Sheezer 2: Return of the Furious Five

Sheezer in Ottawa (c) photogmusic.com

It's Friday before Halloween and the all-girl Weezer cover band Sheezer is putting on another show at the Garrison. In fact, it is the 2nd show of a mini-tour that they will doing in Southern Ontario with a stop in Montreal. I guess the sold-out success of their last show here inspired them to do a road trip.

It was immediately obvious that it was a different crowd than before - and that has nothing to do with the various costumes including 80s Material Girls, Fairies, and some sort of Moth King. At the previous show, a lot of people in the audience had some connection to the band members. They knew the girls in some capacity or were familiar with their main musical acts. But at this show, these people were here to enjoy a Halloween show, listen to Weezer music, or both. One of the Sheezer girls was worried that the crowd seemed a little sparse even by 10 pm, but no worries - the place was packed by the time they went on at 11:45 pm.

The opening act was a band called Sister! They played mostly slow, moody pop. With only 1 opening act, they were given a generous 45 min set. Given that most people were there to indulge in some 90s nostalgia, they were having some trouble engaging the crowd. However, as the set closed, with some more emphatic and catchy drums and bass, they were able to get a bigger reaction.

When Sheezer came up, they had something special in store. With Halloween around the corner, the 5 ladies came out dressed as the Sailor Scouts. Given Rivers Cuomo's penchant for Asian girls, the meta-narrative of an all-girl Weezer band clad in Japanese schoolgirl uniform is too delicious. I think his head would asplode.

And how furious were the five? (I know I'm mixing my Asian cultures.) Very furious. Dana pounded the drums without let-up. Meghan, Alysha, and Robin played rocking guitars, especially on Only In Dreams. I think some Weezer fans might have orgasmed from that cover. And Laura channeled her inner rock star and let out some sustained wails on a couple of songs. The sound mix was better this time around especially on vocals, and even with the substantial sing-alongs from the crowd. It was a great show. After all, any live act that has Sailor Scouts and cameo appearances by Hurley from Lost (in a Dharma Initiative radiation suit) and Tuxedo Mask on Undone (The Sweater Song) can only be described as great.