Earlier this year, Weezer relented to a fan campaign urging the band to cover “Africa,” Toto‘s signature hit from 1982.
But before Weezer released their version of “Africa,” they also took on Toto’s “Rosanna.” Those tributes put a favorable spotlight on both bands, so it’s only fitting Toto would eventually return the favor. Earlier this week, it finally happened when Toto covered one of Weezer’s songs. Via Rolling Stone, Toto dropped their version of Toto’s “Hash Pipe” during a July 30 concert in Vancouver. According to the report, Toto’s Steve Lukather shared the following message with the crowd: “We figured since we were smoking hash since before they were born, that’s the one we should do. This is our tribute to Weezer, God bless ’em.”
It shouldn’t be too surprising Toto’s version of “Hash Pipe” is pretty terrific. And we can probably take Lukather at his word about the band smoking hash long before Weezer was around. Toto was formed all the way back in 1976, and they’ve still got it after four decades together.
Of course, that’s only one Weezer cover for two Toto covers. The way we see it, Toto should take on at least one more Weezer song to even the score between them. Perhaps Weezer’s “Say It Ain’t So” would be a good choice for Toto. Given the mutual admiration between the two bands, we’d love to see Weezer and Toto share the stage as well.
What did you think about Toto’s cover of “Hash Pipe”? Which Weezer song should they cover next? Let us know in the comment section below!
Image: Shaun Ledding
