LIVE REVIEW + PHOTOS: Weezer, Silversun Pickups, The Shins in Boston, MA (09.28.26)
There’s something about a Sunday night concert that just hits differently. Maybe it’s the realization that you probably should be getting ready for the week ahead, but instead you’re standing in a packed arena watching Weezer turn TD Garden into their own little backyard universe. Whatever it is, I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again: damn, don’t miss a Sunday show.
Weezer brought their “The Gathering” tour to Boston on Sunday, September 27, bringing along two bands that couldn’t have fit the theme much better: Silversun Pickups and The Shins. While I’ve seen plenty of Weezer shows over the years, this was easily one of the more interesting and unusually fun productions I’ve seen from them.
The stage itself immediately set the tone. Instead of the massive, arena-rock spectacle I’ve become accustomed to seeing from Weezer, there was a full-on Los Angeles-style bungalow sitting behind the band, complete with a satellite dish, white picket fence, bushes, backyard party lights, and a couple of utility poles with pairs of shoes dangling from the wires. It looked like somebody had taken a suburban backyard straight out of an old sitcom and dropped it into TD Garden.
Then the show started to make sense.
Silversun Pickups are always a great band to see when they come through Boston, and their short opening set packed plenty into the time they had.
I’ve been a fan since Carnavas hit me like a ton of bricks back when I was working in New York City. Their buzzing, distorted, grungy fuzz-rock sound was the perfect soundtrack for riding the busy subway every day. There’s something about the band that takes everything I love about ’90s fuzz rock and keeps it alive, especially that Smashing Pumpkins-esque combination of distortion, melody, and controlled chaos.
They ripped through “Well Thought Out Twinkles,” “The Wreckage,” and “Dots and Dashes (Enough Already)” before getting into “Panic Switch” and “Lazy Eye,” which they absolutely crushed.
They’re also just a really fun band to watch. There’s a unique energy between the members, and you can visibly see them vibing off one another throughout the set. And it would be criminal not to mention their drummer, who is an absolute beast behind that kit. With his hair flying all over the place and the sheer aggression he brings to the drums, he reminded me of Animal from The Muppets if Animal had somehow been dropped into a ’90s alternative rock band.
Silversun Pickups may have only had a handful of songs to work with, but they made the most of them. Don’t sleep on this band. If you ever get the chance to see them live, do it.
The Shins followed with a set that brought an entirely different kind of energy to the evening.
I’ve always loved James Mercer’s voice. There’s something incredibly comforting about the way he sings. It’s laid-back and almost reassuring, like everything is going to be alright even when the song itself might suggest otherwise. His songwriting also has a way of painting these little scenes in your head, and hearing them live gave the songs a warmth that can sometimes get lost when listening to them at home or in the car.
They opened with “Simple Song,” one of my absolute favorites of theirs, and the set continued through “Australia,” “Gone for Good,” “So Now What,” “Saint Simon,” “Heartworms,” “Kissing the Lipless,” “Caring Is Creepy,” and “Phantom Limb.”
There was a lot more energy in these songs live than I sometimes remember hearing on record. The band brought new life to material that can feel pretty chill in its recorded form, and I could definitely see why The Shins were brought along for this particular tour. Their catalog fits the whole “Gathering” concept perfectly.
The lighting helped, too. A lot of golden and amber tones washed over the stage, giving the entire set a warm, almost nostalgic feeling.”New Slang” was a definite highlight, and hearing it live was a reminder of just how damn good that song is. They closed with “Sleeping Lessons,” which featured a brief nod to R.E.M.’s “It’s the End of the World as We Know It (And I Feel Fine).” It turned into a fun singalong with the crowd.
And honestly, who doesn’t enjoy that song? Man, I miss R.E.M.
Then came Weezer.
Before the band even walked onto the stage, a video introduced the loose storyline behind the entire show. A young boy, bullied for his drawings that resembled the strange sigils from The Gold Album cover, tries to convince his bullies that Weezer is going to play a show at his house. He even calls Weezer’s agent and offers 98 cents for the band to perform, only to get hung up on.
