Weezer performs at Golden 1 Center in Sacramento on Sept. 8, 2026.
SACRAMENTO, Calif. — The golden age of Weezer is here. That much was evident in the weeks leading up to The Gathering Tour.
Weezer
The Shins, Silversun Pickups
7 p.m., Wednesday, Sept. 9
Chase Center, San Francisco
Tickets: $58 and up.
Frontman Rivers Cuomo appeared on “The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon” painted head-to-toe gold. Billboards of the band recreating “We Buy Gold” ads popped up across L.A. Social media videos of members on random side quests struck comedy gold. And tour ticket-holders received emails on how to “Become the Gold.”
The newly released Gold Album even had many Pinkerton diehards online pleased.
Call it effective marketing. Call it the power of free will. Whatever the case, Weezer has been in its element, embracing its brand of geek-rock-meets-absurdist humor with an audience that embraced it back.
That mutual understanding seemed to be the golden rule at the tour opener in Sacramento.
Across the sold-out Golden 1 Center, fans dressed in jewelry, sequins and capes all of the sacred color. A few even had their faces painted and made it onto the “Gold Cam” jumbotron segment. Those who didn’t show up in uniform rocked Weezer tees of different eras, while even more threw up the W-hand sign like a natural reflex.
“Sacramento has an acceptable quantity of gold,” Cuomo said after checking to see if the crowd understood The Gathering assignment.
Weezer performs at Golden 1 Center in Sacramento on Sept. 8, 2026.
While 2024’s Voyage to the Blue Planet Tour was set in outer space, The Gathering took place back on earth, in front of a replica of suburban single-family home. Palm trees, a tall, white picket fence, a Weezer-branded mailbox and shoes hung on power lines completed the scene.
The show began with a video of a young boy summoning the band to perform at his house in an attempt to impress his bullies. Things took a supernatural turn as various effects cued the next part of each set.
Lightning struck onscreen, causing a “power outage” that transitioned into a campfire jamboree for “Longtime Sunshine,” which had each band member mixing up his instruments. Cuomo took to a keyboard, drummer Patrick Wilson was on guitar, guitarist Brian Bell played the clarinet and Scott Shriner stuck to the bass. The four later found a high-voltage switch on one of the telephone poles and pivoted to “In The Garage” as the lights returned.
Next, the house glowed in suspense as Nikki Monninger of Silversun Pickups emerged out the door in a wizard gown. She duetted on “We Might As Well Be Strangers,” the Tiktok-viral “Go Away” and “I Just Threw Out the Love of My Dreams.”
Though the Weezer house resembled one from a Los Angeles neighborhood, the band made it clear that Sacramento was its home for the night. Multiple references to the capital city snuck their way into song verses.
“God damn, you half Sacramento girls,” Cuomo sang for “El Scorcho.” “I asked you to go to a Green Day—er, Deftones concert,” he later ad-libbed on the fly.
Weezer performs at Golden 1 Center in Sacramento on Sept. 8, 2026.
On top of the local shoutouts, the band had something for fans of every era, including a handful of songs that had long been locked in the vault.
“Keep Fishin’” made it in for the first time since 2018 and “Slob” for the first time since 2005.
“Let’s hear it for all the Maladroit fans!” Cuomo yelled in reference to the aforementioned cuts. For fans whose gateway was that very 2002 album, the recognition didn’t go unnoticed.
Weezer performed the most songs off its first two albums, dedicating a small segment of the show specifically to Pinkerton‘s 30th anniversary. Material from other releases were sprinkled throughout the set, including just three selects from the Gold Album.
Cuomo singing the latest single, “C.E.O.,” felt a little too awkwardly self-aware, with the first verse talking about how “nobody wants to hear [something new]; they just want the classics.” It’s a sentiment the band has grappled with in regard to the sonic direction of new material.
But for the record, fans shown on the video screen were still singing along to the new stuff, word-for-word.
And while The Gathering delivered anticipated hits and even turned some into a bit (yes, Weezer acknowledged the viral “Buddy Holly” lick), it was anything but a nostalgia concert. Instead, it celebrated a band still bringing new creative visions to life, and its fans that were all-in for the ride. And that outcome was as good as gold.
