I love music DVDs, especially when they are done right. The live concert, the multi-angle footage, the backstage interviews – it’s essentially what DVDs were made for. Combine the glory of a great release with a fantastic band and sit back and enjoy the wonders of a gig in your very own home. Put Jimmy Eat World into the mix, on top form I might add, alongside the usual visual and audio extras and you have the perfect Christmas gift.
‘Believe In What You Want’ is two discs of pure Jimmy heaven, featuring a 12-song concert, in-studio acoustic performances, a documentary of the making of ‘Bleed American’ and a second disc of extra live stuff. Quite simply, if you are a fan of Jimmy Eat World, you need this disc like you need mistletoe at Christmas. The live performance is spot on, with JEW at the top of their game. The band mix up the set to feature old and new material, with the likes of ‘A Praise Chorus’, ‘For Me This Is Heaven’ and ‘The Authority Song’ standing out. Jim and Tom have good voices and the whole performance is slick and polished. The best bit is probably ‘Goodbye Sky Harbor’ or maybe ‘Blister’. Or maybe even ‘The Middle’ or ‘Sweetness’. Fuck it, it’s all good!
The documentary is excellent too, probably not overly essential for non-fans but anyone with a passing interest in Jim, Tom and the boys will lap this up. It oozes quality, especially when you turn down the lights and put the sound up. It’s almost, just almost, like you were there and essentially that’s the whole point of a music DVD. It’s the next best thing to being at the Key Club in Washington DC on June 4, 2002, so if you like JEW, this is an absolutely essential buy.
www.jimmyeatworld.com
Dreamworks
Paul