So it was just Jimmy uber-fan Rach and I who headed off at 6.30, hitting traffic in Bristol then finding our normal car park was full, with an immovable queue of cars nonetheless chancing their arm. Bah! So we headed back down the hill, parking up in the Millennium car park by @Bristol and hitting the venue for 20 to 8, Rach then getting overcharged for her drink by a dim barmaid who didn't know what a lager shandy was! Cripes! Not the best of starts then, but here we were in place, stage left, for openers The Shimmer Band at 8. A long-haired rabble who took ages to actually get going after taking the stage, they played a very Doors-like brand of dangerous, down and dirty proto blues rock, driving and heavily bass-dominated (so much so, we figured their song-writing process was, "hey, here's a good bass riff, let's build a song!") which I actually ultimately ended up warming to. A very brief - 20 minutes! - set was concluded with a "Break On Through" pastiche which even appropriated said song's chorus!
The brevity of their set however left us facing nearly an hour's wait for Jimmy Eat World's scheduled 9.15 start, and by 8.45 the floor was heaving and the sell-out crowd was bubbling with anticipation. Throw us a bone, please, guys, and come on early! Thankfully they did, as just before 9 the lights dimmed and they nonchalantly wandered onstage to a huge ovation.
Jimmy Eat World's new album, "Damage", is a more muted affair than, say, the upfront power riffs of "Bleed American" or "Futures", whilst retaining the brutal lyrical honesty that is their trademark. An attempt at a "grown-up breakup record", apparently, it's however a real grower, albeit with the words ratgher than the rock carrying the power. In keeping with this, opener "I Will Steal You Back", from the new album, seemed a little subdued, as the band felt their way into the gig, and the packed crowd's response was appreciative rather than enthusiastic. A fine, smooth and deliciously harmonic "Lucky Dencer Mint" aside, it took until mainman Jim Adkins bolted on a fat acoustic and delivered a bleeding-raw, heart-rending "Hear You Me" to really engage the crowd with a huge emotive and communal sing-along resonating around the venue. The subsequent "Futures" triad of the title track, an immense "Kill" and an equally powerful "Work" (preceded by the unusually taciturn Adkins introducing it as, "probably one of the happier songs on our graded curve...") then saw the band and the crowd really start to build up a head of steam. "It's always fun playing here, it's like everyone's at the party," observed Adkins, beckoning to the overhanging balconies.
The gig was bubbling up nicely now; however the final three numbers in the set were utterly stunning, an object lesson in how to finish a set good and proper. The majestic "A Praise Chorus", their best number, and sinuous, soaring and swooping, kicked things up several gears; a blistering "Sweetness" saw the "whoa-oh"s echoing around the venue, accompanying the jagged riffery and juddering thump of the drums, and a final "Bleed American", bristling with power and seething menace and featuring that killer driving middle-8, capped a set which eased it's way in, taking time to build up momentum, but left the best until last. And better that than the other way round!
A 3 song encore capped with the joyful melodic burst of "The Middle" ("our happiest song - I'm having a glass half full day, noticing all the happy songs," according to Adkins) ended an ultimately excellent hour and a half, with Adkins and the band, genuinely thankful of the reception, taking a lengthy and deserved ovation. An easy set-list, then back to the car, avoiding the gangs of lairy drunken women (!) staggering around Bristol, reflecting on the gig. My 10th time overall of seeing Jimmy Eat World, 4th time here, and another excellent night from a band who have consistently delivered excellent albums and top drawer gigs for 12 years now. Worth all tonight's hassle. Oh yes.
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