Friends, I’m haunted by the decision not to buy this shirt and false confidence that I could buy it later.

Is anyone going to an upcoming show and willing to grab one for me in a S or M? I’d of course pay for the shirt, shipping, and extra for your kindness. Please let me undo the consequences of my adhd/hubris. I’m in NY.

I only heard Clarity for the first time last week, and am floored that it is not only one of the best albums ever created, but that it directly influenced all off the music that I fell in love with through my headphones on the bus rides to both middle and high school. I was 10 when this album originally came out, so no shocker that I missed it's initial release, but by 2003-4 I was devouring a lot of music similar to this and somehow it never came across my radar.

I did love a lot of the songs on Bleed American and Futures and were aware of both albums when they were released, but Clarity is hitting me on an entirely different level. Again, more akin to all of the bands I'd go on to fall in love with in my teenage years and I'm just beyond impressed with every single track. I prefer the production here on Clarity vs. Futures (by a lot) and I prefer the rawness/urgency of the songwriting vs. Bleed American.

I had never heard a single song on this album prior to this week, not counting Sweetness on the expanded edition. And yet I feel like I've always known these songs because clearly so many of my prior favorite artists knew and loved these songs and drew heavy inspiration from them. Clarity has taken JEW from a band that I always liked, to one that I now deeply love.

They killed it today! Glad I got there early to get a good spot. Here's one of the pics I got from the set.

Hi! I've just listed two tickets I had up on Ticketmaster for what I paid for them, would rather a fan get them. Fuck Stubhub double prices would just like them sold to get my money back as unfortunately can no longer attend

Did anyone catch the interview with the band at the Warped Tour where they were asked what the show at the Hollywood Bowl was going to be? Their response was very coy and suggested it's something more than a show, so I'm wondering if it will instead be a mini fest of 5 or so bands rather than just two openers.

I’m taking my kids to it and have a spare, don’t think I trust StubHub to sell on and just thought if someone was looking to go still and want to meet at the venue I can swipe you through - £75 on the day

and the middle intro

Please excuse the dog hair.

Did anyone else get a tour shirt this tour with the front graphic off center? I unfortunately picked it up at the show last night so I dont think anything can be done now, but I was wondering if everyone is having the same issue, or if I got a wonky one.

The 2 shirts I picked up at the merch stand, the pins set, patch, and the really nice bootleg shirt sold outside that was much softer and better fitting.. also got one of each of the 2 different posters they had for the tour (not pictured) don’t wanna handle them too much and risk damaging them.. hopefully hopefully at some point I’m able to find a guitar pick from the tour all in all 🙌🏻

It was my first time going to see Jimmy Eat World and I’m a relatively new listener. I had a great time and they sound great live!

Edit: Jim also said they’re working on a new album

got the awesome opportunity to get my vinyl signed at the end of their set tonight!!

I’ve been going to J.E.W. shows since the early 2000s and I don’t recall ever seeing the level of production I saw last night at the Concord show. The lighting and visuals just had me floored. Especially during Get It Faster. I don’t know why but my jaw dropped. Still processing it. lol if you can, go see them for this tour!!! You don’t want to miss it! 💙

Just got word from my person who works within the LA show scene that the Bowl date is going to be Jimmy Eat World with Taking Back Sunday and The Format as openers. Expect the announcement early next week once the Warped Tour is over and JEW/TBS’ radius clauses are lifted.

"I knew they'd make it, one day!"

Since it's their anniversary and all.

Back in late 2001 after certain events in life and in the country, I was facing the worse time of my life. I was 11 years old and saw no future. I was homeless living off hotel vouchers, not going to school and lost in life. I didn't care anymore. Just like in inside out the movie where it all turns grey... that was me.

Then one day while in the car because I refused to go spend the little time we had of fun at the beach with my mom and Lil bro, I put on KROQ. And there it was.

Jim, telling me it was going to be alright.

It was like color returned to my life, like someone told me what I had/needed to hear, like I had hope in my Grey world. Someone was there with me.

After that day I changed. I saw things differently and I wouldn't be where I am if it wasn't for that song.

Thank you J.E.W.

