Jimmy Eat World Live at First Avenue – Minneapolis MN – September 13th 2022

First Avenue presents Jimmy Eat World live with special guests Charly Bliss

Review and photos by Jim Zons

First Avenue has a well-deserved reputation as a great place to catch a live act, so when I heard that Jimmy Eat World was making a return to this storied venue, I had to be there!

First up was the ever-energetic Charly Bliss, a power pop band out of Brooklyn, New York, featuring siblings Eva Hendricks on guitar and lead vocals and Sam Hendricks on drums. Their music has been described as “bubblegrunge” … a combination of bubblegum pop and grunge, harkening back to a music style of 20 years ago. As an opening act, their set was short, but full of energy and great sound.

After a short break, Jimmy Eat World played live. Jimmy Eat World is from Mesa, AZ and has been around since 1993. They have released ten studio albums, nine featuring the current lineup featuring lead singer and guitarist Jim Adkins, rhythm guitarist and backing singer Tom Linton, bass player Rick Burch, and Zach Lind on drums. The band kicked off their set with “Futures” and moved right on through the best of their extensive catalog, including “Pain,” “Bleed American,” “Work,” “Big Casino,” “Sure and Certain,” and
more. Lead Singer Jim Adkins at one point remarked that Jimmy Eat World first played at First Avenue 21 years ago! The band marched right through their set, never leaving the stage, ending with their biggest hit “The Middle” after only one hour fifteen minutes! It was a quick, compact show, but Jimmy Eat World sounded great, and it made for fun evening of music at First Avenue.