REVIEW: Jimmy Eat World & Rise Against – Cardiff Castle

★★★★☆

There are some gigs where the headline act isn’t necessarily the band you walk away talking about most. For me, this was one of them.

Jimmy Eat World brought their Bleed American 25th anniversary celebration to a sold-out Cardiff Castle, joined by Rise Against, The Get Up Kids and Jay Som for what was another ridiculously good day of live music at one of my favourite venues in the country.

I’ll get this out of the way: Rise Against were the highlight for me.

Maybe that’s partly personal taste, because they’re much more my bag, but they were absolutely phenomenal. From the moment Tim McIlrath and the band came out, the energy went through the roof. McIlrath seemed to spend half the performance grinning from ear to ear, his voice sounded incredible and songs like Satellite, Prayer of the Refugee and Savior sounded enormous inside the Castle.

My biggest complaint about Rise Against? They weren’t on for long enough.

It genuinely felt strange seeing a band capable of commanding a crowd like that appearing below another name on the poster. Their current UK dates are alongside Jimmy Eat World rather than their own headline run, and after Cardiff I’d love to see them come back and headline here themselves.

Then came Jimmy Eat World.

I’ve always respected them far more than I’ve personally loved them. Considering how much pop-punk and alternative rock I listen to, they’ve somehow never completely clicked with me. But seeing them live gave me a new appreciation for just how good this band is.

Jim Adkins sounded superb. The band were incredibly tight and when the big moments arrived, they absolutely delivered. Hearing a sold-out Cardiff Castle singing The Middle is one of those moments that reminds you just how gigantic some of these songs have become.

I wasn’t completely sold on the presentation, though. The opening section had the band positioned very tightly together towards the front of the stage. I understand the intimacy they were going for, but in a venue as vast and visually impressive as Cardiff Castle, it made those opening songs feel strangely closed-off.

The overall stage production was also fairly minimal, and I thought the pacing of the set could have been stronger. There were moments where the momentum dipped when the evening felt ready to explode.

But when Jimmy Eat World hit their stride, there was absolutely no questioning their quality.

And once again, Cardiff Castle deserves a paragraph of its own.

I’ve been to gigs at huge venues around the UK and I genuinely struggle to think of somewhere I’d rather watch live music right now. This was packed — really packed — and yet DEPOT Live somehow continue to make the whole operation feel remarkably painless. Drinks, food, queues, atmosphere, the setting itself: it just works.

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: Cardiff Castle might genuinely be the best live music venue in the UK.

Jimmy Eat World were excellent. Rise Against were extraordinary. Put the two together, inside Cardiff Castle on a summer night, and you’ve got a very easy four stars.

Now please give Rise Against that UK headline tour.