Jimmy Eat World goes to college

photos by Amy Willard

Last week, emo rockers took over the Dodd Auditorium at the University of Mary Washington in Fredericksburg, VA. The college hosted event was opened by Dave Bazan and his band.

Fans of Pedro the Lion, Bazan's former band, rejoiced as he announced he would be playing songs from his previous gig citing, "For those who remember that band Pedro the Lion, we're basically that, just a different name, so we'll be playing some of those songs for you."

To which the crowd responded quite loudly with, "PENETRATION!" A song off of their 2009 release, Control.

Shortly after 9 P.M. the seated auditorium rose to its feet as Jim Adkins,
Tom Linton, Rick Burch, and Zach Lind took the stage along with guest keyboardist and vocalist for this tour, Courtney Andrews.

Opening with "Bleed American," Jimmy Eat World re-ignited a connection with long time fans, as they transitioned to new material from their 2010 release, Invented.

The set lasted over an hour and featured famed ballads like "Hear You Me," and "23." The night concluded with their current single, "Invented," and past hits, "The Middle," and "Sweetness."

As Adkins concluded the night wailing, "Are you listening?" it was clear by the thunderous response from the audience that they indeed were.

Catch Jimmy Eat World on tour through April!