MARCH 04, 2002 - WORLD CAFE - HONOLULU, HI - Concert Review - The Setlist - Photos - Video Clip - "Lucky Denver Mint" (344 kb; 15 sec.) - right-click to download! Concert Review This review was published in the March 2002 issue of Ka Leo 'O Wai'anae, Wai'anae High School's student newspaper. Hawai'i fans of all ages flocked to the World Cafe in Honolulu to witness the 50th State debut live performance of alternative rock band Jimmy Eat World. The show was one that would leave fans, like me, with long-lasting memories. The band, who hail from the 48th State (Arizona), are currently riding high with their hit single, "The Middle" — an inspirational song accompanied with a music video that contains people dancing in their underwear. "The director, Paul Fedor, came up with the idea for that," Jim Adkins, lead singer/guitarist, told me over the phone from a radio station, the day before the concert. "He presented it to us and we said, 'Okay.'" Although Jimmy Eat World did get the idea for "The Middle" music video from a director, it doesn't mean that they've always relied on others for help. After Capitol Records released the band's first two, low-key albums, "Static Prevails" (1996) and "Clarity" (1999), the label unceremoniously dropped the band from their roster. This forced them to raise money by touring to pay for the recording for their recent, self-titled LP, released on Dreamworks Records last summer. The album is the band's first that has received prominent airplay; "The Middle" is currently 97.5 KPOI's #8 Most Played Song. Hawai‘i's major modern rock radio stations have even given fans the chance to meet the band, win their latest album, or score a free pair of tickets to the show. "We're at a stage where I don't think we're an underground band anymore," Adkins told Kerrang Magazine in its January 19 issue. "But we are definitely not a pop band. It is a strange time." That was probably what Adkins and bandmates Rick Burch, Zach Lind, and Tom Linton were thinking on March 4, as a capacity audience packed World Cafe to the max. Opening act Lose Money, a local punk band, kicked things off, causing chaos at the front of the stage, as fans moshed and pushed each other around — even though there were signs prohibiting these actions. It was a rock concert — what do you expect? After Lose Money's half-hour set, another half-hour went by as preparations were made for Jimmy Eat World. Finally, after the "check one twos," the band walked onstage, opening up with "A Praise Chorus." The audience in front of the stage grew even rowdier. As my 12-year-old sister and I temporarily exited the venue to get a breath of air and a drink of water, passed-out, injured, and/or rule-breaking audience members came out of the side exit door about every 3 minutes. The frequency of the number of people exiting the doors gradually increased as the show progressed. But this kind of stuff is hard to prevent from happening in rock concerts. The band's set was well balanced, mixed with songs from their three albums. The encore was definitely the highlight of the show — encores are usually the highlights of shows — as the audience sang to "Bleed American," "The Middle," and the upcoming single, "Sweetness," in unison. When the show was over, radio contest winners and fans who made posters promoting the band's website were taken to the third floor of World Cafe to meet the band; I was one of them [note: my picture is posted at www.jimmyeatworld.com; my poster has their website written in blue and red, a drawing of a partially eaten world at the top right corner, and the states of Hawai‘i and Arizona are on the left and right corners of the poster]. The band was very polite, and I was surprised that Adkins remembered me from the day before, when I called him for a short interview. After my friends and I were "star struck," we left World Cafe with a sense of satisfaction and a rush of disbelief. It was the perfect ending to a night we will never forget. The Setlist "A Praise Chorus" "The Authority Song" "If You Don't, Don't" "For Me This Is Heaven" "Clarity" "Bejune" (aka "What Would I Say to You Now") "Rock Star" "Table For Glasses" "Lucky Denver Mint" "Blister" "Softer" "Your New Aesthetic" "Goodbye Sky Harbor" "Evil #1" (aka "Get It Faster") "Bleed American" "The Middle" "Sweetness"