Newsday 11.12.04

November 12, 2004

Jimmy Eat World's encores tell its story.

The first was "Pain," the band's bruising bash-'em-up of a single, filled with power chords and angst-ridden screams. The second was "Sweetness," a sugary anthem from the band's breakthrough 2001 CD "Bleed American."

Though the Mesa, Ariz., quartet is a veteran on the emo scene, releasing its sixth album, "Futures," last month, it still trades in the whole sometimes-you-feel- like-a-nut, sometimes-you-don't split of teendom. For Jimmy Eat World, it's no accident that the centerpiece of its 75-minute set is the welding of the new CD's darkest moment, "Drugs Or Me," to its brightest, "The World You Love" - complete with a seamless musical transition from the dirge about addiction to the sprightly, guitar-pop sing-along about building a happier life.

Singer-guitarist Jim Adkins and friends provide the soundtrack for people still searching for direction. That's a luxury that many can't afford these days, though, and, on record, some of the band's songs have that made-for- "The O.C." feel, music for brooding boys and the bikini-clad debutantes who love them.

That changes in concert, where Adkins and guitarist Tom Linton really sell their songs, making it clear that middle-class pain is as real as any other, using roaring guitars and passionate vocals as the easiest method of escape. New songs such as "Polaris" and "Nothingwrong," which are good on "Futures," become moving and powerful in concert, thanks to the intense delivery. Older songs such as "Seventeen" and "Your New Aesthetic" crackled with new energy, as did the band's breakthrough hit "The Middle."

Jimmy Eat World succeeds because it has a laser-like focus on writing strong pop melodies and then roughing them up or sweetening them to fit the band's hard side or the soft one. It's a strategy that opener Gratitude aspires to, but hasn't quite mastered yet, especially as singer Jonah Matranga figures out the difference between being emotional and acting emotional. Perhaps the band will work it out before its debut arrives on Atlantic Records next year.

Openers Razorlight and Recover, however, use an opposite strategy - sonic sprawl. Razorlight's 40-minute set was a glorious hodgepodge of punk, Britpop and Stevie Winwood blues held tightly together by singer Johnny Borrell's Mick Jagger swagger and guitarist Bjorn Agren's Keith Richards roar. The band's set, packed with songs from its hot debut CD "Up All Night," was an attention-grabber. Songs including "In the City" and the first single "Golden Touch" featured an encyclopedia of styles crammed into four exciting minutes - making it one of those rare sonic adventures that still manages to sound familiar. Recover uses various indie-rock styles to push its emo songs to the next level on its new "This May Be The Year I Disappear" CD, filling songs like "Simple" and "-- Me For Free" with surprising turns.

Maybe the tour will give Jimmy Eat World some new tricks for its alt-rock arsenal.

JIMMY EAT WORLD. Emotions run deeper now, but the rockers are still playing "The Middle." With Razorlight, Recover and Gratitude at Webster Hall, Manhattan, on Monday.

by: Glenn Gamboa, Staff Writer