All the major news services were reporting the biggest storm in years was preparing to hit the East Coast. Good news for skiers, bad news for Weezer fans in Buffalo. For those who may have already forgotten those select memories from a drunken spring break, or for others who relocated to someplace a little more sunny for the week, the East coast was supposed to get hit with the biggest winter storm it's seen in a while--emphasis on supposed to. The huge storm was a few flurries at best, and our fear of a delay to the concert was quickly set aside.

Around five p.m. we arrived at the State University of New York at Albany. After killing some time, confusing some tourists, and giving false directions to the will-call ticket office it was time for the show.

The SUNY Albany Recreation and Convocation Center (RACC for short) was about the size of the main gym in Alumni Arena. The crowd filled the place rather quickly and Ozma took the stage. I dislike Ozma very much. If you own anything Ozma related I dislike you very much. "All my guitars have battle scars" was the chorus that never ended during the tune "Battle Scars." But that's the tradition with opening bands, they have to suck a lot in order to make you fully appreciate why you came to the concert in the first place.

Up next was The Get Up Kids. I'll be honest with you; I don't know a goddamn thing about The Get Up Kids. But they came out and did what they do, and subsequently rocked the house.

"Bombs over Baghdad" by Outkast poured out of the speakers as they took the stage. I think I recognized "Red Letter Day" and "Ten Minutes," but then again I'm no expert.

Anyhow, after the supporting bands were said and done, and the crowd sing-along to Queen's "Bohemian Rhapsody," it was time for the main event. Brian Bell, lead guitar slinger, was the first to come out, singing a nice little song to the crowd of previously unreleased goodness. The rest of Weezer followed and they opened up the show in their traditional manner, with "My Name is Jonas." After that they played "El Scorcho," which was just amazing, and the grand tunes "You Gave Your Love to Me Softly" and "The Good Life." Having the crowd completely riled, melting in the palm of their hands for some more American Rock, they went into some new material from the forthcoming new album: "Island in the Sun," "Don't Let Go," and the first single, "Hash Pipe." With that out of the way, it was back to kicking ass. They started the second half of their set with "In the Garage." Following that was my favorite song of the night, "Tired of Sex." The bass got me hook line and sinker, and the guitars were textbook rock and roll. Rivers Cuomo screaming into the mic: "Tonight I'm down on my knees, tonight I'm begging you please, tonight, tonight please, oh why can't I be making love come true?" Brilliant. "Say it Ain't So," "Buddy Holly," and "Undone" filled out the "we have to play our singles department" and then they closed the set with "Why Bother:" "I've known a stupid bitch before..."-- improvisational lyrics like that make the drive all worth it.

My only dissapointmnt during this concert was the encore. I know that encores are usually supposed to be the Holy Grail of the show, but this one almost seemed like a formality rather than Weezer actually wanting to perform the encore. "Only in Dreams" was really cool, but I was a bit let down that something a little more upbeat wasn't chosen. I was convinced that "No One Else" was going to be next up. Imagine my surprise when they started playing "Surfwax America." Don't get me wrong, "Surfwax" is my favorite Weezer song, it just sounded rushed and rather uninspired.

And that was it. It was all over. I stood there in disbelief. After the Runways show this past summer, I was expecting so much more. The lights became bright and the house music made me cringe. It was over.

I would like to take this opportunity to bash corporate sponsorship (Yahoo!), SUNY Albany students, and the inability of SUNY Buffalo to get Weezer, or even a band of Weezeresque qualities. For those who are interested, the new album is due out the fifteenth of May, and the "Hash Pipe" should be on your local radio station sometime in April. I'm going to go listen to Pinkerton now and cry myself to sleep.