大象传媒

Jimmy Eat World are a prime example of a band who invented a sound, refined a genre and inspired countless bands in the process. 听They're the defining band of the mid 90's emo-rock revolution, and the only one who truly managed to garner mainstream success while, for the most part, avoiding cries of 'sell out' from their old-school fans. 'Invented' is a fitting title then for their latest release which they're touring in support of tonight.

Speaking of support, Minus The Bear were due to warm up the crowd but due to the miserable weather, they're stuck on the mainland. 听More Than Conquerors have stepped up to try and fill their rather large boots. A great opportunity for them which they make a decent attempt at grabbing with at least one hand, if not both. 听They have hints of Minus The Bear in their melodies, some repetitive guitar tappery and hooks which lead into slightly more conventional indie-rock territory. 听They're a tight act but they look slightly lost on the big stage. 听They need to work on their stage presence because they've definitely got some tunes, if only they could make the crowd pay attention to them. 听At short notice, they did well but their feet weren't quite big enough.

Jimmy Eat World rock on stage and blast straight into 'Bleed American' and 'A Praise Chorus'. 听The sound is perfect tonight in the Mandela Hall, the vocals are crystal clear and note perfect. 听Jim seems genuinely excited about the number of people that have turned up to see them and we're treated to a few of the 'best audience ever' cliches but it seems sincere, they're grinning widely. 听They don't look very emo anymore, though.

We're treated to some new tracks from Invented including 'My Best Theory', 'Action Needs An Audience' and 'Evidence' and it is evident that they're not very emo anymore. 听The new Jimmy Eat World sound is vast - it's a far cry from the early introspection of Clarity or the pop-punk hooks of Bleed American - they're writing for a wider audience, bigger venues and while the new songs are much more anthemic, they don't quite have the same spark as the old classics.

With bigger crowds comes the inevitable mixed audience and it doesn't go unnoticed whenever one of the quieter songs in the setlist, 'Hear You Me', is greeted by a lairy topless lad on his friend's shoulders. 听Jim describes the sight as "epic" before quickly pointing out the sarcasm, just in case his disdain isn't evident enough.

The oldies are the highlights in the set, as you'd expect, 'Blister', 'For Me This Is Heaven' and in particular, (a slightly shorter than the 16 minute album version) 'Goodbye Sky Harbour' which builds to an electronic crescendo of beats and looped vocals, before bringing the set to an end. 听There's still the small matter of an encore though, which sees the two biggest singles, 'The Middle' and 'Sweetness', sending everyone off home with grins on their faces.

Michael Wilson