If ever there’s a situation you go into knowing exactly what you’re getting out of it, it’s a full album playthrough concert. Your connection to the record in question draws your ticket purchase, and there’s not a lot of setlist prediction going on. The only way this isn’t going to be an epic night is if the band somehow flops on stage, or maybe they get too frisky with the live interpretations and the songs performed are too different from the ones played through your headphones.
Jimmy Eat World are currently touring on the 25th anniversary of their breakthrough classic Bleed American. Call it a definitive emo album, a crossover alternative hit, a power-pop masterpiece — it’s easily one of the best albums of 2001 and means a whole lot to a whole lot of people. Hearing it played in its entirety presents a pulse-raising opportunity at the crossroads of nostalgia, fandom, and the pure joy of live music.
At Brooklyn Paramount on Tuesday, June 16th — the fourth stop on the tour — Jimmy Eat World delivered exactly what fans would hope for.
Before getting into what everyone had come for, the set opened with a handful of tracks off JEW’s other landmark record, Clarity. (As tour T-shirts proudly noted, Bleed American only runs 46 minutes and 38 seconds, which does not a full headline show make.) Performed with the band lined up in front of a black curtain and a single row of lights, “Clarity,” “Believe in What You Want,” “Your New Aesthetic,” and “Lucky Denver Mint” served the role of opener as much as actual support acts The Get Up Kids and Hey Mercedes did, rousing renditions that built anticipation for the beloved cuts we all knew were next.
The curtain then split, revealing a full lighting rig and grated risers, with drummer Zach Lind switching to a higher kit and touring member Robin Vining appearing behind his keyboards to help flesh out the tunes. And the second the title track’s driving opening notes blew forth in a cloud of smoke, the crowd erupted. I mean, erupted — a reactor suddenly hitting critical mass. The energy shift was immediate, like lightning hitting the antenna on Doc Brown’s DeLorean, transporting the sold-out venue back to the millions of memories tied to Bleed American.
It was an utter rush, one that swept the eager audience through the next hour as track after cherished track came roaring out of the band. One downside to an album playthrough, however, is you can’t really futz with the tracklist. Frontman Jim Adkins said as much when I spoke to him before the show (stay tuned for that interview…), noting Bleed American has a number of peaks and valleys you might not typically build into a live show. The record is stacked with rippers in the opening half (“Sweetness,” “A Praise Chorus”), while Side 2 has more power-pop structures (“The Authority Song,” “If You Don’t, Don’t”); in between, there are a number of slower, dearer gut-punches (“Your House,” “Hear You Me”). It meant the set opened at a high point, but that doesn’t mean the crowd ever felt left behind when it dipped. After all, we diehards love all of these tracks.
Interestingly, the first real dip was at the band’s most popular song, “The Middle.” “None of us really knew what to do with this song,” Adkins told the crowd. “We didn’t expect much from track three because it came together really easy.” Following “Bleed American” and “A Praise Chorus,” the most ubiquitous song in their catalog was met with a relatively muted (but still ample) appreciation — which, honestly, makes sense. It’s Jimmy Eat World’s biggest hit, another easy entry on the best songs of 2001, but it doesn’t define Bleed American.
That’d be tracks like “Your House,” which received the most live alteration (a change in tempo, a shift in the chorus structure) without losing its sweet beauty. It’s the call-and-response glory of “Sweetness” or the aggressive declaration of “Get It Faster.” It’s the exquisite heartbreak in numbers like “Hear You Me” and “Cautioners.”
(Note on that last one: Adkins introduced it by saying, “Live Nation begged us not to play this next one. You’ve got a nice venue here — be a shame if we played ‘Cautioners’ in it.” Now, my read on that track has always been a breakup song, but was Adkins implying it was a comment on the music industry? It’d make some sense, given Jimmy Eat World was infamously dropped by their label before Bleed American. Or was he just acknowledging how much of a downbeat the track is? Maybe JEW’s track by track breakdown YouTube series will clear it up.)
After main set and album closer “My Sundown,” the band took their bow only to return for a five-song encore: “Disintegration,” “Pain,” “For Me This is Heaven,” Bleed American B-side “(Splash) Turn Twist,” and fan-favorite “23.” Deep cuts, rarities, and classics from across their catalog rounded things out with a sort of mini set that showed appreciation for those who’ve stayed fans beyond the commercial smashes. And as they did with the main set, those fans responded with electric delight.
I’ve seen plenty of packed Brooklyn Paramount shows, but rarely has the venue felt so full. Not just with people, but with feeling. Even when Rick Burch had to swap out his bass during the middle of “A Praise Chorus” he — like the crowd — couldn’t stop smiling. This may be an album anniversary tour, but it’s much more than a nostalgia trip to a record that had an impact two and a half decades ago. It’s a celebration of the band behind the breakout. For many, the album was the starting point of a long love affair. Twenty-five years in, Jimmy Eat World still means a whole lot to a whole lot of people.
Get tickets to Jimmy Eat World’s Bleed American 25th Anniversary Tour here.
