And the angels in the heavens, they are wondering...Why am I so glad?

Last night marked my first opportunity to see Weezer in over 3 years, and seize the opportunity I did, taking Michelle to her first =w= show in the process. I should preface this by saying I am pretty much as big a fan as you'll find of their newest album, and generally among the less critical members of their fanbase. Is Pinkerton the best thing they've ever made? Of course it is. But that doesn't preclude them from making other wonderful music which just doesn't happen to be quite as good as it was. As far as I can tell, it's essentially impossible for a band not to have one piece of work which just shines a little brighter than all the rest. So, with that being said, here's the setlist, with some notes:

My Name is Jonas (1st verse sung by Pat from behind drums, 2nd by Scott)
Pink Triangle
Perfect Situation (with Scott singing lead)
Say it Ain't So
SUZANNE (complete with a wonderful a capella intro, after which Brian sang lead)
Keep Fishin
King (sung, of course, by Scott)
Tom Delonge greeted by a chorus of boos from MSG crowd
Undone (with Tom ruining the first verse, but thankfully being mostly drowned out by the crowd, Scott singing 2nd verse, and Rivers drumming the outro)
Pork And Beans
Dreamin
Dope Nose (sung by Scott)
Troublemaker
Rivers (literally) says "hasta la vista baby" before Scott takes vocals and lead guitar and Atom from Angels and Airwaves drums for Automatic
Hash Pipe
El Scorcho (sung by Brian)
Morning Glory (oasis cover, sung by Pat, drummed by Rivers)
The Greatest Man That Ever Lived
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Hootenanny:
Island in the Sun
Beverly Hills
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Sliver (Nirvana cover)
Buddy Holly


All in all, I was absolutely delighted. I went into the show quite skeptical about all the non-Rivers singing that's been going on lately, and I certainly had a few moments last night during which I lamented the fact that the others were singing his songs, but for the most part, I thought they sounded great, and there is no doubt in my mind that Rivers was enjoying himself on stage more than I've ever seen. Gone were the days of the nerd hiding behind his glasses and his guitar, stuck like a deer in headlights, and in his place was a charismatic, roaming madman, prone to use of jazz hands, jumping up and down, and making the funniest stare-up-to-the-heavens-while-orgasming guitar solo face I've ever been privy to. The hootenanny was every bit as amusing as I had imagined it might be, with kick-ass renditions of the guitar solos performed on trumpet, flute, and saxophone. The setlist, on the whole, was the most satisfying one I've ever seen them play, including my first opportunity to hear Suzanne live, and the first two covers I've ever seen Weezer play. It wasn't perfect, and I'm sure there are plenty of people out there who thought it sucked. But it was all I could've asked for from my favorite band, except perhaps coming back a lot fucking sooner next time. I've missed you.