Jimmy Eat World

Jimmy Eat World: 9/27/23 “Fresh out from a Shinedown/Papa Roach concert the evening prior I made my way down to Athens Georgia (home of R.E.M., Widespread Panic, and others) for an evening of 90s alternative/post grunge/emo. It was my fourth time at the historic 1,028 capacity Georgia Theater, and the general admission show was a no surprise sell out. Jimmy Eat World having just come off of co-headlined tours with Manchester Orchestra and My Chemical Romance was in town to round out September with the one off show. I arrived an hour before the doors opened in hopes of grabbing the first balcony center stool virtually overlooking the stage, which I was able to with relative ease. The 1993 formed band from Mesa Arizona is still composed of lead vocalist and guitarist Jim Adkins, guitarist Tom Linton, bassist Rick Burch, and drummer Zach Lind. With 10 studio albums, the last nine featuring the current line-up and 14 charted singles (including 2 #1’s) the set list was up in the air. I had to wait and be surprised! Arriving at my seat revealed an overview of a surprisingly cluttered stage as openers ‘The Pauses’ (Inderocktronica) equipment was positioned directly in front of Jimmy’s. The place filled to capacity rather quickly for a Wednesday evening, and at 8 p.m. the three person opener from Orlando FL took the stage for a 30 minute / 7 song set. Singer and bassist Tiemey Tough and her team received a great response as she sang the praises of Athens. ‘It’s my favorite city. I love Athens, I’m such a huge fan. We love playing here.’ Not only did they exhibit a unique sound but they had a unique set up. Stage right controlled by Tiemey had a satellite dish styled light shining out into the audience that illuminated in a red pattern according to the way she played and sang. She had a statue of a cat on the same side of the stage that also illuminated red and followed the same light pattern. Stage left was reserved for guitar, keyboard, and a synthesized control panel box. For the music that came from the left side of the stage a similar satellite style dish as well as the guitarist’s pedal board lit up green. The bass drum in the center illuminated orange according to the beat. The full kit also included a set of electronic drum pads. Jimmy Eat World gave them a special shout out more than once during their own performance dubbing them ‘fine outstanding people’. The half hour intermission between bands cleared the stage entirely for a very organized set up for the Headliners. Drums and keys were in the background on rolling risers, and bass, lead vocals, and guitar were in the forefront, left to right. At that point I was able to zoom in with my Samsung Galaxy phone camera 15x from the balcony to take a picture of the setlist taped to the stage floor to follow along with. At 9 p.m. the lights dimmed as the band took the stage in silhouette back lit in blue for the first song ‘Congratulations’, a deep cut from the new album. The 1 hour and 22 minute / 19 song set included only one other from their latest release and aside from the hits featured a number of deeper cuts. The next two songs, big hits, set the momentum early: #1 ‘Bleed American’ and #2 ‘Sweetness’. The no-question-frontman Jim Adkins addressed the crowd, ‘You guys came out ready for Wednesday I gotta say’ and again prior to the fourth song a #21 charted single ‘Something Loud’, ‘I can already tell this one’s gonna be good.’ Jim’s words were few most evening long, mostly gratitude, and the band held their respective positions all evening with little movement about the stage. It was all tastefully done as the pureness of the rock ‘n’ roll musical performance spoke for itself. ‘For Me This Is Heaven’, ‘Kill’, ‘Just Tonight’, ‘Lucky Denver Mint’, ‘Place Your Debts’, ‘Hear You Me’, and ‘Let It Happen’ comprised the set of deeper cuts to the delight of their long-standing fans! Swapping out his electric for an acoustic, Jim moved into ‘555’ a promo only single from the new album ‘Surviving’. Although they only performed two songs, it is a strong two decade comeback album, one of my favorites, and worthy of listening all the way through if one hasn’t heard it already. ‘It’s always a jam here, it’s always a party here, thank you so much’ Jim commented before leading into ‘Hear You Me’ from ‘Bleed American’. The song written about the two women who headed up the band Weezer’s Fan Club and died driving back from a show was an outstanding addition to the set, the title words being the women’s most infamous expression. Charted singles ‘Sure And Certain’, ‘A Praise Chorus’ and ‘’Work’ kept folks singing along. Jim turned the mic over to Tom on guitar for the vocals on ‘Blister’, an uncharted single going back to 1999. The band saved their two number ones for the end of the regular set, ‘Pain’ and ‘The Middle’. Prior to the opening chords of ‘The Middle Jim once again expressed his gratitude. ‘When a good thing comes around tonight, it’s just like, you know, it’s the best thing in the world for any musician.’ ‘Thank you all so much for the opportunity to play music for you.’ While I videotaped the entire song I couldn’t help but thinking it was going to come out bad as the entire balcony was literally shaking with folks jumping up and down during the chorus. It ended up coming out great! As the lights went down, we all knew an encore was ensuing as a crew member slipping on stage to load up Jimmy’s microphone with guitar picks gave it away. The encore was a full eight minute rendition of the last cut off the ‘Futures’ album ‘23’. The crowd was left cheering, and we were all wondering if the band could squeeze out just one more song, but alas, the lights came on and the roadies quickly begin packing up. It was no BS rock ‘n’ roll fueled by guitar driven anthems that made it a notable show, one well worthy of attending when the band pencils in a date in your town.!” Review and photo by DAve (Concert #825)

Jimmy Eat World was phenomenal! I usually hang out in the pit but since I went by myself, I upgraded to a mezzanine seat and saw their show for the first time from a different perspective. To see the crowd engaged, responding to every bit of the show, the instruments, the vocals, the lights, the melodies and harmonies, the band just truly rocked! The playlist was awesome and with each song I was able to turn around and look at the crowd from every perspective, above below, to the left and the right. They were all beautifully engaged, the band was beautiful, along with the other artists, and the night was an amazing for me, never once did I feel alone. So glad JEW pick this venue and looking forward to seeing them next year!