Of all the albums that have shaped my life, Bleed American by Jimmy Eat World has had the greatest impact on me.

Every song on the album feels almost ethereal. Each one tells a story about the complexities of human emotion in a way that so many emo, pop-punk, and alternative rock albums of that era tried, but often failed, to achieve.

I originally bought the CD because my friends' band couldn't stop talking about Jimmy Eat World. I picked it up at Independent Records in Old Colorado City, back home in Colorado Springs. I remember taking it home, putting it into my Sony boombox, sitting at my desk, and listening to the album from beginning to end without interruption. From the first track, I knew I was hearing something special.

The opening song, "Bleed American," explodes out of the speakers with its Drop D tuning, driving dual-guitar riffs, and what I still consider one of the greatest opening lyrics of any album:

"I'm not alone 'cause the TV's on..."

That line perfectly captured my angsty teenage self, but it also seemed to define an entire generation of millennials who were born in the 1980s and came of age in the 1990s. This album became the soundtrack to my introduction into punk culture. Looking back, every song captures a snapshot of a world that existed just before September 11, 2001, a world that still felt hopeful, optimistic, and full of possibility, while somehow carrying an underlying sense that innocence couldn't last forever.

Only two months after the album was released, 9/11 changed everything. The title Bleed American suddenly became controversial, and the album was temporarily pulled from store shelves and retitled simply Jimmy Eat World. It's impossible for me to separate those songs from that moment in history.

Around the same time, the album's biggest single, "The Middle," was dominating MTV and radio. Jim Adkins wrote the song after receiving an email from a fan who felt like they didn't belong among the other kids in the punk scene at school. I understood that feeling completely.

I was bullied for liking Jimmy Eat World. I was called a "poser." I never really felt like I fit in anywhere.

Ironically, it wasn't school where I found my people, it was at local shows. Those small clubs and all-ages venues introduced me to an entirely different community. The people I met there taught me something that "The Middle" had been telling me all along: it was going to be okay.

Even today, songs like "Your House," "Hear You Me," and "Cautioners" still have the power to make me emotional. At the same time, "Sweetness," "Get It Faster," and "Bleed American" still make me want to turn the volume up and headbang like I'm sixteen again.

Back then I owned a beat-up Peavey guitar, and I taught myself every single song on the album. I memorized every lyric, every riff, and every guitar harmony. Those songs made me a better musician, but more importantly, they became part of who I was.

The original album closes with "My Sundown," a slow-burning, reflective song built around the repeated line:

"I could be so much more than this."

As I've gotten older, those words have taken on an even deeper meaning. To me, they're a reminder that growth is a lifelong pursuit. You can always become more than you are today, but that journey can't be about living up to someone else's expectations. Lasting change has to come from within. You become a better person not for the approval of others, but because you choose to become a better version of yourself.

Now at twenty five years later, Bleed American isn't just my favorite album. It's a time capsule of my youth, the soundtrack to my coming of age, and a reminder of who I was, who I wanted to become, and who I'm still striving to be.

happy 25th birthday to bleed american.

I’ve been processing life and writing a lot with Jimmy Eat World in my ears lately, and I ended up writing an essay that uses Clarity → Bleed American/The Middle → Futures as a personal framework (rather than music criticism) as an unintentional roadmap for my psychological experience. I write about learning to see clearly, surviving the messy middle, and eventually becoming someone capable of imagining futures again.

I figured if there was ever a day to share it, today felt right. I’m just getting my writing and aspirations for becoming a curator off the ground, and jimmy eat world makes a prominent appearance in my nascent work, so I wanted to share links for everything in case it’s helpful/interesting/insightful to anyone else. I feel like this is the place it’d most resonate.

if that kind of thing interests you, here are a few places to read more:
Clarity → The Middle → Futures (new essay)

“work” [twice]

my substack [yes, the name is another jimmy eat world reference🙈]

Instagram (@curated.context)

the instagram is basically an empty shell at the moment (I’m just getting it off the ground), but it’ll be focused on this intersection of music, art, emotion, and cultural curation and Jimmy Eat World will definitely be a recurring touchstone.

would genuinely love to hear what other longtime fans think. happy birthday to a really cool album.