As soon as I had heard that the Rentals and Ozma were doing a tour, I immediately told my friends about it and got tickets for the show, which ended up being around $30 a ticket. Ozma reunited a few months ago and I had already seen them about 5 times total, but I still was excited to see them because I knew they’re always a blast to watch. I had never seen the Rentals play before and this was the opportunity to finally see them.
Ozma, who are often compared to Weezer, play melodic, intelligent rock and roll. They have two guitarists, a bassist, a drummer, and a keyboardist. The Rentals are lead by Matt Sharp, former bassist of Weezer, and play catchy rock featuring Moog synthesizers.
The opening act of the show was Irving, which also had a keyboardist. They play infectious, clean pop rock which reminded me of older bands like XTC or The Monochrome Set. I found them interesting because they had no lead singer, as three band members shared vocal duties. Although they were pretty good and one of the better opening bands I’ve seen, they were just a small appetizer for what was to come.
Ozma finally came out and sounded better than ever before. Daniel Brummel, bassist and co-lead singer, and Ryen Slegr, lead guitarist and co-lead singer, seemed to play with a certain kind of zest which I had never seen in them before. I assume it was because they were excited to see the Rentals play. They had previously toured with Weezer and are known to be big fans of the Rentals. They started with their song “Natalie Portman,” which had each member quietly join in before it went into full swing. The eight minute, crowd favorite “Battlescars” was also played and the Henry Fonda provided an interesting array of lights on the band. By the end of their set, it seemed that Ozma picked up a quite a few new fans.
Before the Rentals went on, classic Christmas songs were being played over the loud speakers. Once they finally went on, everyone could see wonderful Christmas lights of all different colors decorating the stage. They created a very unique, happy atmosphere before they even started playing. It’s been a decade since his time with Weezer, but Matt Sharp had more energy than ever before. He was jumping, yelling, and was happy just being in the presence of the band and the audience. While the Moog carried the songs, Lauren Chipman added viola to the mix and it sounded real good.
Ryen Slegr of Ozma played electric guitar in many of the songs, which was a very pleasant surprise for this Ozma fan. The Rentals had a blast playing, which lead to the audience having a blast watching. The show ended with the Rentals’ most popular song, “Friends of P,” but all the members of Irving and Ozma went up on stage and sang along with the Rentals. It truly was the perfect ending to a perfect show which had a fantastic atmosphere.
The Rentals and Ozma will continue touring until August 10th, 2006. I’m hoping that they’ll do another tour together because they created one of the most unique experiences and pleasant atmospheres for a show ever.
Reference:
- Official website of The Rentals:www.therentals.com Official website of Ozma: www.ozmaonline.com Official website of Irving: www.thebandirving.com
