Weezer Invites Philadelphia to The Gathering

2 days ago

6 min read

Updated: 4 minutes ago

Alternative rock legends Weezer have finally released their long-awaited new self-titled album Weezer, also known as Gold Album, via Warner Records on August 21. Not only is this their first full-length album release since 2022’s SZNZ, this is also Weezer’s 20th album, fully earning its gold. To celebrate, Weezer embarked on an extensive North American arena tour, titled “The Gathering”, which is their first U.S. tour since 2024. On September 29, Weezer arrived at Xfinity Mobile Arena in Philadelphia. In honor of the new album, many fans arrived to the show adorned in shimmering gold outfits, already proving the passion and dedication of the Weezer fanbase. Weezer performed a massive 26-song setlist full of new songs, deep cuts, and major hits, all while keeping the crowd immersed in a story, in true Weezer fashion.

Starting off the night was alternative rock band Silversun Pickups. Having just released a new album Tenderhooks via New Machine Recordings, the band played a few new tracks such as “The Wreckage”. The band has a shoegaze sound with a bit of post-punk influence, creating a unique soundscape that already had the fans engaged. The crowd was immersed in the set, waving their arms and clapping along. Vocalist and guitarist Brian Aubert thanked Weezer for bringing them on the tour, and he and bassist Nikki Monninger made the Weezer “W” hand symbol, and the fans followed along. The band closed their set with their 2014 hit “Lazy Eye”, with Nikki Monninger taking over for lead vocals. Even if it was their first time hearing of Silversun Pickups, the crowd was fully engaged in the music, and were successfully warmed up for the rest of the night.

SILVERSUN PICKUPS: Website | Facebook | Instagram | X | YouTube

Silversun Pickups:

Brian Aubert - lead vocals, guitar

Nikki Monninger - bass, backing vocals, occasional lead vocals

Chris Guanlao - drums, percussion

Joe Lester - keyboards

Silversun Pickups - Setlist

Well Thought Out Twinkles

The Wreckage

Dots and Dashes (Enough Already)

Panic Switch

Lazy Eye

The second and final opener was 90s indie rock band The Shins. Led by sole original member James Mercer, the band is not confined to one genre or sound. From acoustic guitars to shoegazy tracks, no two songs in the set sounded the same. The crowd was fully immersed in the set since every track sounded unique. James also mentioned that this tour was the band’s first arena tour, to which the fans cheered. The band closed with “Sleeping Lessons” from their 2007 album Wincing the Right Way. By the end of the set, the crowd was fully hyped for the headlining act.

THE SHINS: Website | Facebook | Instagram | YouTube

The Shins:

James Mercer - lead vocals, guitar

Yuuki Matthews - bass, keyboards, backing vocals

Mark Watrous - guitar, backing vocals

Jon Sortland - drums, backing vocals

Patti King - keyboards, backing vocals

The Shins - Setlist

Simple Song

Australia

Gone for Good

So Now What

Saint Simon

Heartworms

Kissing the Lipless

Caring is Creepy

Phantom Limb

New Slang

Sleeping Lessons

As the lights dimmed for the final time that night, excitement filled the room, with everyone eagerly anticipating the headliner. The stage was reminiscent of a suburban neighborhood, with a quaint house, a mailbox, telephone wires, astroturf under the mic stands, and a large fence. A video began to play on the screen above the stage, showing a young boy telling his bullies that he can get Weezer to play at his house. The boy writes a letter hoping for his wish to come true, and the ink on the letter turns to gold as the camera cuts to Rivers Cuomo, who then rushes to tell the rest of the band that they need to play a show. The light on the stage turned to gold as the fence began to open, revealing Weezer walking onto the stage as cheers erupted throughout the arena. They opened with Weezer (Gold Album)’s lead single “Shine Again”, and followed with the fan-favorite “Surf Wax America” from Weezer (Blue Album). The passion from the fans was infectious as they sang along to every lyric.

A constant with Weezer shows is that the band always knows how to weave a story through their performance, making their shows more of an experience rather than simply a concert. After playing several fan-favorites such as “Hash Pipe”, “The Good Life”, and “Beverly Hills”, sparks flew from the telephone wires on the stage, and Rivers turned to the crowd for advice on what to do next after this “power outage”. The verdict was unanimous: an acoustic set. Drummer Patrick Wilson picked up an acoustic guitar as the band sat around a fire and performed the Rivers Cuomo solo song “Longtime Sunshine”, a deep cut for Weezer superfans. After performing the Weezer (Blue Album) classic “In the Garage”, Rivers notices a voltage switch, and asks “Has this been here the whole time?”. After flipping the switch, the power came back, but first, Rivers noticed a large box with the note “special delivery for Rivers Cuomo”. Inside the box was a drum kit, and Rivers played drums while Patrick Wilson played guitar for the Weezer (Red Album) hit “Pork and Beans”. And the surprises weren’t done yet: Nikki Monninger from Silversun Pickups, carrying a wand and dressed in gold, stepped out from the house on the stage and joined the band for “We Might As Well Be Strangers”, “Go Away”, and “I Just Threw Out the Love of My Dreams”.

Besides the incredible performance that Weezer put on, the passion and energy among the fans added to the experience. During Weezer (Gold Album) songs like “CEO” and “Say Yes”, the screen on the stage had a “Gold Cam” where it featured fans who were dressed in gold, and the amount of fans who were featured was endless. For hits like “Undone - The Sweater Song” and “Say It Ain’t So”, the voices of the crowd singing along nearly rivaled the band’s. The band also made sure to make things unique for each city by changing up the lyrics of a few songs, such as saying “half-Philadelphia girls” in “El Scorcho” and ending “Beverly Hills” with “living in Philadelphia, PA”. To conclude the set, Weezer first played their hit “Buddy Holly”, and featured a young fan on the screen to air-guitar the iconic riff as confetti shot into the crowd. The final song of the night was “Island in the Sun”, and large pool inflatables were tossed into the crowd for fans to throw. As Weezer took their final bow, Philly fans threw their hands in the air making the “W” hand symbol, and knew that they would always remember “The Gathering”.