Nashville’s best 90s cover band, My So-Called Band, has decided to cover Weezer again. For their third annual album tribute, they’ll be playing songs from The Blue Album as well as encore songs from Pinkerton. This time, they chose to time travel back to the 90s at West Nashville’s newest music venue, The Stone Fox.
These two albums are classic as far as I’m concerned. The Blue Album immediately put Weezer on the map and gave them instant commercial success. It gave us tons of great songs including the hit singles “Buddy Holly“ and “The Sweater Song,” as well as my personal favorite, “No One Else.” It also allowed us to appreciate the nerd we used to be: the kid who was nervous, picked on and made fun of in class, socially awkward, and/or had some idiosyncratic hobby that he or she couldn’t justify. Finally, it catapulted Cuomo’s songwriting career as a pop genius of “nerd rock.”
But it was Pinkerton that, while falling short of sales expectations and initially receiving mostly negative reviews from music critics, was the introspective passageway into lead singer Rivers Cuomo’s mind. His uncensored thoughts and immediate feelings were more than just worn on his sleeve. When you listen to the album, it’s almost like you are navigating his mind with the help of a rock and roll tour guide. And that tour guide is Cuomo himself. Cuomo didn’t like the album at first, but later grew to appreciate it. And so did we, probably because of how quirky and honest the songs were. Rolling Stone even re-reviewed the album, and gave it 5 stars.
Below is a live video of My So-Called Band’s cover of the Weezer song “The Good Life” as part off their first annual album tribute to Pinkerton two years ago at Exit In.
I was there, and it was nostalgically awesome. But it needed to be done again. The fans have spoken, The Blue Album will be played. I’m ready to hear Weezer covers again. If you didn’t get an advance ticket, you should get there early. Doors at 9pm.