Weezer/Pixies (BOK Center, 03/37/19)

I’m behind on my blogging. Actually, I’m behind on everything. If you like Venn diagrams, imagine a small circle labelled “blogging” inside a larger circle that says “everything.” The title of the diagram would be, “things I’m currently behind on.”

Way back in January when I heard The Pixies were coming to the BOK Center in Tulsa, I immediately bought four tickets. The kids weren’t super-stoked about going to the show (“who the heck are The Pixies?”) until I told them that they were playing with Weezer. Then, then got excited.

At some point in time after we purchased those tickets, we decided to go on a Carnival cruise for spring break. If you’re counting strikes, that means the concert was (a) 100+ miles away in Tulsa; (b) three days after we returned from a week long cruise, and; (c) on a school/work night. I’d like to say had I known all those things in advance, I wouldn’t have purchased the tickets — but truth be told, I would have, because… The Pixies.

A quick history lesson, for those who are unfamiliar with the band. The Pixies, formed in 1986, laid the groundwork for what eventually became grunge music. The band’s song structures, consisting of quiet verses followed by loud choruses (the most popular film about the band is titled LoudQUIETloud), became the unofficial template for grunge bands. In a now infamous interview, Kurt Cobain once referred to his band Nirvana as a “Pixies cover band.” While I don’t believe that grunge music wouldn’t exist without the Pixies, it certainly wouldn’t have sounded the same.

Just when grunge music was hitting its peak in 1993, the Pixies broke up, only to reform a decade later. Since 2004, the band has released a handful of records and touring sporadically, but rarely making it to Oklahoma. In 2018, I learned that the Pixies were making a rare stop in Oklahoma; unfortunately for me, I learned about this four days after the show. So when I heard the band was playing in Oklahoma in 2019, even though it was in Tulsa, even though it was on a work/school night, I had to go.

On their current tour, The Pixies were co-headlining with Weezer. I wouldn’t call myself a Weezer fan, although they’ve had enough radio hits that I’m familiar with the band.

Just before we left on our cruise, Susan was informed she had to attend mandatory training out of town, and the timing meant she couldn’t attend the concert. This further altered our plans, as I can’t see well enough to drive at night (at least not in places I’m unfamiliar with). That put me, both kids, and Mason’s girlfriend stuck in Tulsa overnight. The solution Susan came up with was flying from Florida to Tulsa after her class ended on Wednesday. That didn’t get her to Tulsa in time to catch the show, but it did allow her to help us drive back to Oklahoma City. My side got the short end of the stick on this whole deal.

Shortly after openers Basement came and went, the Pixies took the stage. Live, the Pixies are known for two things: randomizing their set lists every night, and not interacting with the crowd. True to form, the Pixies played almost 20 songs, not addressing the crowd once. Not a “hi, we’re the Pixies!,” no witty banter between songs, and no “thank you Tulsa!” at the end of their set. Even going into the show with the knowledge that the band performed this way, the Pixies came off as… cold — impersonal, even. The show could have taken place in any arena in America, and the band, despite playing a collection of their greatest hits, never connected with the audience. That’s not to say the music wasn’t great — it was — but the band’s stage presence consisted of four people standing mostly still on a stage, playing their instruments.

In every sense, Weezer was the exact opposite. The band first came out dressed as a barbershop quartet to perform a quick acapella rendition of one of their songs. From there, the night turned into a rock and roll show. In front of back drops referencing some of the band’s music videos, Weezer filled the stage with lights, sound, fire, and most importantly, personality. Singer and lead guitarist Rivers Cuomo rocked, laughed, and bonded with the audience as the rest of the band provided support. Weezer squeezed in all of their hits along with several covers (mostly from their recently released Teal album) including Tears for Fears’ “Everybody Wants to Rule the World,” a stripped-down and acoustic version of A-ha’s “Take on Me,” a fun rendition of Black Sabbath’s “Paranoid,” a tongue-in-cheek cover of “No Scrubs,” and the band’s recent chart hit, a cover of Toto’s “Africa.” At one point in the show, Cuomo climbed about the S.S. Weezer (a boat on top of a wheeled cart) and “rowed” his way around the arena, performing two songs face-to-face with people sitting in the back.

All in all, the show was great. It was great to see The Pixies live, although based on their performance, I don’t feel the need to ever see them again. Weezer, on the other hand, were one of the most entertaining bands I’ve ever seen live, and their performance made me a bigger fan than I was before the show. While the kids weren’t all that impressed with the Pixies, they absolutely loved Weezer.

After the show ended, we got back to the hotel room around 11:15 pm. I sent the kids up to the room and then waited in the lobby until midnight for Susan to arrive. Four hours later, the five of us had piled back into my Avalanche and were on the the turnpike back to OKC. We arrived home just after 6 am, giving the kids just enough time to get ready for school and get out the door.