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Concert Reviews: KROQ Weenie Roast & Luau - Jun 14, 1997

KROQ Weenie Roast & Luau - Jun 14, 1997

Main Stage: The CureThe OffspringThe Chemical BrothersOasisFoo FightersBlurSocial DistortionThe WallflowersThird Eye BlindRadioheadEcho & the BunnymenThe Mighty Mighty BosstonesReel Big FishSquirrel Nut Zippers

One of my first concerts. I went with a buddy named Andy. We were given Hawaiian leis upon entry and I received some cassette samplers. One of which was from the band Hed. I would later go on to tell my friends that we got head and got laid. We didn't see any of the side-stage bands, but saw all of the main stage bands.

I was quite young and didn't know many of the bands other than their radio hits. This was my first taste of Social Distortion and I enjoyed their set. They seemed to be one of the first bands of the evening that the crowd was really excited to see. Blur had an energy driven set and I was surprised to find that I recognized at least one song other than "Song 2." I don't remember which song that was now, but I'm sure it was awesome.

Foo Fighters were one of the few bands of the evening whose non-radio songs I had heard. I had a pretty big Nirvana faze shortly following Kurt Cobain's passing and purchased the self-titled debut album from Grohl's new venture. I don't remember much of the set, but I do know they played "I'll Stick Around," "Big Me" and "For All the Cows." It's hard to imagine Foo Fighters being a smaller act with only one or two singles and the crowd was incredibly tame compared to what you would expect to see at a Foo Fighters show today, but it was cool to see them so early in their career.

I enjoyed the 2 Oasis songs that I knew ("Champagne Supernova" and "Wonderwall") but was pretty bored with their set otherwise. Remember again that I was pretty young and angsty. Not much angst to be released during an Oasis set. Unless you're one of the Galagers maybe.

The Chemical Brothers were interesting; I was unaware of what djs did, so at the time I thought it looked like two guys pushing a bunch of buttons. I wasn't into it but I do remember hearing "Block Rockin Beats." They were the 3rd to last band and I think this was partially because they used a light show that required darkness and this was the first time-slot after sundown.

Next was the band my buddy and I REALLY came to see, The Offspring! This was shortly after Ixnay on the Hombre was released, so the set featured mostly the hits from that album and Smash. The songs I can remember include "Come Out and Play," "Bad Habit," "Gotta Get Away," "Self Esteem," "Mota," "Gone Away," "Me and My Old Lady," "The Meaning of Life" and "All I Want." 

My buddy and I had been throwing random objects all day so when Dexter told the crowd that the arena was looking dirty and perhaps we should throw all that trash on stage, we went ape-shit! Luckily we were somewhat near the back, so we weren't in the main artillery range. Everything and anything that wasn't tied down was flying through the air. Cassette tapes were smashed open and the spools were thrown like toilet paper. Flyers were thrown like frisbees, lemons and sometimes the lemon-aid that they were served in were flung in all directions and free merchandise from the vendors turned into cannon fodder. It was a good 4-5 minutes of complete chaos until the crowd ran out of ammo and the band returned to the stage.

The headlining band was The Cure and although I wanted to leave because I wasn't really a fan of music outside of my generation at the time. However, looking back it was a pretty special moment to be able to witness. I guess this was somewhat of a reunion show for them and the crowd that remained to see them (half of the audience left after Offspring) was treated to 2-3 possibly 4 encores. I remember getting there before noon and leaving after midnight. All in all, it was an awesome experience and knew it wouldn't be long before I would be back to see another KROQ Weenie Roast.