2011/01/21 Las Vegas, NV: Hard Rock Hotel: The Joint: Memories Combo Show

Today is the day people. The Hard Rock lobby is pumping the Aerosmith, the Carlos Santana and Ramones displays are polished up, the one armed bandits are parting the gamblers from their gold nuggets, and into this dusty western town rolls Weezer. The stage coach doors open and the antique weapons of rock n roll are drawn at high noon. Well, not high noon actually, more like 9:15 pm, after the opening set by Imagine Dragons.

Tonight's Memories show is unique in that its a combination Blue + Pinkerton dual album show. Its never been done before (by weezer) so there's bound to be some surprises...

(later...)

And in fact the main suprise was saved for the encore, with Rachel Haden joining the band onstage to sing the Pinkerton B-Side "I Just Threw Out The Love Of My Dreams". Rachel, one of the triplet daughters of jazz great Charlie Haden and original member of weezer buddies that dog., is the featured vocalist on that recording, and as such the song hasnt been performed since the mid 90's, as Rivers wrote the song from a girls point of view. It was so great to see Rachel again, and everyone had a chance to catch up with her after years of separation.

The rest of the show was understandably epic, with the entire Blue and Pinkerton albums performed in order (separated by my old time weezer memories slideshow). It had a slightly different feel from the previous two-night Memories shows, which had the wild first set of hits and b-sides. That created an immediate celebratory atmosphere, that for this show had to be slowly (but surely) built up to as the classic albums were laid out and the collective freak out gathered strength like a storm.

Big ups to Rachel Haden, Brian's sister Leia Bell and family, Michael McCarthy (=w= Flag Guy!); and Luis S., die-hard front and center man going big with the ILAA package!

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!

0 members like this

Comment

You need to be a member of Weezer to add comments!

Join Weezer

Comment by Cherrie on January 24, 2011 at 8:31pm: ahh ships. I just lost all I wrote. Well let's try again.

I was fortunate enough to have caught the LA Gibson Memories Tour kick-off shows, and then make it out to Vegas for the finale, so I can happily say I was there at the beginning and the end! Vegas was a different vibe then the 2-night shows for sure, but I was equally amped up. It was so much fun to meet a few fellow fans from Weezer.com (although, I think you, Claudia, are more accurately a fellow Weezer-Twitter peep heehee)--always great to meet others that share your love and understand it, so I don't feel like such a geek-freak =). Steven--sorry I didn't get to meet you, I had to miss the bulk of the meet up--there were meet-up group pics?? I'm jealous, post please! Ken Y--thanks for facilitating getting my extra tix to another fellow fan, so glad they didn't go to waste!

The Joint was also a pretty sweet and relatively intimate venue; was able to wrestle VIP table seats thru the casino host, which was awesome--we were very close, so great vantage point; easy to get in to; open bar(!) although I didn't take full advantage--I don't need drinks when I'm gettin' my Weeze on, but it was nice to have bottles of water brought to you when you have been jumping around non-stop like a madwoman (yes that would be me lol); and it's open to the room so you still feel like a part of the crowd without being on the main floor--being 5' 2", I've been on the GA FLR, and frankly I am too old to be shoved around with elbows all up in my face haha!

I spent months waiting for one set of shows and then the next; and now that I have no shows to look forward to, I am in a bit of Weezer withdrawal...so Weezer.com (that's you guys!) will have to fill that void =D.

FYI, it's Monday night, and my voice is still scratchy from singing (screaming, really) along on Friday night...gotta love it. =w= ♥

Comment by Margaret's Horsey [Jupiter 80] on January 24, 2011 at 5:35pm: It's alright Ben. This kind of argumentative stuff happens regularly around here.

Comment by Ben McKee on January 24, 2011 at 5:29pm: No worries. Didn't mean to start any arguments on the comments section! Sorry about that! I think Rgne and Jasmine are probably both lovely people and we should all hug and make up. Now lets continue the discussion about our experiences on a wonderful evening with the awe inspiring awesomeness that is Weezer!

Comment by Margaret's Horsey [Jupiter 80] on January 24, 2011 at 5:22pm: Hi Ben,

I apologize! From looking at what happened on the stage, it looked like you guys did use a keyboard by Weezer. Your explanation makes sense, because I know quite a bit about the problem with analog circuitry and how room temp can make the tone sound so different.

Having been to six other Memories Tour performances, I can say that I did not hear any technical problem like what I heard that night. It was a simple oversight, and an error on my part. Glad to know you guys had a lot of fun performing as the opening band.

PS. Jasmine, quit acting like a bimbo. I never said Imagine Dragon was a horrible band. sheesh.

Comment by Jasmine Renna on January 24, 2011 at 5:03pm: Dr Rgne is as dumb as a rock. Imagine Dragons was incredible and it was obvious that they were using their own equipment. As for myself and everyone around me, WE loved Imagine Dragons and of COURSE Weezer was amazing!!!!! LOVE YOU GUYS!!! <33333

Comment by Ben McKee on January 24, 2011 at 4:03pm: Somebody from the crew picked the amp up for me and got it to our drummer. I made a beeline for the crowd and never looked back! Glad you enjoyed our set. I would love to get to Denver, even if we were only playing to 2!

Comment by Ken Y. on January 24, 2011 at 3:54pm: Ben, did you lose your amp?

You guys were a pleasant surprise compared to many, many opening acts I've seen over the years. Nice set, and best of luck to you guys! It's cool to know that you guys appreciate the opportunity that was given. Come to Denver and you have at least 2 guaranteed in attendance!

Comment by Ben McKee on January 24, 2011 at 3:40pm: Just wanted to address Dr. Rgne's comment's about Imagine Dragons and Weezer's keyboard. I'm Imagine Dragons' bassist and I can assure you that we were using our own Moog Little Phatty synthesizer when we played our set. Weezer has a very similar keyboard, so I can see how the mistake could be made. No worries about the comment, I'm just a HUGE Weezer fan and I would hate to think that someone thought that my band had a disrespectful attitude towards Weezer or their gear. The show was a dream for us. I ended up leaving my amp in the parking lot outside of the loading bay for The Joint because I was in such a rush to get out into the crowd and start screaming along to two of the most powerful albums of my youth. Best night of my life.

Comment by neadbe on January 24, 2011 at 8:48am: Fan since '94, but this was my first Weezer show. Couldn't have been better. Right up front and center. My wife and I are in one of Karl's pictures and my brother in another one. We missed Rivers' pick, but we snagged a Pat Wilson used drum stick (complete with his name and everything with the W in Wilson as the Weezer logo) from the clutches of two guys foaming at the mouth to get it. I lost my glasses in the shuffle and these guys held them for ransom for the drum stick. I happily invited them to keep said glasses which i bought for $7.00. No hard feelings guys! The night met and somehow even exceeded my expectations!

Comment by Margaret's Horsey [Jupiter 80] on January 24, 2011 at 12:33am: I just have a quick comment about this performance. I drove all the way from LA to be there that night. While I do believe this was a very strong show, I also felt that Imagine Dragons lacked professionalism. The lead singer from Imagine Dragons was using one of the keyboards that belonged to Weezer. The lead singer of Imagine Dragons thought it would be a cute idea to knock the keyboard down and lay on the ground as his final act of drama before he left the stage. Knocking that keyboard down caused it to have multiple problems during the show, especially when Brian had to use it on Buddy Holly (which sounded BADLY out of tune). I hope the lead singer from Imagine Dragons will reimburse Weezer for damaging their gear like that.