Being a part of the Phoenix music scene, whether performer or patron, has its moments of frustration. Bands play to nearly empty rooms. Venues tack on increasingly high fees to ticket prices. Artists receive fractions of a penny per music stream. Fans search social media for set times and come up empty-handed.
And then there are those instances when the local music scene feels like a family, and not just a family — a team, a unit, a group of veterans who have been through a lot to get to where they are now.
That was the vibe on October 28 during Jimmy Eat World's headlining set. The Mesa foursome took the stage after a long evening of music that included local singer-songwriter Sydney Sprague, fellow When We Were Young artists PVRIS and Thursday, and beloved Tempe quintet The Maine.
A five-act bill can seem kind of daunting, as is evidenced by the fact that the crowd looked incredibly thin at the 6:30 start time and didn't bulk up properly until late in Thursday's set.
But the room was full and buzzing when Jim Adkins, Rick Burch, Tom Linton, Zach Lind, and frequent collaborator Robin Vining took the stage around 10 p.m.
After the third song, the title track off 2001's Bleed American, Adkins greeted the crowd.
"Thank you so much for coming out tonight — holy cow," he said.
Jimmy Eat World hasn't played a proper headlining show in the Valley since 2015, a fact that Adkins addressed.
"Trust me, it's not personal — it just happens sometimes," he said. "And then there was that two-year blip."
No matter how long it'd been since the fans saw the band, they greeted them like old friends, singing along with popular tracks like "Pain," "23," and the mournful "Hear You Me."
The band was one of the acts who saw their set blow away when the first day of When We Were Young got canceled at the 11th hour due to a wind advisory, but Adkins had a sense of humor about it.
"You don't need to go to Vegas — fuck that. The party's here tonight," he said to screams of agreement.
Bassist Rick Burch performs during Jimmy Eat World's set at Arizona Financial Theatre on October 28, 2022.
Jim Louvau
Jimmy Eat World will celebrate their 30th anniversary next year, and it's inarguable that they're one of the most popular musical artists to come out of the Phoenix music scene. Amid so many hundreds, if not thousands, of bands that didn't make it big, they made it out of Arizona professionally, even as they never left.
And Adkins attributed that directly to the fans.
"We wouldn't have left Zach's garage if it wasn't for our friends in the Phoenix music scene," he said. Later, he added, "People asked us why we never moved. What are we going to do in L.A.?"
The emotions flowing between band and audience were palpable, and being at the show made you feel like you were part of something. If you've lived here long enough and been in the scene long enough, you probably saw Jimmy Eat World in their earlier years (or maybe The Maine, another local-turned-international outfit who are celebrating their 15th anniversary this year — no small feat).
Maybe you knew they were going to be something special and maybe you didn't, but if you clapped for them at Nita's Hideaway back in the day or bought a CD at Zia, you contributed to making Jimmy Eat World what it is today. And Adkins is grateful.
"We don't take anything for granted anymore," he said, "and the fact that you all are still here and supporting us ... I don't know what to say, man. It's a really special night."
We couldn't agree more.
This couple came to the show dressed as Three-Hole Punch Jim from The Office and a globe with a bite out of it. Get it? Jimmy Eat World.
Jennifer Goldberg
Setlist:
"Futures"
"Pain"
"Bleed American""All the Way (Stay)"
"For Me This Is Heaven"
"A Praise Chorus"
"Work"
"23"
"Kill"
"555 (acoustic)"
"Hear You Me"
"Something Loud"
"Big Casino"
"Sweetness"
"The Middle"
Critic's Notebook
The Show: Jimmy Eat World at Arizona Financial Theatre with The Maine, Thursday, PVRIS, and Sydney Sprague.
The Crowd: Mostly 30- and 40-somethings. The elder emo vibe is strong here: We saw Warped Tour and Save Ferris shirts, along with some obviously vintage Jimmy Eat World gear. A few people in costume, but not many.
Overheard: “FREEBIRD!" shouted by a middle-aged man as Sydney Sprague launched into her first song. Please, sir. Stop being so funny. My sides hurt from laughing.
Random Notebook Dump: I wish John O'Callaghan (of The Maine) would stop yelling at me to jump around and be more excited. I've been here three hours already.