Amazing show from start to finish. The Middle Kids were a great opener, with great Melodie’s and harmonies. Manchester Orchestra was maybe the most popular group there, moving people to tears at times, a near spiritual experience. Jimmy Eat World was consistent as always, my third time seeing them and it never gets old. And, the TCU White River Lawn is still the best venue in Indiana!

Jimmy Eat World was fantastic!!! To see such an iconic band live was such a dream come true! Their energy with the crowd was amazing and I could not have asked for a better show! The moments that I shared with those around me, and the memories that were created of the band living up to their reputation can never be replaced! Thank you for an awesome night!

Amazing, they put on such a tight show. I believe this "hometown show" was outside the regular tour schedule so they played a ton of old hits. Crowd in the pit was excited and energetic but not too crazy, no mosh pit for example. My husband and I both love the band so it was so cool to go together to see them. I missed the first opening act but PVRIS and The Maine were excellent. I did not like the opening act Thursday, seemed like you had to have nostalgia for them to enjoy it, but even then their mix was bad.

Jim Atkins and company nails it yet again! I have seen Jimmy Eat World 5 times now and every time, its a blast! The music brings back fond and sometimes haunting memories, but always manages to make it all whole again. If you havent seen them live yet, you need to.

Fucking AWESOME SHOW!!!! Took my whole family! My 12 year old's first real rock show. He can't stop talking about it. To see the band playing songs he grew up hearing around the house! Part of the soundtrack to his life.

Jimmy Eat World and Dashboard Confessional put on absolutely amazing show in this beautiful and cozy venue! I felt like I was transported back to 2003, just needed that studded belt. The energy was there and I haven’t felt that in a while! Of course my legs are older and achy now I enjoyed the view from a balcony seat, something my 17 year old self would have frowned upon but the view was amazing from the balcony. This show was full of energy and sheer happiness from the band and the audience. I haven’t been to a show this good since the last time I saw Jimmy Eat World in 2018! 🤗 My inner teenage heart was bursting at the seems and my lungs were on fire as I belted out the lyrics to every song. This tour was amazing and we deserved that after Covid. And yes I do stand up for multiple songs even though I had a “seat”. Sincerely, 2000s emo kid foh lyfe

Okay so I'm giving this a 5 star for Jimmy eat world and their performance and how much of a fan service this was. They played the whole bleed American album and many other great songs fans love! Ending the concert with my top 3 favorite songs from futures! How awesome is that!? But I have a complaint and it's not about jimmy eat world. It's about the venue... This is my second time going to the Metro and it has been over 2 years and they still haven't fixed their sound. I'm no sound expert but I have been to enough venues to know there is something wrong with it. Every time the lead singer sings, the speakers just can't handle it and just start to muffle. This has happened for all of the 5 different bands of seen there. (There is many other issues with the sound there) I now decided I'm going to avoid the Metro until I know they fixed the sound. I will only be going to metro for bands I absolutely love like jimmy eat world!

They’ve still got it for sure. Haven’t gotten to see them since 2005. Really hope to see them again before it’s too late! Shout out to Rust Belt for listening to their patrons and upgrading the sound system, it was incredible!

The event was well organised with great attention to detail. The recorded songs were were performed multiple times to ensure the best takes end up on the end product. The studio tour was was and ending with a relaxed meet and greet was a perfect end to an exciting event.

This was the concert event of the summer! Jimmy Eat World and 3EB are my two favorite bands. They ripped through one hit after another, it’s gotta go on my list of my top 5 favorite shows ever, and I’ve been to a lot of freaking shows!

I can't believe how great this show was! No disrespect to the band, but I haven't seriously listened to them in a very long time, and I was still blown away by their performance. It was great. Their energy was palpable and the whole night made me feel like I was back in high school.

@jimmyeatworld was amazing! They sounded perfect! An awesome time full of great music surrounded by beautiful people! Also thanks for getting people to stand up! My monster legs were hurting from sitting on the grass... I would've stood up to dance a lot sooner but I wanted to be respectful of the people behind me and not block their view! I made new friends because you did that, so thank you! Also you recovered perfectly from the slight pause due to equipment disruption! Loved it! You brought so much energy in the hot sun! Thank you, thank you, thank you for one helluva rock show!

This show was phenomenal!!! Fifth time seeing Jimmy Eat World - third time at The National - never gets old! Jim Adkins makes it feel fresh and new every time! So it somehow feels like seeing Jimmy Eat World for the first time - Again!

Jimmy was great, I wish they had put the monitors on for us in the lawn to see better, but they were great, sounded great! Incubus was also wonderful... except not playing Stellar. Seriously!!! It was very disappointing for me and obviously others around us.

Great set #JimmyEatWorld. Excellent performance with lots of energy. The band always gives an intense show. Last night some audience members frustrated me with their lack of respect; go socialize before entering the venue damnit! This is a must see band!

Jimmy Eat World was awesome. Prawn the opening act was as well but should have turned up vocals. Best part of show was there encore songs! Liked the Christmas song they played as well. Classy act all around!

The quality of the music was fantastic, however the set list wasn't engaging, whatsoever. I believe only three songs played actually got the crowd pumped up, but the rest nearly felt depressing. No matter, Jimmy Eat World will always be one of my all time favorite bands. Glad I had the opportunity to see them live.

Outstanding performance of the best JEW album yet, plus my all-time favorite, Disintegration. Jimmy Eat World is always worth coming out for. It would have to be another truly amazing headliner to get me to return to the Oakland Metro though. No ventilation whatsoever.