They’re an arena-alt act perfect for these things, with a clutch of hits and singalongs that provide the ideal mix of pathos, quirkiness, and sheer infectiousness. ? And every time they do, the bring a set built to ensure an almost unyielding endorphin rush across an hour or hour and fifteen minutes. Weezer appears at festivals often they appear at unhip ones often, too. But approaching it that way not only squanders the joys littered throughout the band’s career, but also ignores the fact that they’ve become a pinnacle of reliability in the context of the festival circuit. All these years and albums later, some fans are still waiting for a euphoric recall of the band’s mid-’90s classics. And, thankfully, Weezer were there to deliver last night. All of which is to say: The acts that are here this year that are worth getting excited about have that much more pressure to deliver, to be the bright spots worth remembering amidst an generally lackluster bill. Even in its better installments, Firefly often has a tendency to grab a few truly massive names, mix it with some of indie’s exciting but ubiquitous names of that particular year, then some past-their-moment rock acts and pop-leaning acts you don’t really know or care much about. Whether it’s over-saturation or simply artists’ touring and album cycles, the initial batch of fests this year have offered somewhat anemic and repetitive lineups from one to the next.
Like many American festivals through the first half of 2017, Firefly’s lineup has suffered this year.