Jimmy Eat World Live Review by Rob Johnson
It’s a shame that the concept of an album as a complete piece of work has become a dying art. For decades, there were few more exciting things than holding a record, cassette or disk in your hands and knowing that it had been lovingly crafted to be listened to as a cohesive whole rather than a selection of songs randomly cherry-picked and put on a playlist. The best albums defined their era and captured a moment in time. When Jimmy Eat World released Bleed American, their third album, in 2001, I was 14-years-old and lost (as all 14-year-olds are).
I can still remember hearing ‘The Middle’ and the title track for the first time and the indelible impact those songs had on me. So, I saved up and bought the record, and from that moment on, Bleed American has always been with me. It’s soundtracked every break-up, every triumph, every late-night drinking session… all of it. And now, 25 years later, Jimmy Eat World arrive at the Piece Hall in Halifax to relive it all over again.
The band wisely allow everyone to settle into their surroundings with four tracks from their sophomore album, Clarity, before tearing into ‘Bleed American’ and boy does it sound incredible. The Piece Hall has earned a reputation as one of the best live venues in the UK and the combination of the massive sound system, the natural amphitheatre of the architecture and Jim Adkins and his band playing as if their lives depend on it is a heady one.
The Arizona band run through the album from front to back – everyone goes apeshit for ‘The Middle’, there isn’t a dry eye in the house for ‘Hear You Me’, and ‘The Sweetness’ sounds like a battle cry with 6000 Jimmy Eat World fanatics screaming every word back at the stage.
By the time ‘The Authority Song’ and an epic run through of album closer ‘My Sundown’ finish up the first part of the set, there is a feeling that we are witnessing history here. This album means so much to so many and it is clear that even after all these years these songs retain the power that made the album such a hit in the first place. The band return to the stage for fan favourite ‘Disintegration’ before tearing through an incendiary rendition of ‘Pain’. While Adkins doesn’t say much, when he does speak, it is clear that he is touched by the crowd reaction.
‘Big Casino’ is the sole representative of their 2006 album Chase This Light and it sounds great, but it is set closer ’23’ that provides perhaps the most memorable moment of the night. It’s the kind of song that sneaks up on you, all soaring strings and muttered vocals before building into an unforgettable crescendo.
And just like that, it’s all over. Who knows where any of us will be in another 25 years, but one thing is for certain: this album, these songs, they will last forever.
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