Weathers rocks House of Blue Anaheim to cap off tour

Lead singer of the Los Angeles-based band Weathers Cameron Boyer sings into the microphone at the House of Blues Anaheim. TIFFANY LE, Staff Photographer

Cameron Boyer makes being a rock-star look easy. 

Fully embracing the diva persona, he jumps on top of speakers, sweating through his white tank-top and black eye-shadow, commanding packed venues to let loose and party. As the music flows through him and he feeds off the energy of the dancing crowd, there’s a flurry of thoughts running through his head — the most prevalent being “don’t rip your pants.” Luckily for Boyer, after over 25 performances, his tight black pants remained intact. 

Cameron Boyer blares into the microphone, capping off Weathers’ 40-day “Pillows and Therapy” tour.  TIFFANY LE, Staff Photographer

On Oct. 24, Boyer and fellow Weathers members Cameron Olsen, Brennan Bates and Cole Carson were able to end their 40-day tour with a bang at House of Blues Anaheim. Much like their previous shows, the band delivered a non-stop, highly energetic performance that left the crowd wondering how much longer the stage could support their emphatic dancing.

“It’s always a party,” said Olsen, the guitarist for Weathers. “There’s not really any downtime; nothing is slowing you down. It’s like you’re in the ring with Mike Tyson. Haymaker and Haymaker.”

The band’s name is a testament to the process of change in our lives, similar to how the weather is constantly changing. They released their sophomore album “Pillows and Therapy” on Aug. 13. Within the 10-song track list, Weathers touches upon many of the mental health struggles faced in youth, from marijuana dependence to toxic relationships to depression. 

“I think everyone goes through some sort of mental health struggle throughout their life, and I feel like it’s important that everyone understands what that’s like and is supportive,” Boyer said. “We feel like a lot of it is not talked about, and there’s a weird stigma around mental health that shouldn’t be there. We try to bring light to that and let people know there are ways to get help.”

To prep the crowd for their performance, Weathers brought along artists Kenzo Cregan and Aaron Taos to open their show, each bringing their own distinct sound. Olsen noted their love for collaboration and the impact these artists have had on their creative process. 

“For this tour, we brought out Aaron Taos and Kenzo Cragan to get some flavor, so it’s not the same band playing three times,” Olsen said. “Kenzo is a little more organic-sounding with a 60’s feel, and Aaron is in the more pop-type of world. We feel like we get the best product out of collaboration and try to write with a lot of other people.”

When Weathers hit the stage around 9:30 p.m., they mixed songs into the setlist from their previous album, “Kids in the Night,” as well as various singles such as “Lonely Vampire” and “Happy Pills.” According to the band’s drummer Carson, “Poser” off of the “Kids in the Night” album, is his favorite song to perform. 

“‘Poser’ always goes off, which is impressive, because it changes lyrics every chorus,” Carson said. “When the fans know it, it’s like ‘Wow, you studied.’ It’s just crazy to see the crowd know every single lyric to every single song. 

Akin to the song's title, the band refers to their fanbase as “posers” and address them as such, whether it be to the hundreds of fans at their shows or their 47,000 Instagram followers.

From left to right: Cole Carson, drummer, Brennan Bates, bassist, Cameron Boyer, vocalist, Cameron Olsen, guitarist. TIFFANY LE, Staff Photographer

“‘Posers’ suggests that you’re copying someone else or you’re not being fully genuine and authentic,” Boyer said. “I’ve always thought it was kind of funny, since everyone these days is borrowing something from somebody. Nobody is really, completely original. We try to take that and put a positive spin on it. We own it as it is, because we take a lot of inspiration from our favorite bands; we’re all posers, let’s be posers together.”

Before their first single “Happy Pills” in 2016 and long before the “Pillows and Therapy” tour, Boyer was an aspiring singer in high school putting out an ad on Facebook in search of a bassist to help compete in a battle of the bands. Luckily Bates was there to answer the call. 

“I was, luckily, the only person who actually responded with a serious answer,” Bates said. “I was auditioning to be a temporary but possibly permanent member for that battle of the bands. Thankfully, it worked out. We still lost, but Boyer liked me.”

The band said they’re still bitter they never won a battle of the bands but it did allow them to connect for the first time. After recruiting Carson, the band secured their first show. The venue? A backyard children’s birthday party. 

“The parents hired us for the kids and all the kids ended up hanging out in a different room while we were playing, and it was just the parents watching us,” Boyer said. “It was the worst thing in the world. This poor guy (Carson) flew out to play a show with us, and this was his first impression of the band.”

Olsen said the group has come a long way since that backyard performance and is loving riding the roller coaster of life on tour. The band concluded the food on the tour has been a big plus, from getting to munch on authentic Philly cheesesteaks in Philadelphia to grabbing slices of pizza in New York. On the flipside, the lack of sleep and loading up the equipment after a show were deemed to be the worst aspects of life on tour. 

“(Loading equipment) is the last thing you wanna do after playing a show,” Boyer said. “Especially as the headliner. You just played the show, you feel like a rock-star, then you come walking off stage and all of a sudden, you’re waddling with heavy equipment, sweating for the third time of the day. It’s a very humbling experience.”

Hailing from Los Angeles, Weathers was able to celebrate the end of their show with friends and family in attendance. Carson plans to spend his first day off by catching up on sleep, ordering Chinese food and playing Xbox in his boxers. No longer having to worry about ripping his pants, Boyer plans to put his diva persona on pause by eating at his favorite restaurant Big Wok Mongolian BBQ, binging Midnight Mass on Netflix and building Lego sets.

Weathers’ album “Pillow and Therapy” is available on all streaming platforms and updates on the band can be found on their website.