Tonight’s openers Pup waste no time ramping up the energy, kicking things off with the entire band giving it their all from the start.
An early standout moment in the set comes in ‘Robot Writes A Love Song’, and it’s not long before the crowd become part of the experience, with ‘Free At Last’ getting nearly everyone clapping along in time.
Another highlight, ‘Kids’, sees singer/ guitarist Stefan Babcock proclaim: “We’re gonna do very little talkin’ and a medium amount of rockin’,” before they launch into the song. Guitarist Steve Sladkowski takes the lead with a blues-inspired solo that adds even more brilliance.
For a powerful one-two punch, the band pair ‘Reservoir’ with ‘Old Wounds’. With Stefan setting down his guitar, freeing him to jump around the stage and give the performance an added level of intensity that the crowd love.
The set ends on a high with a triple-hitter of ‘If This Tour Doesn’t Kill You, I Will’, ‘DVP’, and ‘Sleep in the Heat’. The latter seeing the now fully-engaged crowd belting out the “woah” parts back at the band, making for a fittingly explosive finale.
Jimmy Eat World make an unforgettable entrance, setting the tone for the evening with a trio of classic tracks: ‘Pain’, ‘Just Tonight…’, and ‘If You Don’t, Don’t’. The crowd is already singing along, but the energy skyrockets with ‘Sweetness’, where the singalong reaches deafening levels. Frontman Jim Adkins can’t help but comment, grinning as he acknowledges: “you all came ready to party, huh?”
Switching things up, Adkins brings out the acoustic for ‘Your House’, giving the song a nice intimate, reflective touch. Another highlight comes in ‘Lucky Denver Mint’ leading into ‘Big Casino’, with the band delivering both songs with unrelenting intensity.
Adkins takes the stage solo for ‘555’, before the full band join back in for ‘Hear You Me’, a heartfelt and emotional piece that stirs the crowd. Looking around the room there are lots of tears, and this makes you fully realise the huge impact their music can have on people.
Later in the set, guitarist Tom Linton steps up to share vocal duties on ‘Blister’, which is appreciated by the full venue.
The main set reaches a climax with ‘Bleed American’, ‘A Praise Chorus’, and the iconic ‘The Middle’, sparking massive singalongs once again from the sold-out crowd.
To close the it all, an encore of ‘Night Drive’ and ‘The World You Love’ feels like the perfect farewell, rounding off an incredible night of nostalgia, emotion and energy.
Photos by Catching Light Photography
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