2011/01/08 Chicago: Aragon Ballroom: Memories Tour - Pinkerton

Wow, night 1 was pretty darn spectacular, and the Aragon was utterly packed to the gills with ravenous weez army members. The School Of Rock kids did a great job with their intermission mini-set of weezer covers, and we're expecting another such set tonight, with different songs. The Limousines rocked hard and warmed us up (literally!) as the interior Aragon temperature climbed from near freezing in places to hotter than hell. Tonight should be more, more, more!

(later...) And indeed, tonight's show was intense! The audience were amazing both nights, singing along loudly and freaking out constantly. I met so many cool fans both nights, from the I Love All Access VIPers to people from all over the place who had to come see the Memories Tour, and I've got to say it once again, weezer fans are the best fans!

Tonight the School Of Rock kids did "Say It Aint So" and "Surf Wax America" during the intermission, which actually got some crowdsurfing going! They did a fantastic job again. Also tonight the winners of the State Farm Grantin' Wishes With Weezer contest were granted their wishes, and Scott from Magic Hugs (AKA "Chazz" from How To Be Tight) was on hand to help film and interview the goings on for upcoming segments on the State Farm website (we'll link it up when its up). The winners were: One guy got to play drums with the band during soundcheck, he played "the Good life" with them. A girl named Nicole got to meet the band and have Jeremy her garden gnome signed. Then Scott suggested the gnome hang out on the drum kit for the show, and so it came to pass. Another guy got to come up on stage and do his magic trick routine for the crowd while the band played Hash Pipe. And finally a school teacher from Kansas got to sit with the band while they answered questions from the guys classroom kids back in Kansas via iChat. That class also got some new guitars. And also a bunch of fans questions were answered on video which will be a part of the stuff that will go on the State Farm site soon.
http://twitpic.com/3nyviq

Big ups to Jam Productions, Paul Natkin, ILAA, The ILAA VIPers, Anuj Behal (RWA OG webmaster 1995-1999, Spice Girls doll owner), Brian's mom, and the many many awesome Boardies of every stripe we met over these 2 nights!

Are you going? Did you go? Comment here and/or in our message boards, tell your tale! Post your show pix on our photo page!

To see these pix individually and larger, click here.

Also, remember to check weezer's Twitter/Yfrog photo/video page for photos taken on the fly as things happen!

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Comment by jaime torres on January 12, 2011 at 7:07am: i waited out for hours on both nights and it was totally worth it. you guys are the greatest. don't ever stop rocking chicago

Comment by MadKow23 on January 11, 2011 at 5:27pm: Absolutely amazing. I was shaking the whole time. When they played Only in Dreams I was near tears. I've never seen anything like the shows Weezer puts on. Every second of this show was pure magic. Greatest night of my life, I'd have to say. and Rivers' performance during Falling For You was absolutely phenomenal. This was my second Weezer show, and it definately won't be my last!

Comment by Sdawg on January 11, 2011 at 5:44am: It was best of night of my life!
But man do I look ridiculous in that last photo.. ahahh

Comment by Jonathan Cabildo on January 10, 2011 at 9:14pm: What a great time, two nights of wonderful songs and performances from my favorite band, and I got to meet some pretty cool fellow weezer fans as well. The only negative is that I actually suffered some nerve damage in my toe from standing too long the first night, and was hobbled so I had to sit for the second night. Even if I lose the toe, its totally worth it!

Thanks to Karl and Weezer for all the hard work and passion they put into the show for the fans. The second night was Weezer show #11 for me, my first weezer show was also at the Aragon in 1995, when I was 16. Here's to sixteen more years of Weezer!

Comment by Clyde on January 10, 2011 at 6:10pm

Comment by Clyde on January 10, 2011 at 3:59pm: No doubt! Blue night was definitely fun but Pinkerton was emotional, full of energy and all out kick ass! Everyone knew the words and was singing along (on both nights). Karl thank you so much for the backstage tour, answering questions and hanging out with us for a bit at the vip area. Meeting you was such a treat and a highlight for me! Thanks for the Memories...ha!

Comment by Marjeana Livingston on January 10, 2011 at 5:13am: Yes I went.. and it was awesome.. it was nice to met you Karl during the VIP hang out area aka balcony.. I had a great time.. it was the first time for me seeing Weezer in concert..yes I've seen every other band in the US.... but have never had the chance to go see Weezer.. and I knew I had to when I seen the dates come out for this... which is why I did the VIP package.. I'm glad I did... it was epic.. I shall post one of my EPIC photos of Rivers.. well it's my favorite so far.. I have a few, but this one was cool.. Thank you Karl and the Weezer crew and I love all access for being great hosts and putting on an AMAZING show.. it was greatly appreciated and loved. :) Thanks again..

Comment by Cladeedah on January 10, 2011 at 12:54am: I echo all of the comments below. Only In Dreams on Pinkerton night brought me to tears, it was so beautiful. Here are my pics from night 1 and night 2 if anyone is interested:

Night 2 Pinkerton

Night 1 Blue Album

Comment by George on January 9, 2011 at 9:04pm: Went last night with my eleven year old daughter who I turned on to Weezer about a year ago. What a great time. The set list, the performance and the crowd just blew the roof off! My daughter is still trying to explain to all her friends who you guys are. And the School of Rock thing was pretty cool. Weezer fans rule.

Comment by Eric B on January 9, 2011 at 7:38pm: I'd echo Matt's comment below. I went in with timid excitement. I've been a longtime Weezer fan and had been to a lot of shows over the years starting with Blue Album and Pinkterton tours. I went into this expecting to have this deep nostalgic experience and revisit the past. But, it ended up not really being about that at all. It was more of a moving forward.

Weezer is a different band then when I was listening to them as a kid. For a while I struggled with that. Hell, I am also a much different person. But, it started to make sense to me this weekend. Blue album and Pinkerton sounded different than the live show back in the day; different in a good way.

Pinkerton hit hard. I never pictured Getchoo being an arena rock, sing along anthem, but Saturday night it was. It was like listening to it for the first time, in a new way.

All in all, it was a great compromise of the old with the new. I don't think Rivers and gang could ever answer to all their fans and give them exactly what they want. But, This was an awesome offering with a little bit for everyone.