Other than fronting two of the most popular bands from the ’90s alt-rock explosion that are still making music today, Foo Fighters frontman Dave Grohl and Weezer singer Rivers Cuomo have little in common. This makes the arena tour featuring both their bands an interesting pairing of polar-opposite personalities.
Call it Foozer. Call it Wee Fighters. No matter what you call it, Wednesday’s double bill of Weezer and Foo Fighters at KeyArena will be an all-out rock spectacle complete with lasers, smoke machines, video screens and plenty of arena anthems.
While there may be personality differences, it was clear during separate phone interviews with both singers that Grohl and Cuomo respect one another.
“The tour has been amazing,” said Grohl. “This is our first arena headlining tour of America and we’ve been having a blast playing these shows with Weezer.”
“It’s a great tour because we both have these resumes of songs you’ve heard on the radio for the last decade and it just turns into this big karaoke singalong all night long.”
Part of that karaoke experience involves Weezer covering the Foos’ breakthrough hit “Big Me” every night.
So what does Grohl think of Weezer’s treatment of his song?
“They do it better than we ever did it,” he said.
Aside from paying homage by covering a song Grohl said Foo Fighters haven’t performed in eight years, Cuomo said he is constantly amazed by the energy Grohl brings to the stage every night.
“It’s the most explosive, intense rock phenomenon ever seen. I am in awe every night,” Cuomo said. “(Grohl) has such endless energy and intensity night after night screaming his lungs out. I don’t see how he does it.”
Rumors have been circulating that Weezer’s latest album, “Make Believe,” is the band’s last and that the tour with Foo Fighters is their farewell trek. Cuomo gave a cryptic answer as to whether fans can expect another Weezer album.
“It’s up in the air,” said Cuomo. “But in my mind, it’s up in the air for every artist. Who knows, really, if they are going to record another record?”
The speculation over Weezer’s disbandment has been fueled by recent changes in Cuomo’s lifestyle. In an effort to simplify his life, he got rid of his home in Beverly Hills, sold his car, started a strict style of meditation called vipassana and took a vow of celibacy.
Given his sudden lifestyle shift, what does he miss most about his former rock star way of life?
“I miss girls, I really do. You’d be surprised how little contact I have with the opposite sex.”
While Cuomo made major life changes, Grohl spent time between Foo albums working on myriad projects. He worked with Nine Inch Nails, Garbage, Queens of the Stone Age, Cat Power and others. So when it came time to record his band’s latest album, the ambitious double-disc “In Your Honor,” Grohl said he knew something different had to be done. Grohl recalled the birth of the idea for an acoustic record and how it evolved into a double album.
“It didn’t make sense to record just another (rock) album, so it felt like it was time to try something new, something refreshing and different,” he said of the acoustic material.
“Then I realized I can’t be in an acoustic alt-country band. I like metal. I like rock. So then I started writing for a rock record.”
Currently the band is only playing material from the heavier half of “In Your Honor.” Grohl said plans are in the works for an acoustic tour next year.
“I imagine the acoustic record as our pension plan. If all else fails, we can sit on our stools and play our acoustic songs.”