Undeterred, the kid writes a letter to Rivers Cuomo. Somehow, Cuomo becomes supernaturally transfixed by it, gathers the rest of the band, and convinces them to head over to the boy’s backyard. The video ends, and suddenly the band arrives. It was almost mystical to see them walk out on stage through that white picket fence setup through a plume of stage smoke.
Weezer launched into “Shine Again” and “Surf Wax America” before digging into a set that mixed plenty of familiar favorites with some seriously deep cuts. “Keep Fishin'” made its first live appearance since 2018, while “No Other One” returned in its first full-band performance since 2019. “Lonely Girl,” which hadn’t been played since 2014, and “Slob,” which hadn’t been played since 2005, were two other surprises that made the set feel like something more than just another greatest-hits run.
And then there was “C.E.O.,” “Beverly Hills,” “Falling for You,” and “Longtime Sunshine,” the latter getting a full-band acoustic treatment.
The whole show had this loose storyline running through it that made it feel more like a really fun play than a traditional concert. The audience wasn’t just watching Weezer perform songs. We were basically clued into this ridiculous little world they had created onstage, where the band was playing an oversized backyard party that kept running into increasingly absurd problems.
At one point, the backyard was “struck by lightning,” the power went out, and the band had to switch over to acoustic material. Rivers and the band gathered around a fire pit and played some of the more laid-back songs, with some unusual instrumentation thrown into the mix, including what sounded like an oboe or clarinet.
It was such a strange little moment in the middle of an arena show, and it worked.
Eventually, the band discovered a giant, ridiculously oversized power switch and, naturally, managed to turn the electricity back on.
That led to another one of my favorite moments of the night.
For “Pork and Beans,” Rivers moved behind a second drum kit while Pat Wilson picked up the guitar. The two then got into a little musical battle that, in my opinion, Pat very clearly won. Rivers eventually chased Pat around the stage trying to get his guitar back, because apparently even Weezer needs a little sibling rivalry in the backyard.
The band also brought Silversun Pickups bassist Nikki Monninger back out for a few songs, including “We Might as Well Be Strangers,” “Go Away,” and “I Just Threw Out the Love of My Dreams.” It was a nice touch that connected the different pieces of the night.
From there, the show kept building through “Undone – The Sweater Song,” “El Scorcho,” “Tired of Sex,” “Say It Ain’t So,” and “Buddy Holly.”And then came “Island in the Sun.”
As the song kicked in, the backyard party finally reached its ridiculous conclusion with a bunch of Weezer-branded pool floats being unleashed into the crowd.
It was the perfect ending to a show that had spent the previous couple of hours slowly building its own little world.
There were plenty of fans in the building who clearly came prepared for the occasion, too. Gold clothing, gold face paint, and all sorts of other golden attire were scattered throughout the crowd in celebration of The Gold Album and the theme of the tour.
I’ve seen Weezer play plenty of big shows over the years, and I’m used to the giant lights, the arena-sized production and the occasional ridiculous costume. But The Gathering felt different. It was less about simply putting on a huge Weezer concert and more about creating an experience that the audience could get pulled into.
The incredibly detailed bungalow set, the changing screens inside the house windows, the backyard party atmosphere, the storyline, the acoustic fire-pit section, the power outage, the ridiculous musical battle, and, finally, the pool floats all made the night feel like one giant Weezer fever dream.
And honestly, that was a lot of fun.
With three bands that all brought something completely different to the table, The Gathering ended up being one of the more memorable Weezer shows I’ve seen. If you’re able to catch this tour, I’d definitely recommend checking it out. Even if you somehow aren’t already sold on the music, the theatrics alone make this “Gathering” worth attending.
Photos – Weezer, Silversun Pickups, The Shins at TD Garden in Boston, MA on September 28th:
