Jimmy Eat World at Brooklyn Steel
photo by Em Grey

Jimmy Eat World played a career-spanning set at BK Steel with Alex Lahey (pics, setlist, review)

Jimmy Eat World are on tour now with Alex Lahey, and with no new album to support, they’ve been playing career-spanning sets. They did release a new two-song single right before the tour started, and they played the Bleed American-ish “Love Never” from that single at Brooklyn Steel last night (6/13). Other than that, they pulled from all over their career and loaded the set with fan favorites. Jim Adkins said on stage that they were going to try to play something off every album, and though they skipped their 1994 self-titled debut and 2010’s Invented (which probably didn’t bum out too many fans), they did reach back to their classic Static Prevails (which they rarely play songs from) for “Claire,” which Jim said they probably haven’t played in New York since playing Jesse Malin’s old NYC club Coney Island High back in the day. (Other lucky cities on this tour got Static Prevails opener “Thinking, That’s All.”)

They opened with “Sure and Certain,” the single off 2016’s great Integrity Blues, which was something of a comeback for Jimmy Eat World (easily their best since Chase This Light, maybe even their best since Futures), and they also played that album’s similarly catchy “It Matters,” and the darker “Get Right” and “Pass the Baby,” the latter of which sounded massive live, with its sludge metal-ish riffs at the end. They played Chase This Light standouts like “Big Casino” and “Always Be,” reached back to the classic Clarity early on for “For Me This Is Heaven,” again in the middle of the set for its single “Lucky Denver Mint,” and again towards the end for the Tom Linton-sung “Blister.” They also played tons from their popular Bleed American and Futures albums, ending the set with Bleed American‘s four biggest songs: the title track, “A Praise Chorus,” “Sweetness,” and “The Middle.” That of course means that they went out with a bang, but really their set was on a high the whole time. Deeper cuts like “If You Don’t, Don’t” and “Kill” had just about as many people singing along as the bigger songs, and whether Jimmy Eat World were playing a newer one or a song that’s been around for nearly two decades, they were crisp, precise, professional, and just downright fun.

Another thing that was super clear last night, was how grateful Jimmy Eat World truly are to still be playing to sold-out crowds at decent-sized venues like Brooklyn Steel. It would be understandable if they took their fanbase for granted — their early 2000s hits were really huge songs and it’s no surprise that people still want to see them today — but when they thanked the crowd for still supporting them after all these years, it sounded incredibly genuine. They also expressed twice during their set that they were very happy to be playing with Alex Lahey, and it’s cool to see that they’re still supporting worthy small artists all these years later. They clearly haven’t forgotten their roots.

The feeling between Jimmy Eat World and Alex Lahey was mutual. Alex expressed that she was so happy to be opening for them, and that they are some of the nicest people, and that she loves Jimmy Eat World fans because Jimmy Eat World fans “really love music” (the crowd cheered when she said that). She also totally rocked. She played a nice mix of songs off her great 2017 debut album I Love You Like A Brother and her great 2016 debut EP B-Grade University, and she and her band were sharper, tighter, and more energetic than I’d ever seen them. She really does know how to write a catchy song, and last night, I found myself singing along to every single one.

Pictures of last night’s show are in the gallery above, and Jimmy Eat World’s setlist is below. Jimmy Eat World and Alex Lahey do it again at Brooklyn Steel tonight (6/14) (also sold out), and this weekend, both acts hit Firefly. Alex will be back in the area in August for headlining shows, including one at NYC’s Bowery Ballroom.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BkAhQCeDNPj/?taken-at=1850069821943311

Jimmy Eat World at Brooklyn Steel – 6/13/18 Setlist (via)
Sure and Certain
I Will Steal You Back
Big Casino
For Me This is Heaven
Futures
Polaris
Pain
Pass the Baby
Kill
Get Right
Lucky Denver Mint
It Matters
Always Be
Hear You Me
Love Never
If You Don’t, Don’t
Claire
Dizzy
Blister
Work
23
Bleed American

Encore:
A Praise Chorus
Sweetness
The Middle

photos by Em Grey