Third Eye Blind, Jimmy Eat World don’t disappoint at sold-out Stage AE

It was hard to be disappointed with the show Saturday night at Stage AE.

The “Summer Gods Tour 2019” with Third Eye Blind and Jimmy Eat World came through Pittsburgh’s North Shore for a sold-out show. Both bands played for over an hour, each playing most, if not all, the songs the fans wanted to hear.

Jimmy Eat World played everything from “The Middle” to “Lucky Denver Mint.” Third Eye Blind covered ground from “Semi-Charmed Life” to “Motorcycle Drive By.”

After opener Ra Ra Riot, Jimmy Eat World played a 14-song set that was great. It was paced well. It felt right. Everything was done as it should have been.

“Bleed American,” the band’s third song, really got things going, with red lights shining and fog rolling from the stage as frontman Jim Adkins led the way with spot-on vocals. As expected, “Sweetness” went over big with the crowd a little later in the set.

But the highlight of the band’s set was collectively the last three songs, “Big Casino,” “A Praise Chorus” and “The Middle.” Rain started to come down lightly at the start of “Big Casino” and continued through the closer, bringing cheers from fans and a little bit of relief to the scorching heat in the mid to high 80s. The Pirates got a rain delay during their game vs. the Philadelphia Phillies at neighboring PNC Park, but Jimmy Eat World didn’t. No one seemed to mind.

Third Eye Blind started their hour and 15 minute set behind a curtain on a riser platform, set back deeper into the stage. The band was revealed after the curtain dropped and they made their way closer to the fans a few songs in with “Never Let You Go.” Their set hit a bit of a snag when frontman Stephan Jenkins was covering Beyonce’s “Mine.” His acoustic guitar could barely be heard, and when he realized the issue asked fans if they could hear him. When the crowd answered “no,” he responded “I’m not singing this song again,” to which fans laughed.

The band recovered with a strong version of “Motorcycle Drive By,” with Jenkins starting on his own, then being joined by the full band by song’s end.

The band jammed out an extended version of “Jumper” and finished their set with a triumphant version of “How’s It Going to Be.” Returning after a few moments, Third Eye Blind sent the crowd home happy with an encore of an impassioned “Losing a Whole Year” and closer “Semi-Charmed Life,” with Jenkins holding the mic up for the crowd to sing throughout the show’s last song.