Jimmy Eat World
Enmore Theatre
Sydney, AUS
January 18, 2017
Non-fanatics might mistake Jimmy Eat World for one of those emo-alternative bands that had one major hit song in the 1990s and then stopped recording or touring, ignorant to the fact that what has now evolved to a five piece live band that originated as a quartet in 1993, has a career spanning over more than two decades under its belt.
Jimmy Eat Word is quintessentially a pop-punk band with a knack for song writing and lyrically meandering within the confines of heartbreak and emotional injury.
A very tight one at that when it comes to live performances: The Arizona based band is a well-oiled machine, tight knit and able to effortlessly recreate pitch perfect renditions of their oeuvre, relinquishing sing-a-longs from their disciples.
The show was comprised of a close to two hour set stretching across an eclectic mix of tracks from their nine album catalogue, with an emphasis on the most recent emission, Integrity Blues. While die-hard fans might argue that the band excels with their new material, it was the tried and tested crowd-pleaser did not fail to elicit a more enthusiastic reaction from the largely lethargic crowd, i.e. Billboard Hot 100 chart hit The Middle, Sweetness and the fantastic, hard-hitting title song (which was called Salt sweat sugar in the UK) of their mainstream breakthrough album Bleed American, which was re-released on vinyl by the Beastie Boys’ label Grand Royal and turned out to be one of their most straight forward, accessible and all out rock’n roll efforts and manifested their status in commercial rock..
Headed and driven by gracious lead guitarist and principal songwriter Jim Adkins, his signature youthful and at times melancholic, soul-tinged trademark vocals is the foundation that the band is based on and which fuels the swaying DNA.
While it is refreshing to see how sincerely appreciative the band seems to be of its followers, a bit more engaging crowd interaction would have gone a long way – especially as even the smallest effort in that department was welcomed and echoed by a crowd that apart from these rare occurrences mirrored the bands reserved demeanor.
Two decades on, Jimmy Eat World live is still anchored in a no-nonsense perfectly executed riff and vocal driven clean cut show without too many edges, that allows one to space out.
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Photos by KAVV
