Jimmy Eat World @ Rockefeller

It’s been 13 years, yet Jimmy Eat World looks more or less exactly the same as the band we saw as teenagers, and fortunately they still sound the same too.

Photo: Richard Ashton

A little over thirteen years ago (March 2005 to be precise), my friend Richard and I drove two hours from our hometown in the UK to see one of our favorite bands – Jimmy Eat World. Back then, we were fresh faced teenagers who, like many people our age, REALLY liked Jimmy Eat World. In fact, said show was our third time seeing the band within a year, including one occasion when we paid three-times the asking price for our tickets (which for two students working crappy weekend jobs was no small commitment).

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Fast forward to June 6^th 2018, and my friend Richard and I are going to see Jimmy Eat World again for the first time in thirteen-and-a-bit years, this time as photographer and writer for a Disharmoni review of their show at Rockefeller. It’s fair to say a lot has happened in the intervening years – including us both moving to Norway – but it’s equally fair to say there aren’t many bands who are as good at making you feel like a teenager again as Jimmy Eat World.

In their early days, Jimmy Eat World served as a sort of less punky, more emotional, more ‘grown up’ alternative to the skater pop-punk offered up by the likes of Blink-182 and Green day. They didn’t dye or straighten their hair, they didn’t have tattoos, and they didn’t wear skinny jeans; in general they gave off the impression they were nice guys who didn’t party too hard. That lifestyle seems to have paid off, as, when the band takes to the Rockefeller stage at around 9pm, I’m immediately struck by how little they appear to have aged since 2005. In fact the band playing tonight looks more or less exactly the same as the band we saw as teenagers, and fortunately they still sound the same too.

A lot less jumping

The show is advertised as part of a tour for the band’s most recent LP ‘Integrity Blues’ (which was actually released in 2016), and they open with the ‘Sure and Certain’ single from this album. However, it soon becomes clear the band aren’t focusing too much on Integrity Blues, and the massive 24 song set includes a lot more of the old hits than songs from the new album. In the main, those hits come from 2004’s ‘Futures’ and 2001’s ‘Bleed American’ LPs, and all serve as great nostalgia-kicks that instantly take you back to your younger years. I’d forgotten how great front man Jim Adkin’s voice is, and how well the band writes a sing-along chorus.

The venue isn’t sold out, but feels fairly full. The crowd, like me and Richard, has got a fair bit older since those early shows. Maybe that’s why there seems to be a lot less jumping around than I remember for most of the show. However, it’s a different story for the encore, for which the band save a few classics from the Bleed American LP. ‘A Praise Chorus’ and ‘Sweetness’ both get a decent number of the crowd jumping around and singing along. Finally, the band ends with undoubtedly their biggest hit – ‘The Middle’ (which received a recent surge in popularity with the next generation of teenagers when it was featured on an Apple advert starring Taylor Swift). This gets the biggest crowd response of the night, and even Richard and I can’t resist a bit of a jump around for old time’s sake.

A great show, which served as a great reminder for how great a live band Jimmy Eat World are. I hope it’s not another thirteen years until I see them again.

Jimmy Eat World @ Rockefeller: 8 / 10