Jimmy Eat World Kick Off ‘Bleed American’ Celebration with Rise Against and Get Up Kids at The Piece Hall [Photos]

Jimmy Eat World, Rise Against and The Get Up Kids share a history stretching back to the late ’90s and early 2000s punk and emo underground, their paths crossing regularly over the decades. Rise Against frontman Tim McIlrath even recalled that one of their earliest shows (if not the first) was supporting the other two bands while he was still in high school.

Bringing all three together in Halifax for the opening night of Jimmy Eat World’s Bleed American 25th anniversary celebrations felt like the perfect way to kick off the UK run. It was a stacked line-up that unsurprisingly sold out quickly.

“I knew we’d picked the right place to begin this,” declared Jimmy Eat World frontman Jim Adkins — and the next couple of hours proved him right.

An early, sun-drenched set from The Get Up Kids started things in fine style, with fans lapping up their angular riffs, huge melodies and infectious pop-punk hooks. Chicago’s Rise Against followed with a harder punk edge, delivering a storming, high-energy set that could easily have headlined the night itself.

By the time Jimmy Eat World arrived, the sky was beginning to darken. For the opening few songs, the band stood side-by-side in front of a strange lighting rig, before it disappeared to reveal the full stage and give them room to cut loose as they launched into Bleed American in its entirety.

The response was incredible, with the band looking visibly taken aback by the sheer volume of the welcome. From there, it felt as though almost every song could have been the euphoric, arms-around-strangers finale — except there was always another anthem waiting around the corner. If anything, it demonstrated just how ridiculously deep Jimmy Eat World’s catalogue has become.

“The Middle” was predictably enormous, but the entire album sounded made for this setting. The band were note-perfect, Adkins’ crystal-clear vocals still packed with emotion, while the mass singalong greeting “Sweetness” was enough to give even the most hardened emo goosebumps. By the time the beautiful “My Sundown” brought the album to a close, it felt less like revisiting a record from 25 years ago and more like sharing a genuinely life-affirming moment with 6,000 like-minded people.

Bookending Bleed American with a run of huge songs on either side was a masterstroke, taking the night beyond a straightforward anniversary playthrough and turning it into a celebration of the band’s entire career.

There was nostalgia everywhere, of course, but this never felt like three bands simply trading on former glories. The Get Up Kids, Rise Against and Jimmy Eat World remain formidable live bands, connected by a scene they helped shape but still capable of making these songs feel urgent decades later — and judging by 6,000 voices singing every word back at them, they’re nowhere near finished yet.