Live Review: Jimmy Eat World, My Echo

It’s been a year of looking back for Jimmy Eat World. Celebrating the tenth anniversary of their hit album, Futures, the band have been playing the record in full and their Sydney show marked the final gig in their international tour.

Jimmy had just one support, Melbourne’s My Echo, and while the band made all the right noises and played with plenty of gusto, their influences shone through a little too heavily. Band members are obviously big fans of acts such as The Gaslight Anthem and Against Me!.

While Bleed American always seemed like a more logical choice to be given the “whole album played live” treatment, Futures really stood out as a complete set-piece. There was a gorgeous jangle that ran through the album, coming to light as the band worked its way through the epic sweep of Work, the heartbreak of Drugs Or Me and the downtempo charm of Night Drive.

After a short break the band returned to regular programming dropping some newer faves, slowing things down with an acoustic interlude and giving their older fans a nod by playing Lucky Denver Mint and Blister off the 15-year-old Clarity

The band’s knack for layering just enough pop energy into their crunchy rock hooks made even the newer, more adult songs sound vital and fresh. And the ripple of the crowd singing along could be heard just under the current of yearning in Jim Adkins’ voice as he sang about the various stages of growing up.

Though the night was a celebration of Futures the band happily acknowledged their debt to Bleed American, tearing through almost half of that album’s opening tracks in the encore while their grateful crowd of die-hard fans sang it back loudly and proudly.