Gig Review: palace bowl presents: Jimmy Eat World at Crystal Palace Bowl
Happy 25th, Bleed American. Jimmy Eat World at Crystal Palace Bowl show just why that album resonates and bring Rise Against and the Get Up Kids in tow.
Everyone has their own ‘Bleed American’ story. For me – the gateway drug into pop punk after Green Day had me hooked. Pop punk has a very loyal fanbase – so loyal that most of Crystal Palace Park has seen either both or at the bare minimum one of Jimmy Eat World and Rise Against before; often multiple times – but that doesn’t stop them from having a good time, knowing all the words and singing along like their heart and soul depends on it. “It was never a phase” is the enduring motto of the emo community at Crystal Palace and given that I’m 31 and among the younger in the crowd; it’s easy to see why and the enduring appeal of the band lingers long after the last song has played.
Our openers are Jay-Som, but the first band we make it down for is Get Up Kids – appropriately on warmup duties for tonight. The tight performance is the perfect opener for these two bands to come; having just celebrated a 25th anniversary of their own seminal classic ‘Something to Write Home About’ The energy from the crowd was high considering how early it was and Matt Pryor and Jim Suptic’s vocal coaches are clearly gifted; as it’s not like 25 years has passed at all – they sound still, exactly the same. It’s an uncompromising set – ‘I’m a Loner Dottie, a Rebel’ opens and then run through of tracks like ‘Forgive and Forget’, ‘Better Half’ and ‘Ten Minutes’ hit a broad sphere. The 1999 midwestern emo breakthrough album asks: “what became of everyone I used to know?” as is; rapidly a theme of the evening – looking back on choices, nostalgia for the past and people that you lost touch with along the way – wondering what could have been, what might be, and what is – Pryor’s howl launching an entire genre, appropriately cathartic and appropriately healing. Not bad for the first band on.
The venue was downsized from Gunnersbury Park to the tighter, smaller Crystal Palace Bowl, but it is still – one of the biggest gigs that these bands have played in London. The crowd are the fans that want to be there and the relatively intimate nature of the festival – a smaller size than the Park gig next door that played host to bands like the Offspring earlier this summer but no slouch of its own – Mogwai played a memorable event here last year; and it’s to this occasion that Rise Against take charge, step up and knock the ball out of the park.
It is my first time seeing all three of these bands and these are my headliners of the evening; as great as Jimmy Eat World are – Rise Against make a real statement case for their enduring legacy that has seen them undergo ten albums. Tim McIllrath still has more energy than most of the fellow bands in the scene – able to bounce around between the vocals, rhythm guitar and crowd interaction second to none. He calls reference to his first band, Baxter – who one time played support for Jimmy Eat World. The audience cheers – but they’re so small time he argues; nobody remembers them so that fan is lying – but what a legacy that has spawned out of the post hardcore outfit from Chicago band. Ten albums – an unrelenting force of sweeping legacy for Rise Against. McIllrath is eternally grateful for Jimmy Eat World’s choice to take them with him – but can’t decide if 25 years later, he’s still in the same place; supporting Jimmy again – is a good thing or not.
The bulk of the setlist comes from ‘The Sufferer & The Witness’ genre-defining album – asking the crowd to ‘Give it [their] All’ before launching straight into new track ‘Nod’; celebrating 2025 album release ‘Ricochet’ that turned 1 at some point over the weekend. It’s perhaps telling that most of the tracks are deployed from their later classics; but it is a nostalgia show and we’re on a clock after all – ‘Re-Education (Through Labor)’ gets the runaround and well into ‘Endgame’ Rise Against’s ability to get the crowd warmed up and engaged is second to none. It doesn’t take long for the singalongs, the moshes, the spark – and McIllrath informs the crowd partway through that they have the honour of being the first act to have crowd surfers this whole weekend. This shouldn’t come as a surprise when yesterday’s headliner was Lenny Kravitz, a much more mellowed set – but the high tempo of Rise Against mean that the security earn their keep. The production is solid and for a band touring 13 years later; they’re able to bounce up and keep the energy high in the room.
Headliner time comes and it comes for Jimmy Eat World – and ‘Bleed American’ turns twenty-five in style. It’s an iconic album that earns its place up there with the ‘American Idiot’ and ‘Black Parade’s – this may be no Wembley, but Jimmy Eat World have had a sizeable impact on an entire scene; especially with this album and especially this album. The warm-up songs with ‘Clarity’, ‘Your New Aesthetic’ and into ‘Lucky Denver Mint’ have the crowd engaged from the hook and from the off and the transition from ‘Lucky Denver Mint’ into ‘Bleed American’ has the crowd go absolutely nuts. Jimmy Eat World waste no time in sticking to the ‘Bleed American’ release tour – ‘The Middle’ is deployed early; with vocalist and lead guitarist Jim Adkins telling the crowd that this song will mean something different to anyone who listens to it. At its core – it’s a celebration of being different, not caring, not needing to fit in – and its enduring popularity and association with the outsiders; the emos and the goths make it the perfect centre-piece of the album.
“Don’t write yourself off yet,” Adkins roars – “It’s only in your head, you feel left out…. It just takes some time.” That’s all it is; some people take longer than others to find their place, their people – but most do in the end. It’s the song that shows the testament to the enduring legacy of Jimmy Eat World that stands head and shoulders above most other bands operating in their scene – but they are; bluntly so much more than that. It’s proven by immediately following ‘The Middle’ with bangers like ‘Your House’ and ‘Sweetness’ – “no the sweetness will not be concerned with you”, taps into an all-too relatable feeling of meeting someone who you have strong feelings for who doesn’t feel the same way about you. “Stumble ‘til you crawl / sinking into sweet uncertainty,” Atkins croons, and the crowd eat up every word.
By the end of the set, you’ll understand why for many view this as heaven – ‘Clarity’ allowed as much of a runout as ‘Bleed American’ and whilst the band come out of the gates absolutely flying the encore leaves nothing left on the table. ‘My Sundown’ is the perfect understated set closer – “With one hand high, you’ll show them your progress / you’ll take your time / but no one cares,” Adkins sings, the backwards playing sounds cater to regret and ending in simplicity – often overlooked amongst the heavier punches of the record but stripped down to its core it feels like an acknowledgement of the time that fans and the band themselves have spent together – and what a twenty five years it’s been. In terms of sheer cathartic songs that are soaring and aggressive with a melancholic tone; you can’t get much better than ‘My Sundown’ – the perfect album closer that started the band’s post ‘Bleed American’ transition into slower, heavier songs. “I could be so much more than this…. I wanna be so much more than this,” feels like their ethos – their statement of intent.
Photography by Victor Frankowski