KROQ Weenie Roast 2009

I felt like this concert was made just for me.



We got there at about 4 p.m. to avoid all the crap bands.

The Airborne Toxic Event and Silversun Pickups rocked hard. Loved them both. It's too bad the crowd didn't really appreciate them as much as they deserved. You can see my videos of them here.

Notwithstanding my overwhelming disappointment with my favorite band in October 2008, the main reason I went to the concert was for these guys, decked out in Snuggies (sorry, insomniac).

And this time I was not at all disappointed. In fact, I was beyond excited. Elated. Thrilled. Ecstatic. Overjoyed.

Why?

Rivers Cuomo sang every single song! Like he's supposed to! The band was light and happy and goofy perfection -- the antithesis of our October 2008 debacle.

You can see my boatload of vids on Flickr, but I'm going to post two here that you absolutely must watch.

MGMT's "Kids"...Weezer-style!




Rivers Cuomo channels his inner Lady Gaga! Best "Poker Face" ever!




Go here for a much closer and complete version of both -- it was a live mash-up!

I am such a sucker. I am so in love with my band. Again.

We'll see how long it takes for them to disappoint me. Again.

I felt really bad for the Yeah Yeah Yeahs. They had to go on after Weezer absolutely killed it. In a matter of seconds, the enormous audience that had just been bouncing up and down for the nerd rock extraordinaires dispersed -- to get more food, to guzzle more beer, to buy some merch. Whatever their reasons were, they missed a powerful performance.

I mean, how can you not love freaky-cool Karen O?

If you don't have the Yeah Yeah Yeahs' new album yet, go get it! Such great stuff! Karen O's voice is like no other. "Zero" is one of my fave songs of 2009.

Jimmy Eat World came on after the Yeah Yeah Yeahs. I adore them, but I had to use the restroom at *some* point, and I'd just seen their Clarity tour in March. There are no breaks during the Weenie Roast, as the stage simply revolves to reveal the next band immediately. When I got back to our seats, Mr. Monkey presented me with a gyro. I noshed as Jimmy sang "The Middle" and "Sweetness." I "whoa-ed" with my mouth full.

Kings of Leon was a crowd-pleaser. A couple of super short clips:

Sex on Fire




Use Somebody




Like the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Rancid had the challenge of playing right after a very popular group. The crowds scattered again. They skipped something really special. Rancid is the definition of rad. I was over the moon because they rocked so many of my beloved tracks from ...And Out Come the Wolves, which I played non-stop my sophomore year of college.

Roots Radical




Olympia, WA




Time Bomb




Ruby Soho




We jumped around like crazy people...even though no one else around us was. It's Rancid, people! Rancid! Get up!

And then there was DJ AM and Travis Barker. I-N-S-A-N-E! Incredible!


If you don't get the set-up, DJ AM spun all sorts of tracks -- from John Lennon's "Imagine" to Bell Biv Devoe's "Poison" to The Mamas & the Papas' "California Dreamin'" to Rage Against the Machine's "Killing in the Name" to Daft Punk's "One More Time" to Queen's "Bohemian Rhapsody" -- while Travis Barker tore up the drums accompanying each song.


Crazy! I danced for 50 minutes straight! Soooooo fun!

The best part of their set? A surprise appearance by Warren G!



Regulate!

For all of my pics and vids from the day, go here.