Weezer turns Crypto.com Arena into the ultimate backyard party

What happens when four wonderfully dorky guys decide to throw a backyard party? Well, if those guys happen to be Weezer, you get thousands of people singing along to some of alternative rock’s most beloved songs inside one of Los Angeles’ biggest arenas.

That was essentially the premise of The Gathering Tour, which arrived at Crypto.com Arena on Saturday, Oct. 24, transforming the sold-out venue into a suburban neighborhood complete with a white picket fence, telephone poles, a house and even a backyard campfire. It was an elaborate production for a band whose charm has always come from being so remarkably ordinary.

More than three decades into their career, Weezer has never needed to look or act like conventional rock stars. Frontman Rivers Cuomo and his bandmates Brian Bell, Scott Shriner and Patrick Wilson are still those casually dressed, slightly awkward dudes who make ridiculously good music. On Saturday, they proved that sometimes the best kind of rock show feels like hanging out with your best buds.

The evening began with a short film introducing Nicholas, a young boy being bullied by two older kids who doubted his claim that Weezer would be performing at his house. After a hilariously unsuccessful attempt to book the band through their agent with just 98 cents, Nicholas resorted to drawing mysterious symbols that somehow telepathically reached Cuomo, setting the stage for the ultimate neighborhood gathering.

Moments later, the band emerged through white picket fences on stage, opening with “Shine Again” from their latest self-titled before launching into “Surf Wax America,” “Keep Fishin’” and “Hash Pipe.”

“Dearly beloved, we are gathered here to celebrate this thing called Weezer,” Cuomo declared. And celebrate they did.

The 27-song setlist moved between newer material, older cuts and the songs that have helped Weezer remain a fixture of alternative rock. “The Good Life,” “No Other One” and “Across the Sea” offered plenty from “Pinkerton,” while “Beverly Hills,” “Pork and Beans” and “My Name Is Jonas” kept the arena on their feet.

But the music was only part of the fun. Throughout the night, Weezer committed wholeheartedly to the suburban setting, incorporating doorbell cameras, a mail delivery and even a neighborhood power outage into the performance.

At one point, the telephone poles surrounding the stage began sparking before the electricity seemingly went out.

“Whoa, I think we lost power. Should we call the power company?” Cuomo shouted.

An automated recording from the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power promptly answered, informing the audience that their call was very important. The arena erupted into boos, apparently united by the familiar frustration of dealing with the local utility company, before being treated to the kind of “please hold” music nobody enjoys hearing.

With the power still out, the musicians gathered around a glowing campfire beneath strings of backyard lights for a stripped-down acoustic break. Cuomo performed “Longtime Sunshine” on keyboards before pulling out a harmonica for “In the Garage,” creating the feeling of an impromptu jam session among friends.

For a few minutes, it was easy to forget that thousands of people were watching. The scene felt like the sort of evening when somebody picks up a guitar, everyone gathers around the fire and the music carries on long after the sun goes down.

Even Silversun Pickups bassist Nikki Monninger joined the neighborhood festivities, emerging from the house to announce that she had come to bring some “feminine energy.” She accompanied Cuomo on “We Might as Well Be Strangers,” “Go Away” and “I Just Threw Out the Love of My Dreams,” the latter two having found renewed attention among younger listeners through social media.

That cross-generational appeal was another part of the evening’s charm. Weezer’s music belongs just as much to the fans who grew up with 1994’s “Blue Album” as it does to younger listeners discovering the band’s catalog decades later. At this party, everyone was welcome.

The evening’s final stretch felt like one big sing-along with “Undone – The Sweater Song,” “El Scorcho,” “Say It Ain’t So” and “Buddy Holly.”

By the time “Island in the Sun” closed the night, oversized inflatable pool toys were bouncing above the crowd as the backyard party reached its finale. The audience even joined in chanting for Cuomo to jump into the imaginary pool, fully clothed, of course, before a staged plunge brought the evening to a hilarious end.

Beneath the colorful visuals, neighborhood antics and arena-sized sing-alongs were four guys who still seemed perfectly content just playing music together.

And really, what more could you want from a backyard party?