Who: Jimmy Eat World with Matt Pond
When: September 22, 2013
Where: The Warfield/ San Francisco, CA
With: I don't have friends here.
Of Note: I am probably too old to be mosh pit adjacent
Jimmy Eat World's 'Bleed American' is the rare album that has the ability to transport me to two very specific, very different places in time. The year is 2001 and I'm a sophomore in college. I'm sitting at my desk in Lehman, in front of my Compaq desktop trying to get work done, probably on my hellishly miserable Advanced Macroeconomic Theory class after carefully reading everyone's AIM Away Messages, while trying desperately to stay focused and not flail around to 'The Middle'. Nine times out of ten, I fail at sitting still, schoolwork abandoned in favor of jumping around like a crazy person. This album was my jam; we spent a lot of quality time together.
Fast forward ten years, or so. Barb and I were having one of our epic happy hours and had made our way to Vera - probably only the second or third time I'd been there. Then, it started. The song 'Bleed American'came on and I got super pumped, declaring, "Oh man! In college, this was my jam!" Then 'A Praise Chorus' and I said, "Holy crap! They're going to play this whole album!" I got ridiculously excited. I danced around a lot. And thus my love for Vera was cemented. (This may also have been the night that Barb impaled her eye with a dried ginger skewer.)
Okay, so, Jimmy Eat World live. First, let's high five 19 year old Jen, okay? Okay. I spent a lot of time wondering if opener Matt Pond was the same guy as Matt Pond PA, who covered 'Champagne Supernova' on my beloved 'The OC'. The internet tells me it is. He was a perfectly serviceable opener, with some above average stage banter. He was really intrigued by the fact that the crowd was fairly polite - hearty applause and attentive. He kept thanking us for being so polite. There was also a funny bit where someone yelled, "Take off your shirt," and he & the rest of his band-members took turns unbuttoning buttons. (Number of people I heard talking about Warped Tour between Matt Pond and Jimmy Eat World: 8.)
Reading reviews of the show after the fact, I was so confused because the two big SF music critics both talked about Jimmy Eat World being an "emo band". Really? I always thought they were pop-punk or pop-rock; they don't whine nearly enough to be emo, in my very humble opinion. Seeing them was definitely a rock & roll show - all high energy and super fun. It amazes me that the singer's voice sounds as good live as it does recorded more than ten years ago. They played a great set, achieving the almost impossible perfect balance of older crowd-bangers with material off their most recent album. They saved a lot of good stuff for the end of the set, launching into a bunch of favorites to close things out, ending with 'The Middle' (obviously) where everyone went absolutely bonkers.
A few things of note: First, there were two couples standing in front of me - I think on a double date. Before the show, Guy #1 ran into some of his friends and while bro-ing out, they left to go to the bar, leaving his wife(?) Girl #1 with Guy #2 and Girl #2. Couple #2 was pretty handsy. Guy #1 was gone for a long time. Girl #1 got fed up and went and got her own drink. When Guy #1 returned, Girl #1 FLIPPED OUT. It was A THING. She was VERY ANGRY. He did not think it was a big deal. She started screaming about how disrespectful it was of him to leave her alone and how she'd never do that. He kept apologizing and she kept shouting. They fought through the entire opening set and the break. She stormed out during the second Jimmy Eat World song. The whole thing was ridiculous.
Second, at the aforementioned crowd-banger closing of Jimmy Eat World's set, a mosh pit started. I have not been near a mosh pit since... Edgefest Toronto in 2001? (Oh man, that's a story for another time.) Even then, I was not a huge fan of it. Now? I am absolutely too old to be standing mosh-pit adjacent. Plus, I really don't understand the appeal - instead of paying attention to the musicians in front you, you... run around and run into each other? You try to knock people over? You assert your alpha-maleness? No clue. I managed to avoid most of it but I found the whole thing so weird and so counter-productive to seeing live music. Like, if you wanted to run into people to this song, just play it during bar league football games or something, right?
In any event, this is some great music to see live - so many of the songs have big, anthemic, sing-along choruses and it's just so much fun to be around. Great set list + flawless execution + high nostalgia factor = a perfect Sunday Funday end!
