I have a confession to make; for a while now I have been staying up late desperately trying to stream videos filmed live and broadcasted from someone’s dark Arizona basement. Before you start worrying I should clarify: the videos I have been watching don’t star a peroxide blonde girl doing her best pretzel impersonation but rather one of my favourite bands finding new and exciting ways to interact with their fans.
I first saw Jimmy Eat World supporting Weezer at the Shepherds Bush Empire in 2001 and they completely blew me away. I had heard bits of their repertoire before but didn’t expect to fall head over heals for them. Since then they have become the one band I have seen the most times live gradually observing their career go from an intimate gig at the smallish Scala, through performances at Reading Festival on to glorious shows at Brixton Academy which literally left me speechless.
This year JEW set out on a tour to celebrate the 10th anniversary of their seminal 1999 album ‘Clarity‘. At first I was expecting to be in The States for the New York leg of the tour but sadly had to postpone my trip. My disappointment was slightly offset by the fact that the band had begun streaming highlights from their rehearsals for the tour on their ustream site. In addition, once the tour started the band posted photos from shows regularly allowing those of us who couldn’t make it on the night to take a little bit of the magic from these shows.
Just to prove I’m not a complete fanboy, I got home from a night out a couple of nights ago and stumbled across a live stream of the band playing their live Clarity set in its entirety. Though I was aware they were planning to release a live album following the tour I didn’t know when or in what format yet here I was in sat in the comfort of my living room watching the band tear through some of my favourite tracks. Needless to say I loved the experience and when the performance was over I got a copy of the ‘Clarity Live‘ album as my own personal memento.
Increasingly bands are embracing new technology to promote themselves and their music and yet I have seen few “established” artists interact quite so innovatively and enthusiastically. Despite being hugely successful Jimmy Eat World still look out for their fans, both new and old, and that is why they will always hold a special place in my heart.
Buy the new album ‘Clarity Live’ over at jimmyeatworld.com
Buy the classic ‘Clarity‘ on Amazon
I include one of my favourite tracks from ‘Clarity‘ as well as a live track recorded at the aforementioned London Scala show
TRACKS:
