Photo Credit: James Mirfield

Celebrating 25 years of an album that sparked a generation, Jimmy Eat World brought ‘Bleed American’ to The Piece Hall in Halifax for a night filled with classics alongside two support bands, who in their own right, were gateway acts that gave young music lovers a new genre to fall into.

Opening the show was Kansas City emo band The Get Up Kids, a band who sparked the influence of the likes of global names Fall Out Boy and My Chemical Romance, thanks to their 1997 debut album ‘Four Minute Mile‘. Having recently toured the UK in support of the 25th anniversary of ‘Something to Write Home About’, their return to West Yorkshire came just over a year since their Brudenell Social Club show in Leeds. An already packed Piece Hall venue welcomed the band on stage as they opened with ‘Satellite’, taken from their most recent record ‘Problems‘, but it was ‘I Am A Loner Dottie, A Rebel‘ that really brought out the fans of the band. As they powered through their set with throwbacks such as ‘Stay Gold, Ponyboy‘, ‘Valentine‘ and ‘Red Letter Day‘, The Get Up Kids brought it back to modern day with their new and unreleased song ‘New Colonial‘ to showcase that there is new music on the horizon. Rounding off their Halifax debut with fan favourites ‘Holiday‘ and ‘Ten Minutes‘, the emo band’s trip back in time was a triumphant one to say the least.

Hailing from the windy city of Chicago, punk-rock outfit Rise Against also made their debut in Halifax. A band that could quite easily sell out their own headline show at The Piece Hall, made sure to put their stance in West Yorkshire once again. An almost near-greatest hits set list, the Illinois quartet opened with ‘Re-Education (Through Labor)‘ and The Piece Hall crowd were on fire. Banger after banger, Rise Against unleashed heavy anthems with Tim McIlrath’s powerful vocals continuing to impress year after year, performance after performance. The band show no signs of age and that is what sets them above many others in the game. ‘Give It All‘, ‘Prayer of the Refugee‘ and finally ‘Savior‘ all served as the loudest received of the bunch, as expected. There is no wonder that whenever Rise Against cross the pond to welcome their UK fans, they turn up in their numbers and showcase why the band are so adored.

It can be quite rare for a band’s fourth studio album to become their most famous, but Jimmy Eat World‘s 2001 masterpiece ‘Bleed American‘ has excelled that. Achieving gold status by the BPI and double platinum in the US, the punk-rockers from Arizona made sure to give the album a run out in its entirety to their UK fanbase as they kicked off the first of three shows at The Piece Hall. To many people’s surprise, the band opened with ‘Clarity‘, which was enough to get the crowd pumped up from the get go, but when would ‘Bleed American‘ be arriving? Further material from their third record followed, including ‘Your New Aesthetic‘, ‘Blister‘ and ‘Lucky Denver Mint‘ before finally the 25th celebrations began.

Performed in its entirety, the title track kicked things off, and The Piece Hall was alight. The heavy album opener still remains a clear favourite to this day, and the perfect kick start to getting the ball well and truly rolling. Jim Adkins voiced his thanks to the capacity crowd for sticking by the band and for coming out to join in with the record’s anniversary, with service then resuming. After ‘A Praise Chorus‘ concluded, Adkins dedicated track three to the audience. It was none other than their biggest hit, ‘The Middle‘. As the intro built up, the audience clapped along and then joined in word for word, with many dancing at the back while mosh pits formed down near the front. It was electric.

With still a large chunk of the record to get through, Jimmy Eat World wasted no time in keeping the ball rolling. Track after track, ‘Bleed American‘ felt more alive. ‘Sweetness‘ kept up the energy from both the band and crowd, followed by ‘Hear You Me‘ before the remainder of the record saw the audience begin to rest for a brief moment. Exiting the stage after ‘My Sundown‘ ended, the band soon returned for a very strong encore, this time, it was some of the best hits from their other records. Opening the final portion of the night with ‘Disintegration‘, the energy began to pick up again as ‘Pain‘ and ‘Clarity‘s final track of the night, ‘For Me This Is Heaven‘ set up the much adored ‘Big Casino‘. With one final song remaining, Jimmy Eat World’s triumphant debut in Halifax ended with ‘23‘ to bow out of their Yorkshire return, further proving that being in the game for over thirty years, they continue to please audiences across the globe.