Jimmy Eat World headlined the Crystal Palace Bowl over the weekend, telling thousands of attendees it was one of the biggest crowds they had ever performed to. The American rock band brought their seminal 2001 album Bleed American to life in full, celebrating its 25th anniversary.
A Milestone Performance
Thousands of fans turned up to scream every word of the 11-track record. From the middle of the audience, it was hard not to believe the band's claim about the crowd size. Just before going on stage, the band spoke about the album and how it feels to play these songs so many years later.
“It's interesting to do this,” Jim Adkins told the Daily Express. “As a, like, album sequence. Because it's really not how we would structure the arc of a gig. Like with the energy flow of it.” He added, “But it still works.”
Feeding Off the Crowd's Energy
The band opened the show with some of their more contemporary hits before stripping back lights and props to kick off the album's first track, its namesake. Throughout the night, Jimmy Eat World fed off the energy of the thousands throwing themselves at the gargantuan stage in the South London grounds.
The excitement and frantic nature of UK audiences is something the band have come to treasure. “The previous couple gigs have just reinforced that even further,” bassist Rick Burch said. “Good audience. Jim says it very well when he says [Brits] decided to come out and have a good time, and it's obvious that they have.”
Still Here, Still Humbled
Seeing the same kind of fans come out in droves 25 years after the album's release remains surreal. “It's incredible, you know?” Jim smiled in disbelief. “Like, are you kidding me? I don't know. None of us can really believe that we're here still. Yeah, to this day, it's like: What? We get to do this right now?”
Speaking directly to fans, Adkins added: “It's just incredibly humbling that people still find something they can connect with in our music. You know? There's so much else they could do with their time. It's just special.”
