Weezer and Pixies @ PNC Music Pavilion, Charlotte, NC 7-25-18

It was a nineties style party at PNC Music Pavilion Wednesday evening as alt-rock favorites Weezer and the Pixies made a stop in Charlotte on their North American Summer Tour. Weezer has been a staple on the summer concert touring circuit and this time out they brought along a spectacular stage show with them.

Indie rockers Sleigh Bells got things going early with a superb performance that was well worth fighting rush hour for. Led by front woman Alexis Krauss, the Brooklyn duo , which also includes guitarist Derek Edward Miller, plays a unique brand of noise-pop. For those not familiar with the genre, think tons of pop hooks and melodies with harsh guitar riffs and distorted rhythms. Their 2017 release “Kid Kruschev” is a synthesizer driven delight. Of course , the music also serves as a basis for the beautiful, dream like vocals of Krauss. Songs like “Riot Rhythm” and “Rainmaker” really warmed up the crowd making Sleigh Bells a perfect addition to the bill and a great appetizer for what was to come.

The punk style alternative rock of the Pixies was up next. The legendary band has had a major influence on many of the grunge era and nineties era bands including the night’s headliner, Weezer. The Pixies were on fire from the first notes of their opening tune “Ed Is Dead” and never let up. Their style is to the point, in your face rock without all the distractions. Their stage set up was fairly bare bones with some intense lighting and fog machines for effect. The band lineup includes three original members with lead vocalist and guitarist Black Francis, lead guitarist Joey Santiago, drummer David Lovering, and bassist Paz Lenchantin who replaced original bassist Kim Deal in 2014.

For the most part, Pixies’ songs are short and sweet and they were able to run through a set list of 23 songs in about an hour and ten minutes. Francis kept his spot center stage with his electric acoustic guitar with drummer David Lovering on a small riser center stage. Lenchantin was an ethereal vision stage left with a huge red flower wound through the headstock of her bass immersed in fog as she kept the bass lines humming all set long. Joey Santiago put on quite the show as he used his hat to play during “Mr. Grieves,” running it up and down the fret board. A highlight of the show was “Where Is My Mind?” from their 1988 debut album “Surfer Rosa.” The song has been used in a variety of commercials, video games, films, and television shows and is a real crowd favorite. The Pixies are a great example of the less is more approach and rely on the pure energy and power of their music to carry the night which it most certainly did.

After the usual intermission, it was time for Weezer to take the stage. The band is one of the most popular to come out of the nineties alt-rock era and has a huge catalog of songs and hits to choose from. The stage was covered by a black curtain as the lights went down and a recording of “Happy Days” began to play. The curtain dropped and Weezer amped up the crowd right from the start opening with “Buddy Holly” with a stage set that looked like a “Happy Days” diner and confetti cannons blasting off at the audience midway through. Lead guitarist and vocalist Rivers Cuomo was dressed in his normal “nerd” attire complete with tie, cardigan, and huge glasses. The set list was a virtual alt rock radio playlist with hit after hit coming featuring six songs off their self-titled debut also known as “The Blue Album.” By the time Weezer got to their fifth song “Hash Pipe,” the crowd was in an absolute frenzy of excitement singing along and dancing to some of their favorite tunes.

About midway through the night, the set changed to reveal as typical garage band practice space with posters of Nirvana and KISS adorning the walls. Cuomo came running out in a sleeveless Nirvana tee shirt as they launched into “In The Garage” and “Surf Wax America.” A cover of The Turtles’ “Happy Together” was next with a snippet of Green Day’s “Longview” much to the delight of the crowd. At this point, rhythm guitarist and keyboardist Brian Bell took over lead vocals for a shortened version of “Keep Fishin'” as Cuomo changed into a sailor’s hat and took off down the aisle riding a scooter to a “rowboat” which he paddled along to a smaller stage in front of the lawn area of the venue. From this stage, he performed solo an acoustic version of “Island in the Sun” which had the entire venue holding up their cell phones to light up the sky. He then did a truly wonderful cover of “Take On Me” by A-Ha which had Bell hitting the high notes from the main stage and the audience singing along. After that Cuomo “rowed” back to his scooter and made his way back to the main stage. The stage set up changed once more revealing a giant “W” lit up in the back and various lighting structures on each side. There was a huge surprise in store for “Feels Like Summer” as flames were going off left and right even shooting out from that giant “W.” It was incredibly fun and unexpected and for a moment you had to wonder whether or not you were at a Slayer show.

Weezer closed out their regular set with a cover of the eighties pop classic “Africa” by Toto. After exiting the stage for only a moment, the band returned for a two song encore of “Pink Triangle” and probably their most well known and biggest hit, “Say It Ain’t So,” which included a snippet of Black Sabbath’s “Paranoid.” As I began making my way to the parking lot, all I could say was “Wow!” Weezer put on one hell of a show for their Charlotte fans tonight. Along with the solid rock of the Pixies, this is a must see show of the summer concert season.

Pixies Set List:

Ed Is Dead

Nimrod’s Son

Mr. Grieves

Vamos

Caribou

U-Mass

River Euphrates

Cactus

Planet of Sound

Where Is My Mind?

All The Saints