. When I first saw them, the undisputed moments of the show were when Rivers was on guitar and Pat was on the drums (there was no real contest). However, when I saw them recently in Austin, I was struck by how, though Pinkerton and Blue were still better than the greatest hits set, the difference between the two was not so vast at all. In fact, Austin's Pinkerton show was the most consistently amazing Weezer show I have seen. But the original line-up still sounded great and FELT right while the greatest hits line-up has always felt a little gimmicky.

I understand why Rivers may enjoy utilizing this line-up. The fact that Weezer is now a three-guitar band throughout most of their shows makes them bigger and perhaps more exciting for some festival crowds. When I saw Brian, Rivers and Pat play a triple-unison on "Hash Pipe" and "You Gave Your Love to Me Softly" I was blown away and I may have cheered like an overexcited American Idol audience member (I did not cry).

But mostly, I think the triple-guitar assault is unnecessary and may in fact be making some songs sound worse. There is no need for Tired of Sex's solo to be obscured by someone else playing lead behind it. The same goes for Pink Triangle, whose recent performances with Josh have been quite cluttered and clumsy affairs, during the instrumental section. The double-guitar solo thing is cool, but if you listen to songs like Only in Dreams and Falling For You on the Vegas bootleg, I think they sound better without the 3rd guitar.

This is due to the natural chemistry that takes hold when Patrick Wilson is behind the kit. My main problem with Josh is that when he plays behind the group, it definitely sounds like the guys are playing the right songs and it definitely sounds like Rivers is singing the right melodies... but it doesn't sound like Weezer.

Listen to Weezer's greatest performances (Say It Ain't So - Letterman, Goat Punishment '01, the Memories set). There is a huge amount of personality behind each drum-roll Pat does and element of not knowing what he'll play next. Pat is the perfect drummer for Weezer because, just like Rivers, he knows how to impress without over-playing and somehow, sounds totally unique from any other drummer. Josh's fills feel choreographed and totally in the pocket... Pat's are spur of the moment and make each performance memorable and exciting.

I'm NOT saying that the new line-up is not enjoyable to watch or that it sounds bad. The harshest words I would use against it are that it is too mechanical and it's very unneeded at this point. Rivers is playing guitar 95% of the time now, making Pat's role as lead guitarist a little confusing. Why not just have someone like Bobby Schneck play guitar while Rivers jumps in the audience? It would probably save Weezer an enormous amount of money as well as Josh's services can't be cheap.

This line-up has gone as far as it can go, in my opinion. It's been a nice experiment and it has yielded some AMAZING moments (If You're Wondering - Letterman, Longtime Sunshine in Austin), but I think it's time that Pat reclaimed his throne. Keep Josh around this summer, he'll be needed to add to thespectacle of the Weezer/Flaming Lips shows, but maybe consider touring as the original 4 after this summer.

Would love to hear your guys' thoughts, even if you disagree.

Tags: drummer, pat, weezer

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Permalink Reply by WeezerSituation on July 22, 2011 at 12:29pm

it's fun to have pat on guitar so rivers can run around and still have 2 guitar players... i think the band has less energy when rivers is on guitar.. it's enjoyable to watch him run around the venue for a little while when he's off the guitar.

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Permalink Reply by Gohi on July 22, 2011 at 1:02pm

"less energy?"
Depends on the song. A song like Troublemaker or Greatest Man doesn't need him on guitar and would be worse off with on it. Pinkerton and Blue songs lose all their energy when he's not on guitar.

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Permalink Reply by Naota25 on July 22, 2011 at 6:26pm

oh please Gohi any Pinkerton and blue hasnt lost any energy at all. What live show did you go to where you felt a lack of energy???

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Permalink Reply by Gohi on July 22, 2011 at 8:28pm

I'm the one who sent you that Undone video, Lewis. It was a cool moment.

Pat has gone on the record many times saying he would prefer to play drums with Weezer rather than play guitar. People should stop making that argument again. He's also said that the knee problem never affected him after the surgery.

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Permalink Reply by Zach Smith on July 22, 2011 at 11:19pm

I am not going to argue that. But I wouldn't mind seeing where he went on record saying that. If that is the case, Rivers needs to remember it is a band and just because he wants to front should not mean other members are forced into jobs they don't want."I'm the one who sent you that Undone video, Lewis." Lol to that.

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Permalink Reply by Gohi on July 23, 2011 at 12:18am

Check my comments, second page. Also on albumsix, the other weezer boards... sadly those boards are private D:

I don't think Pat hates playing guitar or anything either, I'm sure he's having fun. It's just a matter of where he serves the band better.

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Permalink Reply by Troublemaker on July 23, 2011 at 2:23am

Gohi, didn't Pat himself once leave a comment on your page saying he feels a bit weird on guitar or something?

Gohi said:

Check my comments, second page. Also on albumsix, the other weezer boards... sadly those boards are private D:

I don't think Pat hates playing guitar or anything either, I'm sure he's having fun. It's just a matter of where he serves the band better.

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Permalink Reply by Zach Smith on July 23, 2011 at 3:44am

Sure enough. thanks. It is a shame if he is being forced into it. I do enjoy seeing him up front, but am looking forward to Seattle and him playing drums.