Monday, July 20, 2015

TT the Bear's Memory: Rivers Cuomo, January 14, 1998

With TT the Bear's closing forever this Saturday, I wanted to share some of my favorite memories of the iconic Cambridge rock club. Some of my most cherished musical memories took place within its walls. It is going to be missed greatly.

Back in 1997-1998, Rivers Cuomo played some small, side project shows in the Boston area. The band had a rotating line-up, but this one in particular stands out. Weezer drummer Pat Wilson came out to join the band for this show, and it also included soon to be Weezer bassist Mikey Welsh. To show how far Weezer had fallen out of the mainstream post-Pinkerton, tickets were available to see half of Weezer at a 300 person club. By this point the casual fans had strayed off (an earlier show at TT's in October had some fratty guys asking where the mosh pit was before the band started) and this was just filled with die hards. It was a short eight song setlist, and of course it consisted of Weezer favorites such as "Getchoo," "No One Else," "Say It Ain't So," and "Undone - The Sweater Song." It also closed with "Only In Dreams," which at the time was rarely done live. We were also treated to possible future Weezer songs such as "Rosemary," "Baby," and "The Prettiest Girl in the Whole Wide World" (not officially released until 2008).

After the show, my friend and I wandered into the unguarded backstage area (Oh, my 20s...). There, I bumped into Pat and got him to do a station ID for my college station, which of course I messed up the recording for completely, making it unusable. Back in the main area of the club, I started talking to Rivers while he was packing up equipment. Somehow I mentioned the upcoming album and Matt Sharp, when Rivers said "Matt's not going to be on this album." Upon getting home, I immediately emailed the Rebel Weezer Alliance to tell them. (Back in 1998, Weezer barely had an official web presence, so that void was filled by fan sites. Rebel Weezer Alliance eventually became the official Weezer webpage). It was reported on the next day, and a month later Sharp officially left Weezer.

To see the remaining shows on TT's calendar, check out their website. There are only six shows left.

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