Tuesday, October 16, 2007

Jimmy Eat World at the El Rey Theatre



It was Big Casino night at the El Rey theatre as Jimmy Eat World celebrated the release of their latest album "Chase This Light". The blackjack tables were busy and the roulette wheels were spinning as everyone in attendance received one thousand dollars to gamble away in hopes of scoring some swag which included a trip to see Jimmy Eat World anywhere in the United States.



I have been listening to Jimmy Eat World ever since the days they used to be on Capitol records when they released "Clarity". The tracks off that album I enjoy the most are the power chord driven "Blister" and the jangly "Clarity". They later signed a deal with Dreamworks to release "Bleed American" that later was renamed the self titled album due to 9/11. This album launched them into stardom and was followed by the release "Futures".



I quickly lost my thousand dollars at the blackjack table and unfortunately did not win any of the raffle prizes. At 10:45, the tables were closed and Jimmy Eat World came out with "Big Casino". I have seen Jimmy Eat World live a few times and they always put on an energetic loud live show. Jim Adkins (Vocals/Guitars) had a shiny black Fender Thinline Telecaster plugged into some Vox amplifiers as he strummed away. Tom Linton (Guitars/Vocals) had a black Gibson Les Paul and some Orange combo amps that complemented Jim's tone well. Rick Burch (Bass) had an interesting Fender bass that was right handed but had a lefty head stock.



"Let It Happen" was another new song and had some good palm muted guitar chords with a soaring chorus. Jim thanked the crowd for coming out and stated it was the best record release party they have ever had. Jimmy Eat World continued its new song trend with "Always Be" that had Jim using a capo on the 5th fret. "Carry You" had Jim switch to an acoustic guitar that had a capo on the 4th fret. I don't listen to the radio that much anymore but all of those songs could easily garner some good airplay as singles. "A Praise Chorus" received a large ovation from the crowd as Jim switched the lyrics of "Come On Davey" to "Come On Baby". The "Davey" he is referring to is Davey von Bohlen from Promise Ring and currently in Maritime who is opening for them on this leg of the tour. "Work" was faster and louder then the recorded version. The drop-D riff of "Bleed American" sounded sharp as ever as the crowd sang along. They capped the set with "The Middle" and promised a longer set the next night at the Wiltern. I grabbed one of the souvenir posters and purchased an autographed cd for ten dollars as I walked out. I think every band needs to have a release party like this.



Jimmy Eat World setlist at the El Rey Theatre (10/15/07)
"Big Casino"
"Let It Happen"
"Always Be"
"Carry You"
"A Praise Chorus"
"Work"
"Bleed American"
"Pain"
"Sweetness"
"The Middle"

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

sounds so cool. i'm excited to see them on friday :)

Anonymous said...

the new album is actually called "chase this light" not "chasing the light" as you said. but i agree- almost all of the songs on this album could be singles. sounds like it was a great show & i hope i get to see them soon!