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By Chris Moriates

Daily Bruin Contributor

Weezer just might save the world - well, at least the world of rock 'n' roll.

The group's four indie rock heroes, costumed in their trademark "geek" attire, put faith back in the fate of rock music, Friday night at the Hollywood Palladium.

Displaying the pure power of well-written rock music, Weezer brought a sold out, fanatical crowd to the Palladium for the Yahoo! Outloud tour, which also featured The Get Up Kids and Ozma.

The celebration began with the high-energy, fun-filled Get Up Kids, who were in especially high spirits due to lead singer Matthew Pryor's 24th birthday.

The Vagrant Records band performed a 45-minute set that featured songs from its previous albums along with a special birthday celebration cover of Cheap Trick's "Surrender."

The Kansas natives of Get Up Kids expressed their appreciation for performing in Los Angeles, but also sarcastically welcomed, "All the celebrities and children of celebrities in the VIP balcony."

After the lively Get Up Kids performance, the stage was cleared and out came Weezer's equipment. But instruments and amplifiers weren't the only thing set up: Weezer transformed the Palladium into a typical, low-fi high school gymnasium, complete with a mock basketball court stage floor, basketball hoops hanging on the sides of the stage, streamers, cheesy lighting and a home video.

Talk about geek rock at its finest!

As the basketball hoops were mounted, the anticipation in the crowd began to swell a full 15 minutes before Weezer appeared. When the quartet did arrive to sit down next to their amps, the vivacity of the crowd contrasted brilliantly with the extremely slow opening song.

As the familiar opening riff of "My Name is Jonas" let the audience know that it was time to rock, the band jumped to its feet.

Armed with well-known songs that feature melodies and hooks that are more contagious than a virus, Weezer worked through an hour-long set and then returned to play a two-song encore for the chanting fans.

"It's nice to be home," said lead singer Rivers Cuomo between songs.

Weezer presented a sneak peak into its next album, which will come out later this year, with a few new songs placed toward the middle of the set. Mixing new songs with radio staples such as "Say it Ain't So" and "Buddy Holly" kept the energy going.

Cuomo and company returned with an encore performance featuring "Only in Dreams" and "Surfwax America." The band then left the stage for the last time in grand fashion; a bass guitar was even thrown out into the audience. Security, however, retrieved it and took it back.

Despite the fact that Weezer has not released an album in over four years, Friday's show proved that the band is still on top of its game and loving it. The quartet also plans to tour again following the release of its new album, so dig up "Pinkerton" and that old sweater, and get ready to rock it Weezer-style.

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