“Weezer loves you,” Cuomo said as parting words.
The Shins perform at Golden 1 Center in Sacramento on Sept. 8, 2026.
Like any proper gathering, special guests were in attendance. The Shins and Silversun Pickups rounded out the evening with some of the most influential sounds known to alternative rock.
Every in-person appearance from The Shins is like witnessing one of the world‘s natural wonders. You’re not sure when you’ll see it next, so you savor the feeling those simple songs bring and hope that it lasts.
James Mercer and company sounded polished as expected. Yet hearing the opening verse of “Simple Song” was still as affecting as ever.
The live arrangements made each cut feel like it had grown with time. The hopeful thrums and cosmic buildups of “New Slang” and “Sleeping Lessons” were reminders that life could be full of possibilities (even with a brief cover of R.E.M.’s “It’s the End of the World” squeezed into the latter). The incomparable poetry of each doubled down its stature as anthems for manic pixie dreamers and the “thousand different versions of yourself.”
Mercer, in an ecstatic mood, also made a cheeky “Family Ties” reference at the end of “Phantom Limb.”
And though nostalgia was in the air in one way or another, this isn’t to hold The Shins down to the past. Rather, their set was a convincing case that there’s reason to look forward.
Silversun Pickups perform at Golden 1 Center in Sacramento on Sept. 8, 2026.
Fellow alt-rock luminaries Silversun Pickups are one of the most active and consistent acts in the scene. The band released Tenterhooks in February, just finished touring for that and then celebrated the 20th anniversary of Carnavas.
There’s no denying how solid “Panic Switch” and “Lazy Eye” are. The expansive riffs, textured guitar tones and all-around catchy melodies are masterclasses in composing a modern classic. New material like “The Wreckage,” off Tenterhooks, hit the spot, too, offering satisfying darkwave hooks.
Live, the songs had a nearly wicked ring to them, intensified by deep red stage lights. They packed an even mightier punch thanks to Nikki Monninger’s bass lines, alongside Brian Aubert’s signature falsetto and guitar, Joe Lester’s keys and Christopher Gualao’s beats creating a rich atmosphere singular to the band.
Weezer performs at Golden 1 Center in Sacramento on Sept. 8, 2026.
Weezer performs at Golden 1 Center in Sacramento on Sept. 8, 2026.
Weezer performs at Golden 1 Center in Sacramento on Sept. 8, 2026.
Weezer performs at Golden 1 Center in Sacramento on Sept. 8, 2026.
Weezer performs at Golden 1 Center in Sacramento on Sept. 8, 2026.
Weezer performs at Golden 1 Center in Sacramento on Sept. 8, 2026.
Weezer performs at Golden 1 Center in Sacramento on Sept. 8, 2026.
The Shins perform at Golden 1 Center in Sacramento on Sept. 8, 2026.
The Shins perform at Golden 1 Center in Sacramento on Sept. 8, 2026.
The Shins perform at Golden 1 Center in Sacramento on Sept. 8, 2026.
The Shins perform at Golden 1 Center in Sacramento on Sept. 8, 2026.
Silversun Pickups perform at Golden 1 Center in Sacramento on Sept. 8, 2026.
Silversun Pickups perform at Golden 1 Center in Sacramento on Sept. 8, 2026.
Silversun Pickups perform at Golden 1 Center in Sacramento on Sept. 8, 2026.
Silversun Pickups perform at Golden 1 Center in Sacramento on Sept. 8, 2026.
Attendees watch Weezer at Golden 1 Center in Sacramento on Sept. 8, 2026.
Attendees watch Weezer at Golden 1 Center in Sacramento on Sept. 8, 2026.
Attendees watch Weezer at Golden 1 Center in Sacramento on Sept. 8, 2026.
Follow editor Chloe Catajan at Instagram.com/riannachloe.
About The Author
Chloe Catajan is a concert photographer from the San Francisco Bay Area. When she’s not in the photo pit or scribbling down notes, you can find her screaming along to every song from the crowd and probably getting a little too emotional over the music.
Chloe Catajan is a concert photographer from the San Francisco Bay Area. When she’s not in the photo pit or scribbling down notes, you can find her screaming along to every song from the crowd and probably getting a little too emotional over the music.