Meet Ōtautahi's premiere Weezer tribute act, Weezier.

They only play one show a year. But they make that show count.

Three years ago, Ōtautahi friends Chris Dabinett and Tim Winfield were discussing projects they might be able to work on together. Winfield suggested they start a tribute band for one of his favourite acts, perhaps The Stone Roses, or maybe Portishead. Dabinett shook his head. “I don't know the Stone Roses,” he told him.

Then Winfield suggested another act they could mimic: Weezer. Dabinett, a full-time music teacher, had heard of the Californian rock act, but only knew a couple of their songs. That night, he went home and binged his way through as many of their 15 albums as he could find. “I got really into it … the back catalogue, everything,” he says.

He found he connected deeply with Rivers Cuomo, the Weezer front man who has, over the years, had a love-hate relationship with being the lead singer in a famous rock band. “I have a real affinity with him,” says Dabinett . “I really relate to that guy [and] his personality. I love the anti-rock hero stance. He's just a super creative guy.”

So, the following day, he messaged Winfield and told him: “Yeah, we should do that.” With Dabinett singing and playing guitar and Winfield on bass, they drafted another friend, Matthew Stockwell, to play drums. The trio headed into a garage and began jamming, ripping through Weezer’s biggest songs, ‘Buddy Holly’ and ‘Say It Ain’t So’.

At that moment, Ōtautahi’s premiere Weezer tribute act – called Weezier – was born.

Weezier: Tim Winfield, Chris Dabinett and Matthew Stockwell.

This isn’t a full-time job. It’s barely part-time. Just once a year, the trio book a show at Ōtautahi venue darkroom, sell tickets for cheap, pack in diehard Weezer fans, then rip through a two-and-a-half-hour set that includes The Blue Album and Pinkerton in full. “We are Weezer for the night,” says Dabinett. “It’s a great feeling to have some instant fame [even if it’s] on the coat tails of someone who's done the hard work.”

They’re becoming small-town famous for this. After their shows, fans fight over setlists and ask them to sign autographs. The trio get recognised in the street. Once, someone came up to Dabinett after a show to tell him his wife was convinced Weezier really is the real Weezer. “It feels a little bit wrong,” admits Dabinett. “You’re living off the success of someone who has put in a lifetime of work writing music.”

He got his head around it by becoming a superfan, making sure every aspect of the show is as close to the real Weezer experience as possible. Dabinett wears Cuomo’s black-rimmed glasses, has the same lightning bolt guitar strap and has seen every live concert he can find on YouTube. “We’re just super into Weezer,” he says. Like is attracting like, with last year’s show packed full of Weezer nerds. “They knew all of the songs, even songs most people would never know. It was a really good meeting of the fan club.” Rivers, believes Dabinett, would be chuffed.

They didn’t know it at the time, but Weezier is part of a huge trend. Tribute acts are in constant demand. Last night, Thin Lizzy, Green Day and Foo Fighters tribute bands performed together at Big Fan. Acts playing as Fleetwood Mac, Pink Floyd and Elton John are all on tour this month. A UB40 tribute band is playing in November, despite one version of the real thing visiting us next month. A fake Michael Jackson toured earlier this year. By the end of the year, two different Abba tribute acts will visit our shores.

I spoke to a Soundgarden and Rage Against the Machine tribute act booked for a nine-date tour earlier this year. “What we have seen since we started is a massive increase in 90s tribute bands,” they told me. “It’s banger after banger – the [setlist] writes itself.” It’s no surprise. Nostalgia for the 90s is at an all-time high, with (the real) Limp Bizkit selling out Spark Arena. Yet Soundgarden’s lead singer Chris Cornell died in 2017 while Rage Against the Machine say they’ll never tour again.

The real Weezer.

Weezer, though, are alive and kicking: currently on tour with The Flaming Lips and Dinosaur Jr, they’re celebrating the 30th anniversary of the Blue Album by playing it in full. (They were last here in 2017 opening for the Foo Fighters at the infamous Foos & Weez tour; they were due again in 2020 with Fall Out Boy and Green Day on the Hella Mega tour, but the show was cancelled by Covid.)

Weezier are succeeding because Weezer is unlikely to ever visit Ōtautahi, says Dabinett. They’re as good as any of their fans in that part of the world are going to get. And so, for one night a year, the fake band and the real fans get to come together and shout the chorus to ‘Undone’ and ‘Beverly Hills’ until their throats are raw.

It begs the question: why just one show? “It’s just a real event,” says Dabinett, “otherwise it would be watered down.” He has to go: their next show is just a few weeks away and the trio are due in the garage for rehearsals. Plus, Dabinett needs to check Facebook for any recent Weezer updates. “I’m on the top fan list,” he says. “I’m liking a lot of posts – too many, probably.”

Weezier play Ōtautahi's darkroom on October 18; tickets are available here.

My little newsletter is about to hit a very big milestone: 1000 subscribers is just a few more sign-ups away. If you know of anyone who might enjoy this, please share it with them…

Everything you need to know.

• We’re not getting visits from Olivia Rodrigo, Billie Eilish, Kylie Minogue, Green Day, The Killers or The Weeknd, and now it seems like we won’t get a Katy Perry tour either. The beleaguered pop star has announced an Australian tour including four dates in June next year. Judging by the terrible reviews of her new album, perhaps that’s one show we won’t be too worried about missing out on.

• Some shows that are confirmed: Billie Eilish’s brother Finneas will be here in January; Peach Pit will be here in March; Joan as Police Woman will play three shows in May; Womad has confirmed its 2025 date and a first round of headliners; so has Homegrown, which also has Dave Dobbyn; Laneway has confirmed it will return in 2025, but there’s still no sign of a line-up; Coldplay has replaced pinkpanthress with Emmanuel Kelly, Ayra Starr and Shone for their three Eden Park shows; and Earthgang will replace Flo Milli on the Listen In line-up, which kicks off our summer festival season next Friday.

• Speaking of festivals, does anyone remember the days of Vans, energy drinks, skate ramps and pop-punk acts like Sum 41, Pennywise and Reel Big Fish? I’m talking about the Warped tour (yes, it came here) and the founders say it’s making a comeback in 2025. “Details should be ready in a few weeks,” says Keven Lyman.

• James Blake is done with monopolies ruling over the live touring industry. “I refuse to subject my fans to the huge amount of hidden fees they have to pay to come see me live. I’m not just talking about the ones you see at checkout,” the musician wrote on Facebook. “I’m sick of the control over every single aspect of the live experience meaning that a career in live music … is harder and harder to justify as a career path.” It’s worth reading his missive in full. Thoughts?

• It’s a tough ask putting together a list compiling the top 100 movie soundtracks, but Rolling Stone has given it a go. Reservoir Dogs at No. 53? And what, no Hanna? Somebody set Saoirse Ronan on them.

• An interesting update on Sean Combs’ jail situation: he’s sharing a cell with crypto fraudster Sam Bankman-Fried, reports the New York Times ($$).

• Robert Smith and The Cure haven’t released new music for 16 years. Today, that changes with the release of ‘Alone’, the first taste of the group’s new album Songs Of A Lost World, due out next month. It is a twisted seven minutes of angst and grief and release, and it does everything you’d hope a new Cure song would do…

Bonus beats.

Thanks for being here and supporting my newsletter. Every little contribution helps keep this thing going. If you’d like to contribute to the work I’m doing here, you know what to do…