Much of Oxford will be missing this New Year’s Eve, either at the Sugar Bowl or spending the holiday with loved ones out of town. Ajax has bravely volunteered, however, to ship in a few guys from the delta to make sure that those of us left behind have a party to ring in the new year.
“A Weezer New Year” will consist of four musicians – Starlin Browning, Reed Smith, Jesse Mansfield and Ethan Frink – who have been active in North Mississippi with their own respective bands. Members of Fides, Water Spaniel, The Tallahatchies, and Greater Pyrenees are all represented in the lineup.
The band will be playing the entirety of Weezer’s 1996 album “Pinkerton.” Though this shindig has occurred each of the past three Halloween nights in Cleveland, MS (“Halloweezer,” as they call it), the band was looking to take the show on the road.
“We did the first Halloweezer at the request of the only local venue in Cleveland,” explains Jesse Mansfield. “The four of us in the band were all in the same recording program at Delta State University, the Delta Music Institute.”
“Maybe we’ll get it right this time.”
Though the band is not technically local, they have several ties to Oxford and its music scene.
“Our drummer Ethan is from Oxford, and plays in several local bands,” Mansfield says. “We’ve all played there and have been wanting to bring the show to another place and time besides Cleveland on Halloween.”
As for the music itself, Mansfield says that Weezer was not necessarily an obvious choice. It has, however, proved to be a popular one.
“Weezer is what we were propositioned with. They have enough material that everyone knows, and it’s all glorious, unashamed rock n’ roll.”
“‘Pinkerton’ is easily the best album they did. ‘Blue’ comes close, but everything was laid out on ‘Pinkerton’.”
And Ajax might just be the perfect venue for such an unapologetic band on such a fun night; Mansfield likens Weezer to an Ajax casserole, in that both are “really, really hot for like two minutes, and then pretty much un-reheat-able after that.”
The show is free of charge, and begins 10 PM on New Year’s Eve.
