“That’s one small step for Weezer, one giant leap for Weezer kind,” says Rivers Cuomo, frontman and lead singer for the rock band Weezer in the middle of their 2024 “Voyage to the Blue Planet” tour. I was lucky enough to be able to attend their show in Philadelphia at the Wells Fargo Center this past weekend, and I can say with confidence that it was one of the best concerts I have ever been to.
In celebration of the 30th anniversary of their first album, Weezer embarked on the “Voyage to the Blue Planet” tour. The name refers to the band’s first album, dubbed “The Blue Album” by fans—upon release, the album was just called “Weezer.” Their commercial success when it was released in 1994 launched the band to stardom. The album includes many of the band’s signature songs, such as “My Name is Jonas,” “Buddy Holly,” “Undone (The Sweater Song)” and “Say it Ain’t So.” Being a huge fan of Weezer, I was super excited to see one of my favorite bands play some of my favorite songs.
From the start, the concert had a futuristic, science fiction theme to it. The story was that Weezer is being sent on the maiden voyage to the Blue Planet and is taking us along for the ride. The entire stage was shaped like a rocket ship, and there was a huge screen in the background that displayed space visuals, such as different planets, asteroids and the sun. The concert was divided into three sections: the Blue Voyage Takeoff, the Pinkerton Asteroid Belt and the Blue Planet.
During the Blue Voyage Takeoff, the band played many of their hits, marking the beginning of our journey to the Blue Planet. The opening act was really exciting and energy-filled, and you could feel it in the arena. With heavier songs like “Hash Pipe” and “Pork and Beans,” the foot-stopping energy of “Beverly Hills” paced out with more relaxed songs like “Island in the Sun,” the opening portion of the concert built the excitement and amped up the energy.
During the “Pinkerton Asteroid Belt” portion, the band played songs from their second album, “Pinkerton.” While this section of the concert was not as memorable for me, there was still plenty of enjoyment to be had. I banged my head to “Getchoo,” and danced along to “Why Bother?” “Across the Sea” was the perfect transition to the concluding act of the concert.
The concert ended with Weezer finally landing on the Blue Planet. One problem, though: the Blue Planet is dying! How to save it?
“We need to play the Blue Album to bring it back to life!” Rivers Cuomo exclaimed, hoisting a flag with the Weezer logo on it and planting it on stage.
The crowd went wild. When the band played “My Name is Jonas,” the opening song in the Blue Album, the energy was palpable. Everyone sang every lyric to that song, or at least it felt like it. I felt compelled to put my arm around my friend that I came with… so I did. With everyone singing in unity, how could I not? I’m getting goosebumps just thinking about it now. From there, the rest of the album was pure magic. Even songs that I don’t like as much, like “Surf Wax America” and “Holiday” held a certain gravitas that made me end up loving those songs now.
“It was sick,” said Bryce Merry ’25. “We’re all Weezerlings.”
But my favorite part of the concert wasn’t the songs, the music or the set design. It was the people and the memories. I was able to go with a friend of mine, and I think this is a memory that we will hold close to us for the rest of our lives. I was struck emotionally by people I didn’t know. About four rows in front of us, there was a group of five or six men sitting together, singing all the songs, laughing and having a good time. I swear, they had their arms around each other for the entire performance. That’s the effect that concerts and music have, even concerts that involve space-Weezer and journeys to fictional planets.
