That's right. I take the award for "best weekend ever." Last saturday, I had the opportunity of playing my tenor saxophone on stage with Weezer for their Troublemaker Tour 2008! Weezer has been having fans come up on stage to play with them, calling it a "hootenanny." All you had to do is record yourself playing one of their songs, email it to the local radio station (in my case, the Project 96.1), then they chose the lucky players. Weezer played an awesome show with everyone's favorites and a good amount from the the Red Album that came out earlier this summer.
My friends and I made our way to the Gwinnett Arena in Duluth, GA for the concert of a lifetime and had a quick rehearsal with Weezer band member Brian.
After the short rehearsal, they let us loose with floor/backstage passes and I had to grab something to eat.
I was still hungry after this. And yes, that's a whole dill pickle slice. And tomato slices. And peppers. And a baby.
Tokyo Police Club opened up for Weezer and it was great seeing them again after an awesome show opening up for The Whigs a few weeks ago in Athens. After Angels and Airwaves performed, Weezer finally started the party.
"Say It Ain't So" was the most EPIC thing I've ever seen live.
A couple of my favorite pics.
Around 10:30, we had to report back to the practice area to warm up. There were a couple of Redcoat Alumni there too, so we played some UGA tunes. (Beating LSU only made the night better:)
Afterwards, we headed backstage so get ready to take over the stage! While we waited, Weezer played a couple tracks of their new Red Album.
As I was walking on stage, it was SURREAL. I freaked out a little bit, but then got more excited than anything else. At first, the stage peeps tried to put us behind two rows of people but (thankfully) moved us front center right behind River Cuomo!! Here are some videos and pics! (my friend who got on stage with us recorded, and as you can tell with the shaky camera work, he was really excited:)
Here are my favorite pictures of the night
I WAS SO EXCITED.
Man.... I wish I could have played the solo:)
After we finished playing, I got to shake his hand before leaving the stage. What an awesome idea to let your fans play with you on stage at a concert! Pure GENIUS. How many opportunities do you get to perform with your favorite band? Most likely never, but I can say I have. They've been doing this "hootenanny" for the whole Troublemaker Tour 2008 and by having fans play on stage with you, you pump up about 20-30 Weezer fans per show from mere fans to crazed fanatics who will do anything to spread Weezer music now that they've played with them. Other bands should take note, if this style fits theirs.
I just wish I could have said hello to the whole band and chat with them for awhile, but nonetheless, this is coolest thing I have ever done:)
Weezer, if you guys are reading this:
Thank you, you guys fucking rock. It was an experience I will never forget!
2 comments:
you are so awesome.
i know:)
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