Jimmy Eat World @ The Sound Academy

July 11th, 2008

I had seen Jimmy Eat World last November for a stunning encounter at the Sound Academy. Only two things disagreed with me that night. Firstly, it went by too quickly, and secondly, they didn’t play enough of their new album, Chase This Light. I realize that my pressing desire to hear as much as I can of the new album is a point of contention with many other hardcore Jimmy Eat World fans, who almost without fail gravitate more towards their older material, i.e. tunes from their beloved albums Static Prevails, Clarity and Bleed American.

I cannot fault people for this. After all, the aforementioned albums are brim-filled with raw musicality, emotional intensity and poignant and personal lyrics. Some may think they’ve become too poppy (what does that mean?), while I would suggest that they’ve taken advantage of the fact that they’ve built upon their efforts each successive album, and have come to a place where they enjoy seeing what the best production techniques can do for their sound. I think they’ve earned that right considering the strength of their back catalogue. Count me in for the ride, even if it leaves me feeling pain, caught in the middle, blistered, and dizzy.

The show began with the slot-machine avalanche of Big Casino, and the sounds chime in like coins raining down in waves upon an exhilarated gambler. Accepting whatever may come with poise and grace, a little bit of Sweetness descends from the rafters, and all who attend trade whoa-oh’s (!!!) with the band in call and answer bliss. The band cruise along in rarified air, and it becomes clear to anyone who’ll take one look that Jim Adkins – the sensitive talisman at the fore of the collective – has become confident and assured while still managing to maintain his boyish charm. His charisma doesn’t come from a bullish bravado or scenic storytelling or piercing gazes, but in the fact that his lyrics ARE his heart, and his words convey a meaning sometimes indeterminate. Even with a new track like Always Be (what a soaring track it is), his passions don’t seem stale, and with a heavy dose of credit owing to his tenacious and fiery voice, his message is never lost. For me in fact, it seems to have gained momentum over the years.

Now I’m telling you, these guys end each and every album with an absolute STORMER of a track: Anderson Mesa (from Static Prevails), Goodbye Sky Harbor (16 minutes, from Clarity), My Sundown (from Bleed American), 23 (From Futures), and Dizzy (from Chase This Light). I wasn’t joking and quick fast, I was honest. Dizzy soars so bloody (and I’m talking about Tim Burton’s Sweeney Todd scarlet red type bloody as opposed to the green-purplish hue of CSI, blunt force trauma kind of blood) high that it disorients from galaxies away. Majestic. So much so that I firmly believe if they had released this song during the height of the Emo era a few years back, they would have had a hit the likes of which only The Middle could have rivaled.

Other standouts included the always insisting A Praise Chorus, the slightly alternate version of Get It Faster, and the jaw-smacking goodness of Lucky Denver Mint, an absolute revelation live. There is one track however, that is so bewitching and rhythm itching that it is forced to be spoken of in following announcements…23 is the kind of song that bands make only once if they can at all, the kind of song that jumps out from all the others, the kind of song that provides the absolutely astonishing ability to find a comfortable home between being cathartic and enthused, barren and confused…

Finally, the song-you-knew-they’d-play-last, The Middle, that most know for what it is, a triumph through and through, and their coup d’etat to date. We ALL take some time, a little bit of in the middle, to learn and proceed with progress. So when we see something thrive that we’ve seen grow with that in mind, forgive us if we smile some or all at always believing in futures.

Setlist:
Big Casino
Sweetness
Crush
Work
Always Be
Dizzy
Blister
Here It Goes
A Praise Chorus
Disintegration
Get It Faster
Let It Happen
Lucky Denver Mint
23
?
Bleed American
Pain