Formed in 2000 in Silver Lake, a few miles from Amherst Avenue, Silversun Pickups opened the show. “Lazy Eye” broke them nationally in 2006, and the band earned a “Best New Artist” Grammy nomination a few years later. Before doors that afternoon, they played an in-store set at Used Kids Records on the Ohio State campus. Their arena set was five songs in about half an hour. Three came from Carnavas, “Panic Switch” came from Swoon, and “The Wreckage” came from Tenterhooks, released this past February. The sound was thick fuzz over Nikki Monninger’s steady bass. They closed with “Lazy Eye,” and people still finding their seats knew within a couple of bars they should have arrived earlier. Monninger came back later in the night.
The Shins took the stage just under an hour later. James Mercer started the band in Albuquerque in the late ’90s, and Sub Pop released Oh, Inverted World in 2001, the same year Weezer returned with the Green Album. Three years later, a scene in Garden State introduced “New Slang” to a much larger audience, and Mercer has kept the band going through several lineup changes since. The 13-song set opened with “Simple Song” and covered five albums, with the most songs coming from Chutes Too Narrow and Wincing the Night Away. They played a cover of Hot Chocolate’s “Every 1’s a Winner” while the arena did the wave. They closed with R.E.M.’s “It’s the End of the World as We Know It (And I Feel Fine),” a cover choice that drew the whole room into singing.
Weezer opened with “Shine Again,” the first single from the Gold Album, then played “Surf Wax America” and “Keep Fishin’.” Rivers Cuomo played a seafoam guitar covered in stickers. Brian Bell wore a long, worn work coat over paint-spotted pants. Scott Shriner played a Precision bass with most of its finish worn off. Patrick Wilson played in headphones behind a Ludwig kit with the flying-W logo on the kick drum. This lineup is in its 25th year, the longest the band has gone without a change.
The Gathering Tour revived several deep cuts. “Slob” returned after more than 20 years off setlists, along with “Lonely Girl” and a full-band version of “No Other One.” In “Beverly Hills” and “El Scorcho,” Cuomo changed lines to mention Columbus and a Twenty One Pilots show. After “Across the Sea,” the telephone poles beside the house threw sparks and the arena went dark. The blackout was part of the performance, another Easter egg from life on Amherst Ave.
When the lights returned, the band had moved to the porch. Cuomo played piano on “Longtime Sunshine,” a song from the Pinkerton-era you could only hear live until one of Rivers’ solo projects released it in 2007. Bell played clarinet, and Wilson played guitar. They played an acoustic version of “In the Garage” next, a song about the garage at the house the set recreated. Afterward, the roles traded: Cuomo went to the drums, and Wilson took guitar for “Pork and Beans,” which ended with brief teases of “Eruption” and “Joy to the World.”
Monninger came back for “We Might As Well Be Strangers” and “Go Away,” then sang lead on “I Just Threw Out the Love of My Dreams.” Weezer recorded that song in the ’90s for the shelved Songs from the Black Hole project. Having another band’s bassist sing it fit the night’s theme of welcoming guests. The closing run is the one Columbus has known for decades: “Undone,” “El Scorcho,” “Say It Ain’t So,” “Buddy Holly,” and “Island in the Sun.” The show ended just before 11:00 PM. 11 of the 26 songs came from the first two albums, and four came from the Gold Album. The band that once played Newport for whoever showed up now builds a house in an arena and fills it.
Before they played a note, the screen at Nationwide Arena showed a boy getting picked on. In the video, bullies mock him for claiming Weezer will play a party at his house. Weezer’s manager also turns him away, because 98¢ doesn’t book a band these days. His flyer happened to reach the band, and they show up in the yard. There is a real-life story parallel to this one. In 1999, a Florida teenager named Mitchell Schop wrote to Cake asking them to play his bar mitzvah. By John McCrea’s account, he wrote more than once, and each letter closed by politely telling the band, if you can’t make it, I understand. When requested, Mitchell also sang his favorite Cake song to them over the phone. Cake flew to Deerfield Beach and played the party, and that became the opening night of their 1999 tour. Weezer’s version plays out on an arena screen. Cake’s played out in a room full of a kid’s family and friends.
The kid in the video got his party. So did Columbus.
