Jimmy Eat World had better be worth all this. It was a Friday night and I was headed to downtown San Diego. What the hell was I thinking? This is downtown on a Friday night where there will be tons of people from the tourists to the crazy party people and parking rates will be jacked through the roof and lots will be full. How far was I going to have to walk to get to this show? The better question actually was, how long was I going to spend driving around looking for a place to park my truck? It was well over 25 minutes before I found parking but thankfully right across the street and free. 

I arrived just in time to find a great spot on the floor and to catch opener IAMDYNAMITE’s set. I happened to catch a song of theirs up in LA at the Viper Room when they played with The Virgin Mary’s. I was intrigued by them and was really excited to see a full and proper set. Although the image of a guy with a guitar and a guy with a drum kit brings to mind The Black Keys, IAMDYNAMITE is nothing like that at all. Despite missing a bass player, they still manage to incorporate that wonderful bass sound (somehow) and the audience is none the wiser that no such bass player exists. They have a vivacious rock sound and are so entertaining to watch. Plus, any drummer who does vocals too is totally awesome. I immediately went and purchased their set was finished. The band came out to give hugs to fans before they had to drive up to San Francisco  Awwwwwww. 

I had never gotten the chance to see Jimmy Eat World at their height of popularity. I totally missed the bus and take full responsibility. Actually, I think they might have been playing an X-Fest show I was at years ago and I didn’t know who they were so I didn’t pay attention. My bad. This is how I was making up for it. Admittedly, I only know their radio hits and own none of their albums. I just wanted to see this band that has managed to successfully stay around for a decade.

By now the room was hot and sweaty with anticipation. The band took the stage in a timely manner (thank you) and proceeded to rock the entire room from floor to terrace. One particularly drunk and overzealous caused some mayhem when he shoved/crashed his way to the middle of the floor, much to the disdain of everyone around him and a fight almost broke out. Frontman Jim Adkins threatened to put the two in a room together until they became friends. I was highly amused. Needless to say the trouble maker ended up getting removed from the crowd, which proceeded to cheer at security escorting him out. The set was an hour long and they played old material for the long time fans, rado hits for people like me, and a nice sampling from their new album Damage. It was a wonderful set full of highs and lows. Well crafted. With a heartfelt thank you, the band exited stage left and left the crowd cheering for more. I proceeded to run up to the loft/terrace area, where it was much cooler, when they came back out and did a three song encore. Yep, three songs. What an epic evening!