It seems that every time I see Gem, they play better than the last time. First time I didn’t think much of them; to me they were just another Strokes look-alike band. Second time during a show of their own and not as some opening act, they were a little bit better, and now, as opening act for Jimmy Eat World, they rocked even more. I guess practice does make perfect.

Gem is an energetic band from Utrecht and a mix of British punk pop, rock-‘n-roll, and are best to be compared to The Libertines or The Strokes. They played almost their entire album and really got the crowd going. Finishing the set with their single "This is your Life", it was almost sad to see them leave.

Half an hour later it was time for Jimmy Eat World. Almost instantly when they entered the stage, everyone started cheering without even one note played. Opening with "Get It Faster", they made a great start with their set, following with lots of new songs from their latest album "Futures". Too bad that wasn’t even out yet at the time of the show. Even though their release date was still a month away, everyone knew the new songs they played.

They played a lot of their newer stuff, and to me, it wasn’t as good as their songs off "Bleed American". Their new single "Pain" does make a good effort, though. There was a lot of crowd surfing going on, and that, especially combined with the lack of space up front wasn’t much appreciated by frontman Jim Adkins when he finally said, "Please, stop playing “passing the dude”’ which was answered with laughter from the crowd, and fewer people jumping of the stage.

I was kind of disappointed with the fact they didn’t play "If You Don’t, Don’t" because that is one of my favourite songs. But finishing their set with "The Middle" and "Sweetness" (both off "Bleed American"), they ended the show very well.

Review by: Laura