Weezer keeps things short and sweet as usual

GEEKY, bespectacled and standing at just 5'6" (1.69 metres), Rivers Cuomo looks more like a librarian than a rock star.

But like Joseph Schooling, he's living proof dreams can come true if you mix hard work with talent.

The 46-year-old has been the driving force of his band Weezer for over two decades now; and as its frontman and principal songwriter, Cuomo single-handedly pioneered the emo genre with the release of the group's 1994 debut The Blue Album.

The record featured indie rock classics like My Name is Jonas, Undone (The Sweater Song) and Weezer's signature hit Buddy Holly - all of which were warmly received and got the loudest singalongs at the band's first Singapore concert on Monday at the Suntec Convention & Exhibition Centre.

Despite only playing for 75 minutes, the 3,000 fans probably didn't feel too shortchanged because Weezer - like its fun-sized frontman and the length of its albums (which average around 30-35 minutes) - is all about being short and sweet.

The quartet, which also includes Brian Bell on guitar, Scott Shriner on bass and Patrick Wilson on drums, managed to pack a whopping 16 songs into a setlist that would have made a fantastic greatest hits compilation; and showcased Cuomo's knack for writing catchy choruses and infectious guitar hooks.

Nothing has changed over the years - songs like the Beach Boys-inspired California Kids and Thank God for Kids off the band's recently released The White Album sounded as good as anything he has written back in the day.

Neither did Only in Dreams from its debut sound out of place when it was mashed up with King of the World off the group's newest record - considering both songs were written 22 years apart, it pretty much proved Weezer's music is quite timeless.

For the encore, Cuomo came back on stage alone to perform a solo cover version of Fun's We Are Young. Some might say he is a little too old to be still writing songs about chasing girls but hey, age is just a number when you've still got it.