When: September 22, 2013
Where: The Warfield/ San Francisco, CA
With: I don't have friends here.
Of Note: I am probably too old to be mosh pit adjacent
Jimmy Eat World's 'Bleed American' is the rare album that has the ability to transport me to two very specific, very different places in time. The year is 2001 and I'm a sophomore in college. I'm sitting at my desk in Lehman, in front of my Compaq desktop trying to get work done, probably on my hellishly miserable Advanced Macroeconomic Theory class after carefully reading everyone's AIM Away Messages, while trying desperately to stay focused and not flail around to 'The Middle'. Nine times out of ten, I fail at sitting still, schoolwork abandoned in favor of jumping around like a crazy person. This album was my jam; we spent a lot of quality time together.
Fast forward ten years, or so. Barb and I were having one of our epic happy hours and had made our way to Vera - probably only the second or third time I'd been there. Then, it started. The song 'Bleed American'came on and I got super pumped, declaring, "Oh man! In college, this was my jam!" Then 'A Praise Chorus' and I said, "Holy crap! They're going to play this whole album!" I got ridiculously excited. I danced around a lot. And thus my love for Vera was cemented. (This may also have been the night that Barb impaled her eye with a dried ginger skewer.)
Okay, so, Jimmy Eat World live. First, let's high five 19 year old Jen, okay? Okay. I spent a lot of time wondering if opener Matt Pond was the same guy as Matt Pond PA, who covered 'Champagne Supernova' on my beloved 'The OC'. The internet tells me it is. He was a perfectly serviceable opener, with some above average stage banter. He was really intrigued by the fact that the crowd was fairly polite - hearty applause and attentive. He kept thanking us for being so polite. There was also a funny bit where someone yelled, "Take off your shirt," and he & the rest of his band-members took turns unbuttoning buttons. (Number of people I heard talking about Warped Tour between Matt Pond and Jimmy Eat World: 8.)
Reading reviews of the show after the fact, I was so confused because the two big SF music critics both talked about Jimmy Eat World being an "emo band". Really? I always thought they were pop-punk or pop-rock; they don't whine nearly enough to be emo, in my very humble opinion. Seeing them was definitely a rock & roll show - all high energy and super fun. It amazes me that the singer's voice sounds as good live as it does recorded more than ten years ago. They played a great set, achieving the almost impossible perfect balance of older crowd-bangers with material off their most recent album. They saved a lot of good stuff for the end of the set, launching into a bunch of favorites to close things out, ending with 'The Middle' (obviously) where everyone went absolutely bonkers.
A few things of note: First, there were two couples standing in front of me - I think on a double date. Before the show, Guy #1 ran into some of his friends and while bro-ing out, they left to go to the bar, leaving his wife(?) Girl #1 with Guy #2 and Girl #2. Couple #2 was pretty handsy. Guy #1 was gone for a long time. Girl #1 got fed up and went and got her own drink. When Guy #1 returned, Girl #1 FLIPPED OUT. It was A THING. She was VERY ANGRY. He did not think it was a big deal. She started screaming about how disrespectful it was of him to leave her alone and how she'd never do that. He kept apologizing and she kept shouting. They fought through the entire opening set and the break. She stormed out during the second Jimmy Eat World song. The whole thing was ridiculous.
Second, at the aforementioned crowd-banger closing of Jimmy Eat World's set, a mosh pit started. I have not been near a mosh pit since... Edgefest Toronto in 2001? (Oh man, that's a story for another time.) Even then, I was not a huge fan of it. Now? I am absolutely too old to be standing mosh-pit adjacent. Plus, I really don't understand the appeal - instead of paying attention to the musicians in front you, you... run around and run into each other? You try to knock people over? You assert your alpha-maleness? No clue. I managed to avoid most of it but I found the whole thing so weird and so counter-productive to seeing live music. Like, if you wanted to run into people to this song, just play it during bar league football games or something, right?
In any event, this is some great music to see live - so many of the songs have big, anthemic, sing-along choruses and it's just so much fun to be around. Great set list + flawless execution + high nostalgia factor = a perfect Sunday Funday end!
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