Weezer headlines large theaters by themselves, not arenas. They need a co-headlining tour to reach arena or stadium level. Due to pent up demand or not, MCR is headlining arenas by themselves.
to be fair, Britney couldn't write In The Zone either because she isn't really a songwriter haha. Also, wtf, there is a song on that album with R Kelly as the sole songwriter? Wild.
weezer was just an example, but yeah I do believe MCR is currently bigger than them in terms of touring. and my comment about smaller and unknown bands is clearly about bands not named thursday/taking back sunday / the bouncing souls. personally, I thought they were going to get AFI for this, and that's why the Bodies tour got delayed.
The downside of them being such a "hey, it turns out they're a really fucking good band" public perception type, not being able to see them for anything less than $180 for the furthest back seats. Love their resurgence and aforementioned public realization but man I wish I could see them as like a general scene band for ~$30-$50 for general standing attendance. Back when that was possible for them I didn't have parents/money that would allow me to go to concerts like that lol
because they haven't toured in a decade lol. you can't say "due to blah blah blah or not" when that's literally the only reason. also they headlined arenas on their last tour in 2019 with pixies lol. this information is literally available, you don't have to just guess and be wrong.
Same here! My first concert was TBS/AVA in 2006 in an amphitheater parking lot. Incredible experience, but I missed so many bands in their heyday: Yellowcard, Paramore, Blink-182, MCR, FOB, AFI, etc... Probably my only life regret, but like you, it was something out of my control. My parents had money, but a tight grip on things like concerts, mostly because they didn't want to drive me 1-2 hours away for shows and they tried to keep me sheltered. I sometimes wonder how it is for younger music fans today, trying to see their favorite artists when tickets are just through the roof. Yeah, you can still see most alternative acts playing smaller venues for $30-50, but anything taking place in an arena is just expensive now, and that's before you start talking about scalpers.
I don't know what it's like in the US, but MCR sold out their first three reunion shows in Australia in arenas almost straight away. Last time Weezer were here - admittedly approaching 10 years ago now - they struggled to sell similarly-sized or smaller venues.
Sara from Youth Code sang with MCR at their reunion show in 2019. I don't know how MCR fans are gonna feel about Youth Code opening, though.
I think MCR is just a beloved band for GenZ-ers & Millennials, because the tragedy of their breakup was a massive meme. Like I was in middle school right when they broke up, and the emo kid heartbroken over the end of MCR became a universally recognizable archetype. Hell, the G-Note meme transcends the boundaries of our tiny little scene. But I don't think those memes translate into ticket sales, and now that the pandemic has delayed these reunion shows, the novelty of seeing a band most well known for breaking up has worn off. Unless there's a massive PR push and new music on the way, these guys will be back to playing 8k nightclubs in no time. Weezer's a weird band because they haven't had a mainstream hit in years (except for the Africa cover) but there's just this lovable energy around their legacy that somehow keeps them afloat. I especially think all of the GenZ-ers getting into Weezer over the past few years because of the TikTok memes helped sustain their relevance a lot.
"they haven't had a mainstream hit in years despite a song that was one of the biggest pop rock hits of the decade"
I personally think they could have done much better in terms of an opener than Waterparks. Cringy lyrics, cringy social media presence, just a not great band all around. There are lots of other bands out there who are not as bad as them who would have just as equally, if not more, fit as an opener than Waterparks.
I don’t know how you can say the novelty has worn off when the entire tour is still sold out and resale tickets aren’t cheap. Like, that’s not a sign of a band that’s going to be playing nightclubs anytime soon.
Somehow got 2 tickets for $150 total back when they went on sale. I think they added an extra date and I got in right before dynamic pricing jumped up.
The tour sold incredibly well, but it's not sold out by any stretch of the imagination. There are 5 LA dates, and 4 of them have several tickets available at face value. I love MCR and want them to be successful as much as anyone, but they can't rest on their laurels if they want to sustain this hype going forward,
Anyway, on the topic of openers, Taking Back Sunday & Waterparks are the only ones I frequently listen to and neither are on my date, so I guess I'll have to start listening to this Homeless Gospel Choir.
Just pumped The Homeless Gospel Choir will be the opener in Sunrise - Maura Weaver from Mixtapes has been touring with them, so that should be cool!