May
10
2013

Jimmy Eat World @ Wickenberg Community Center

Friday, May 10, 2013 - 10:26:55 pm
(Posted Under: Tempe Music Scene Tempe Music Scene, Music Music, Live Shows, Instagram Instagram)
Jimmy Eat World? The Wickenburg Community Center? Kind of hard to believe.

This year has started out pretty great for seeing big names at small intimate venues. First Green Day @ The Marquee, and now this. I was happy to recent hear news of their forthcoming album, and then that of their regional "Home State Tour". Looking at the dates a month ago, the Wickenburg one stood out to us. The thought process was that it might draw less Phoenicians than the Casa Grande show, while still a reasonable distance to travel. And having been in Wickenburg last September, and specifically to its community center, we knew how intimate this show would be. Essentially Jimmy Eat World in a decent sized high school gym. It was a no brainer.

To some extent, we weren't 100% sure what to expect when we rolled into town. Everything was very low key, with hardly anything in the name of security, save for the guy scanning tickets and the other guy affixing Crescent Ballroom wrist bands to wrists. Not your typical sort of show. Walking in, it was still kind of hard to believe Jimmy Eat World was going to be on stage there within the hour.

The set was kicked off with I Will Steal You Back, the new single that has been out for a couple of weeks now. I thought that was a great move. Maybe because I already love that song so much. What followed was an equally great set list. Not surprising either, as it's Jimmy Eat World. They'd be hard pressed to put together a bad set list if they tried.

Initially the sound was a little off, but within no time the sound crew had that sorted out. Scattered throughout the set were five songs of the forthcoming record - Steal, Damage both of which I already know, and three others. I've certainly been anticipating the new disc, and the new tracks furthered that anticipation. All were great, and in particular Appreciation.

This being the first time I've seen Jimmy Eat World live (long story), I was interested to see how they performed live. With the layering and ambiance, and just how great they sound on record, I wanted to see how well they replicated that live. Within a few songs, it was obvious that the answer to that is "perfectly". The other thing that really stood out was Adkins vocals. How great he sounds on record isn't studio tricks - he simply that good of a singer. To that end, I actually thought he sounded better live on some of the older songs, 20 years later. That right there was pretty impressive. Many people 20 years later don't sound as good, let alone better. Additionally, he was great to watch perform, rocking out and completely selling ever word he sang.

Other highlights:
  • Work - one of my absolute favorites, and I was hoping to hear both that and Kill. Definitely happy to get one of them. I screamed the lyrics like a fucking lunatic. It was great.
  • Heart Is Hard To Find. Great song, but not one I would have picked to see over a lot of others. Turned out to be a highlight in a live setting. Being in a room full of people clapping that out might have been part of it.
  • Bleed American, The Middle and Sweetness. The whole place went nuts for those. I certainly have listened to Futures, Chase This Light and Invented much more in the last few years, and didn't even think of hearing these songs live. But it was simply hard not to get caught up in the energy both on the stage and in the audience during those. And, well, being reminded how much those songs rock.
The most surprising moment to be a highlight was for me was Goodbye Sky Harbor. This has always been a song I've wanted to really like, given my relationship with Sky Harbor. But pre Bleed American Jimmy Eat World is a bit hit and miss for me, and this song is just a but too dissident and weird for me. But live, it was impossible not to enjoy the intense energy the band put into that one. Turned out to be a highlight and a really cool thing to see live.

Of course, in all honesty, picking highlights from the show is actually as difficult as picking favorite Jimmy Eat World songs. The whole hour and a half was great. The only thing I would have changed if I could would have been Coffee & Cigarettes being on the set list.

Instagram Image

Oh, and their Arizona flag backdrop was awesome. I always enjoy when bands use the state flag for their backdrop (The Maine being the other band that's great like that), but theirs was particularly cool. Given the opportunity to steal it, I probably would have. [wink]

At the end of Sweetness, the band lingered on stage, and Jim very genuinely expressed his appreciation to everyone making it out. That was a cool thing.

All in all a fantastic show, and definitely worth making the trek for it.
Now Playing: Jimmy Eat World - Big Casino

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