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May 21, 2008
Retrohump: Formative Adolescent
Weezer - Undone (The Sweater Song) - Live, 1994
*Inspired by last week's Retrohump post by Randall. Below you'll read about buying tickets at Ticketmaster outlets, attending shows at NYC venues that no longer exist, and mentions of two bands with impossible monikers in the Google era.
Weezer was my first true rock concert impression. That's if I don't count getting dragged to a Yes concert at Jones Beach with with some of my dad's younger (re: cool) coworkers. I usually don't bring it up when the question of "name the first band you saw live" comes up because I had no idea what was going on and remember very little. My only recollection was that in fact it was a rock concert, there were cool lights, and afterwards I had a newfound determination to see a show of my own choosing. That show would end up being Weezer's opening slot for Live on November 19th, 1994 at the now defunct Manhattan venue called 'the Academy'.
I remember buying tickets at the local Ticketmaster outlet for about $16 after convincing my friends to come see these bands they never heard of. Though both Weezer and Live were enjoying some sporadic radio play at the time, it was a stretch for anyone to buy into my pitch. This was before "Buddy Holly" made its big splash so I only had the mention of "The Sweater Song" for ammo. I'm sure the biggest selling point was the novelty of going to a show in the City more than anything else anyway. It was a pretty big deal seeing that we were only 15 years old. That said, my parents drove us to the show. Total. Badasses.
Current site of the (demolished?) Academy: Map.
Some Yes to tie things together...after the jump.
Yes - "Owner of a Lonely Heart" - Live, 1994 - Brazilian TV program
Posted by Merry Swankster at May 21, 2008 09:38 AM
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Comments
The Academy was a fine, short-lived venue. I saw Mazzy Star there, which was a disappointment, but the Chills were so good I grabbed the set list off the stage, where it had been duct-taped. For those who might want to see Yes before they got jowly, this will be edifying: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WIVi7KY_WJ8&feature=related
Posted by: david at May 21, 2008 01:04 PM
Looking at the street image from Google maps could not be any more different than my memory of the street. It was much much darker then. So much so that I didn't think it was in Times Sq at all.
Posted by: Sebastian at May 21, 2008 02:04 PM
That info tells me I have been mixing up the Academy with a smaller joint called Woody's (Ron Wood's club). The Academy was indeed bigger and in midtown...I think I saw Smashing Pumpkins there, but I don't know if I'd believe me...
Posted by: david at May 22, 2008 10:13 AM
