Hot Gig Alert (10/6): Weathers brings “Pillows & Therapy” to life in Cambridge tomorrow
The last time the road dogs in LA’s Weathers made a stop in Boston with Echosmith, it was just weeks before the world effectively shut down, and finally tomorrow the band makes their much-anticipated return to Massachusetts. The band hits the iconic Middle East Club in Cambridge tomorrow night on what I believe to be their first full headline run in the states. With support coming from Aaron Taos and Kenzo Cregan, it’s sure to be one of the danciest nights you’ve had in a while.
While Weathers has always kept their sets’ filled with upbeat moments, the lyrics behind much of their music has never shied away from the importance of mental health. Something that has never felt more important and while making their new record, “Pillows & Therapy” (8/13 on Bitter Kid Records), the band found the perfect outlet in the midst of a global pandemic. While in a chat with the band last month, the band shared that the album came together during the early days of the pandemic. The band commented, “The record started to come together in mid-2020. We already had a lot of the songs done and it was mainly about putting them all together. We were definitely struggling with the nature of the pandemic, but we found ways to still write and record music. It even encouraged us to look back into our library of demos and pick out songs we still really liked.”
Struggling with the nature of the pandemic is a mutual feeling amongst many bands and fans and the tracks off this record have been resonating with fans in a big way. Songs, in particular, the band says people have seemed to really get into are anchors to the record like “American Dream” and “In Love With Myself”. As well as not shying away from feelings on tracks like “American Dream” and “Talking is Hard”, the band, of course, brought in a visual element with music videos as they have for the length of their careers. With the latter in particular, Cameron Boyer joined the direction team for the video, the first visual release for the album, and the video speaks volumes.
“Music videos are very important to me. I don’t want to be a band that only has music to offer. Music videos can breathe new life into a song and that’s what I always intend to do. We love using physical representations of states of mental health. Mental health can be so powerful sometimes that it literally feels like we are fighting actual monsters. And that’s what I wanted to convey in the video.” -Weathers on the story behind the video for “Talking Is Hard”
The band has been back on the road for a little while now with the tour rounding out back home in Los Angeles at the end of this month. The band was a little rusty getting ready for it, in their words, but now are in the full swing of things. Said the band, “We had to practice a lot to shake off the rust. The last 4 practices leading up to the tour were the best. We really dialed everything in and especially during the last practice, it really felt like we were right back in it.”. When it comes to what to expect in these first sets back for the band, the band went in baring their souls when it came to what to play in these headline sets. “We just went in with the mentality of ‘let’s put everything we possibly can on the table. And let’s just let our feelings with the past year flow out of us and incorporate that into the energy of the show.’ We didn’t want to shy away any of the feelings we’ve been dealing with.”, remarked the band.
If a Weathers set is something you haven’t seen before, you can’t miss out tomorrow! It’s sure to be emotional, but a therapeutic night for both the band and the fans. The setlist according to the band is sure to be pure bangers. The band shared a sneak peek by saying, “this will be a very energetic and emotional set for sure. When it comes to songs, we are playing all the favorites from the previous singles and album, as well as playing most of the songs off the new album.” Limited tickets are still available for tomorrow here, as well as VIP where you’ll have a chance to chat with the band. In a time where a little human interaction is crucial. As it is for most if not all venues in the area, proof of vaccination or a negative test is required, with doors opening at 8 pm! Hope to see you there!