blog post Postcards from Tokyo: "Then we got outside, and discovered that Weezer’s crew has smeared ham and cheese all over our van and wrapped it in cellophane."

On this tour, Weezer has been hosting something that they call The Hootenanny.

Every night, at the end of the show, they bring about thirty Weezer fans up on stage to play two songs with them. The idea is that the fans learn to play the songs from a video on Weezer’s website, and then bring their own instruments to play on stage. And let me tell you, I never thought that I would see Weezer songs played on such a bizarre selection of instruments by such a varied bunch of people.

The solo from "Beverly Hills? played on a glockenspiel? Sure! A trombone? Of course. A didgeridoo? Why not? In one city there were two harps and two accordions jamming together. Somewhere else, an old man dressed entirely in black played the Theremin with the same somber expression that he might have if playing at his wife’s funeral.

Its really fun to watch people that are genuine fans of the band get an opportunity to join Weezer on stage, and you can really see how much it means to each and every one of them. And it made me realize that we’re really no different, except for us the Hootenanny lasted for 26 shows.

The tour is over now, and looking back, I can comfortably say that it exceeded all of my wildest hopes and expectations. Every night was got a little taste of what its like to be a really successful band, and we liked what we saw. The thousands of screaming fans, the tours buses, and the sweet, sweet catering – it definitely gives us a tangible goal to work toward. Sure, it’ll probably never happen, but you have to be ambitious!

Beyond spoiling us rotten, though, touring with Weezer was one of those fantastic experiences that make what we do so special. In my first post, I talked about seeing Weezer for the first time and being in jealous awe of the opening band. I’ve listened to Weezer records since I started high school. Some of the first songs I ever learned how to play were Weezer songs. And there we were, for one month, playing with Weezer every single night, passing them in the hallways, sometimes even getting to talk to them. Its lame to say the words ‘dream come true’, but it really was.

The last show of the tour was the most fun, as well. We were worried about the classic end of tour prank getting pulled while we were on stage, but everything seemed fine as we played, and we even threw in the cover of [ex Weezer bassist Matt Sharp’s band] The Rentals’ "Friend of P" that we were too scared to play at the rest of the shows. Then we got outside, and discovered that Weezer’s crew has smeared ham and cheese all over our van and wrapped it in cellophane.

I choose to believe that they did it to affectionately initiate us into their touring brotherhood, and that gave me a warm fuzzy feeling as I peeled soggy ham from the van windows.

And that’s that. We had some fun, made some friends, and got some free ham and cheese in the bargain. I call it a win. And writing about it has been pretty cool, so thanks for reading (and thanks Radio 3 for giving me the chance). Next time I do something interesting, maybe I’ll get to do this all over again.

Until then, be well, and keep your stick on the ice.

Graham from Tokyo Police Club

Previously:

"Leisure-Time Activities"
"I am now on head nodding, ‘whats up' terms with 75% of the band."
“I need to give my fourteen year old self a high five.”
"Some advice..."