Jimmy Eat World @ The House of Blues, Las Vegas. 9-25-13.

Iron Maiden shirt? Confirmed for AWESOMENESS

My love of Jimmy Eat World is well documented on this here bloggy blog. Well, the band just released a rocking new album this past spring called Damage, their best work since 2004's Futures in my humble opinion, so I was uber excited to catch them on tour this fall. Of course life would find a way to interfere with my JEW dreams (get it? get it?) and I would be unable to attend their show at The Palladium in Hollywood. There's only one thing to do in situations like this: trek through the desert and see them in Vegas.

The House of Blues in Las Vegas is a weird venue. It's actually inside the Mandalay Bay casino so right off the bat, you know there's some kind of spacial limitations going on. The venue/musical hall is below the restaurant in a large hallowed out bat cave that somehow is actually bigger than the House of Blues Anaheim. Yeah, weird. I've seen Lamb of God demolish a near sold out house, and Mastodon perform to like a handful of people inside this same venue and tonight's Jimmy Eat World gig was a mix of the two. People tend to think of Las Vegas as some kind of huge metropolis but in reality, it's not that big of a town. The turn out was good but not as large as a show in LA.

The crowd filtered in as opening act Matt Pond (and friends) played some upbeat indie/folk rock. Not too shabby, it was hardly amazing either but I did enjoy a few of their songs. The loyal JEW fans, and a small group of Jersey Shore dudes visiting The Strip who must have gotten lost, waited eagerly for Jim and co. to take the stage. Luckily, we didn't have to wait long. Despite being in Sin City, this was a super early show and the band begin their headlining set around 8 pm!

Jimmy Eat World are such a solid band. I know, their music isn't overtly complex with crazy time signatures and jazz breaks thrown in but still, they're just really tight and locked in. I guess being a band for 20 years well do that to you. They played new stuff off Damage which sounded just as good as on the album but with Jim making some crazy faces and contorting his body around before your eyes, making it extra cool. We made our way to the very front of floor, about second row right before the stage. That would have never happened if we went to their gig at The Palladium. Watching the band crank out hit after hit ("Pain," "Big Casino," "Sweetness") from such proximity was almost surreal. Like my iPod merged with a 3D printer and brought them to life just for me. I'd say "Authority Song" and "23" were my favorite songs of the night. One being the very definition of good time pop-rock and the other, the most heartfelt shit you'll ever here. Good times with Jimmy Eat World. They do not disappoint live...ever.

Jimmy Eat World @ The Wiltern. 9/29/11.

Time fucking flies doesn't it? Jimmy Eat World played a special Los Angeles show to celebrate the 10th anniversary of their breakthrough album, 2001's Bleed American. If you lived in the United States during the early 2000's, there's a good chance you heard songs like "The Middle," and "Sweetness" all over the radio and MTV (before reality shows took over). Hell, I remember working at Sam Goody and listening to this album on the store stereo system all day long. The song's were catchy, memorable but most of all powerful. Powerful enough that I still know all the lyrics a decade later. The jammin' songs rocked and the softer ballads were heartfelt but genuine. That's what I look for in music. That's my common ground between Slayer and Jimmy Eat World you know? Is it genuine? Bleed American is just that. Like the title says (never mind the post 9/11 censorship that saw the album changed to simply Jimmy Eat World for several years), this album literally bleeds raw emotion.

kickstart my rock 'n' rolling heart

So about the show. Sold out venue filled with rabid fans plus a set list consisting of the band's breakthrough album amounted to nothing short of pure awesomeness. They opened up with "Bleed American" and the next 50 minutes was like some kind of surreal form of time travel. All those years of air drumming in my car to "A Praise Chorus," all the memories goofing off at the record store singing "Sweetness" horribly out of key. From the bitter separations that prompted many listens of "Your House," and the playful nervousness I felt listening to "The Authority Song" and it's lyrics "I don't seem obvious do I?" with my girlfriend for the first time way back when.

Nostalgia is awesome and all, but all that mushy crap aside, the band just seriously rocked. You wouldn't know they've played these songs a million times before, the passion and energy they put into their performance was inspiring. Jim Adkins is really one of the most engaging frontmen I've seen. He just stands there and plays/sings his heart out. No tricks or stages moves or anything special, other than his genuine passion for being onstage.

The band returned and did a ten song encore that spanned the length of their career. Old gems such as "Goodbye Sky Harbor" and "Blister" mixed with newer material like "Big Casino" and "My Best Theory." People were talking about hopefully getting a Futures 10th anniversary show in 2014. The way the audience reacted when J.E.W. played "Work" "23" and "Pain" proved that they weren't joking around. I remember buying Futures at Tower Records like it was yesterday. Maybe because I got so used to writing the date on my homework back back in the 90's, but the thought of anything taking place in 2014 sounds absolutely frightening to me. Like I said before, time fucking flies. I'll still be listening to Bleed American though. Here's to that Futures anniversary gig fellas.