Weezer’s ‘The Gathering’ Tour Has Something for Everyone

Welcome to The Gathering. The setting: a young Weezer fan’s front lawn. The time: now.

Weezer, known for making several self-titled albums differentiated by color, performed at the United Center on their arena tour, The Gathering, Sept. 22. The theme for the evening was akin to a 10-year-old’s dream — their favorite band playing on the front lawn and adventures to go with it. 

The stage decorations were a house with a white picket fence, a porch and a mailbox for all in attendance to see. 

Silversun Pickups and The Shins opened the show, though neither band seemed well suited as an opener for Weezer. Despite being considered alt-rock and indie bands, Weezer’s sound was much heavier and more distinct than the two. 

After the lackluster openers, the screen behind the stage began playing a pre-recorded video skit of a young boy getting picked on. In response, the boy creates a poster advertising Weezer performing at his house. In the video, Rivers Cuomo, the band’s lead singer, becomes possessed and gathers the rest of the band to come on stage.

“Dearly beloved, today we are here to celebrate this thing called Weezer,” Cuomo said. 

Concert-goers, some clad in gold, erupted in cheers as the band started their set off with “Shine Again” from their most recent record, Aug. 21 release “Weezer (The Gold Album).” 

Reviews of “The Gold Album” were mixed, a persistent trend with Weezer albums since “Pinkerton” in 1996. 

The members of Weezer seemed quite aware that fans are divided on their favorite era of the Los Angeles-based band. There are a few factions Weezer fans seem to fall into, and in their live performances, the band plays into this well — think Matt Damon and Leslie Jones’ 2018 Saturday Night Live skit.  

Their sets typically include a bit of everything, with the album most featured being 1994’s “Weezer (The Blue Album).” 

The performance by Weezer, no matter the song, was electrifying. The band controlled both the crowd and their performance with ease, mixing small skits and pyrotechnics into the set. 

“Hash Pipe,” a heavier rock song with strong guitar and bass, featured towering flames, clashing with the band’s nerdy persona despite the song’s references to cannabis. 

Most kids’ houses don’t have four holes with flames coming out during dramatics, do they?

Weezer is ultimately a power-pop and alternative rock band with no real need for pyrotechnics. It may have looked cool, but it felt out of place considering the band’s slacker rock origins and the theme of the evening. 

From deep cuts from “Everything Will Be Alright In The End” to popular hits from “Weezer (Blue Album),” the band provided something for every fan.

“Any ‘Maladroit’ fans out there?” Cuomo asked in the middle of the set. 

A few fans screamed in reply. “Maladroit” isn’t a popular Weezer album, though at the time of its 2002 release, it received mixed, positive-leaning reviews. 

Cuomo’s performance of “Lonely Girl,” an “Everything Will Be Alright In The End” track characterized by whiny vocals and a catchy melody, wasn’t well-received by the audience, with the crowd bouncing along, not knowing the words. 

The same reaction was shared for songs off their newest album, including  “C.E.O.”

“Wish I could do something new,” Cuomo sang. “But nobody wants to hear that.”

With middling reviews, “The Gold Album” served its purpose as another mid-tier Weezer album that gave fans another tour. 

After a heartfelt performance of the soft-to-loud “Across the Sea,” the band acted out a storm with a power outage to begin their acoustic set. 

“Longtime Sunshine,” a song off of Cuomo’s 2007 solo project, was performed with the artist on keyboard. The whole band joined back in for the sincere and earnest “In The Garage.” 

To end the acoustic set and “turn on the power,” Cuomo flipped a conveniently forgotten giant power switch. Once the switch was flipped, a giant color-changing Weezer logo descended from above the stage into view.

A new drum set arrived and Cuomo performed “Pork and Beans” on drums as drummer Patrick Wilson played guitar. 

The set then shifted to more popular songs like “Pink Triangle” and “Undone (The Sweater Song),” causing the energy of the crowd to grow.

A loud whooshing sound swept the arena as a portal suddenly appeared offstage, and Nikki Monninger, bassist for the Silversun Pickups, walked out the front door to perform “We Might as Well Be Strangers” and “Go Away” as duets with Cuomo and “I Just Threw Out the Love of My Dreams” as the lead vocalist. 

Monniger went back into the house, and the band continued with “El Scorcho” from “Pinkerton.” 

The hits kept rolling with “Say It Ain’t So,” featuring pyrotechnics that, this time, fit the energy of the song. A fan from the floor was chosen to perform the air guitar riff during “Buddy Holly.” Singing along, the audience member performed the riff to crowd and band approval. 

The popular hit “Island in the Sun” closed out the evening with high energy. 

As the crowd chanted for one more song, Cuomo’s bandmates encouraged him to jump into the fake pool off-stage, ending the show on a high note — or a not-so-literal splash.