Its Friday night and the weekend has clearly begun for the packed crowd at The Forum tonight. Its not just the day of the week that’s bringing such good cheer to the gig-goers though, they’re preparing themselves for the euphoric pop-punk tones of tonight’s headliners, Jimmy Eat World.

This is a band that truly knows how to play to their loyal fans. It must be tempting for any band with a recent release, in this case, their ‘Damage’ EP which came out earlier this year, but the Arizona five-piece wisely choose to delight their audience with the hits from their entire back catalogue.

‘Bleed American’ and ‘Sweetness’ hit the highest notes, with ‘Pain’ and ‘Futures’ not far behind. Calling out the lines “don’t it feel like sunshine after all“, vocalist Jim Adkins could not be more accurate. Bathed in the golden glow of the stage lights, the band really are bringing the summer sun to a cold November night.

Even in their more sentimental moments, ‘Heart Is Hard To Find’ and the tear-jerking ‘Hear You Me’, there’s still a sense of joy that the band have so skilfully turned into their trademark sound.

It is the sound that clearly defines Jimmy Eat World. Few bands have succeeded in being so purely about the music and so little about the image. One reason for the overwhelming feeling of happiness in the audience tonight is that there’s not shoving to get the front, no calling out to specific band members, not even a sea of smartphone holders clicking frantically. These people came here solely for the love of music, and the only way they choose to show it is is with singing and dancing along to every joyful moment.

As the band return from their encore with fan-favourite ‘The Middle’, each crowd member is lost in their only private moment of happiness, singing, dancing, or simply nodding along to every word. It might be the brink of winter in London, but the crowds spilling out of The Forum tonight will have a warm fuzzy feeling in their hearts.

RC xx