Most attend the annual Minnesota State Fair to see the sights, jump on some rides, or even sample a wide array of foods. But a near capacity crowd showed up on Saturday night to catch Weezer, The Struts, and Fury Things, as they performed live at the Grandstand.
Fury Things started off the night with a heavy indie rock set. Based out of the Twin Cities, Fury Things surely didn’t disappoint. It was clear the band was enjoying their time onstage and they had the showmanship to back it up. The members moved about across the huge stage throughout the set. Bassist Devon Bryant even threw in a few classic jumps for good measure.
The Struts, who originate across the pond in Derby, England, took the stage and never looked back and effortlessly won over the Grandstand crowd. Presenting a huge amount of artistic passion and raw energy, lead singer Luke Spiller was constantly dancing and moving about across the stage. Dressed in a kimono-style outfit, he seemed to channel some rock greats like Mick Jagger, Freddie Mercury, even a little bit of Steven Tyler. It was easy to see that The Struts had come to fully deliver a solid performance and that is exactly what they did. Spiller was very fluid and engaged the crowd in several sing-a-longs, in which the crowd eagerly participated.
After a brief pause for stage modifications, the lights dropped and Weezer stepped onstage. The seated crowd jumped to their feet and began to roar. Weezer kicked things into gear with “California Kids”, which appears on their new album. In true Weezer fashion, the band jumped back to their earlier material, with “Hash Pipe” and “My Name Is Jonas.” The response from the crowd remained constant as you could easily hear the crowd singing along with each song.
Weezer wrapped up with “Say It Ain’t So,” a track off of their 1994 debut album. For an encore, the crowd didn’t have to wait long before frontman Rivers Cuomo emerged and positioned himself behind the keyboard to lead the crowd in a short cover “We Are Young.”