Back in 2001, “The Middle” was my jam. Jimmy Eat World had just come out with their breakthrough album Bleed American, and the song was everywhere. It was great. The lyrics were sort of sad in an uplifting way, the hook stayed catchy no matter how many times it was played on the radio, and the guitar part was enough that I, along with millions of other high school kids, could pick out the simple chords on our cheap knockoff Stratocasters.
Then Jimmy Eat World kept releasing good albums, like 2004’s Futures and 2007’s Chase This Light (their highest charting work to date), and managed to avoid being stuck with the label of “that band that does that ‘Middle’ song.” Their latest album, Invented, was released in September 2010, and the band went on tour in support of it, playing shows worldwide as well as festival dates at Coachella, Soundwave, and an upcoming headlining gig at Reading and Leeds.
The band plays the Commodore Ballroom on May 21, and there are a few tickets to the Jimmy Eat World Vancouver concert still available at ShowTimeTickets.com. They’ve been touring for well over a decade, so they’ve had plenty of time to hone their stage act. Anybody else thinking of going? Seen them live before? Let us know in the comments section!