My first real exposure to the power of My Morning Jacket's live performance came in 2008 when I caught a performance of theirs on Austin City Limits. They weren't even the real reason I recorded the program, it was a split show with Death Cab For Cutie taped in 2005. As much as I like Death Cab, it was the MMJ set that left me stunned and speechless. Much like I do anytime I see a band or musician that grabs my attention, I immediately had to seek out more of My Morning Jacket. Luckily a new album and tour was right around the corner to solidify my new found addiction to this band.
The "Evil Urges" album came out in June of that year, followed by another appearance on Austin City Limits and a tour. This was my first chance to get to see them in person and it was a simply amazing show at The Fillmore, cementing the fact I will see them anytime they come to the area. It was a near three year wait, but thankfully they returned behind their wonderful new "Circuital" album, this time for an outdoor show at the Meadow Brook Music Festival in Rochester Hills. As excited as I was for this concert, I had no idea of the epic night onstage that was in store.
After an opening set by Neko Case, My Morning Jacket took to the stage right around 9PM. They wasted no time getting into material from "Circuital" as the show opened exactly like the album, with "Victory Dance" followed by the title track. I like this intro to the show, sometimes bands start a concert with a big new song, sometimes they go the old classic route to get the audience into it, but this made for a great opening and the crowd responded. They stuck with "Circuital" material for one more song, "You Wanna Freak Out", before their first older favorite of the night "Off The Record".
The first "Evil Urges" song of the night was next as they played their radio hit "I'm Amazed" before a couple of other older faves, "Anytime" and "Lowdown". The next song was the perfect example of why you never know quite what to expect at a My Morning Jacket show. Jim James took center stage for a solo acoustic performance of "Wonderful (The Way I Feel)" but seconds into the song, it was clear something was wrong with his guitar. No problem, he took it off and proceeded to deliver an awe inspiring a cappella rendition without missing a beat. A roadie tried to get him a working guitar, but James shooed him away and carried on with nothing but his voice, before the band joined in near the end. It was a brave move, and the audience let James know how much they loved such a moment of spontaneity. Thankfully, the fan video below captures it perfectly.
After another new song,"Slow Slow Tune", it was time for another fan favorite with a performance of "Lay Low". The dual guitar attack of James and Carl Broemel was as fierce as ever. This is the essence of what makes a My Morning Jacket show so great. The musicianship is top notch, the band is so perfectly in tune with each other, and you never know when a song will take a diversion into an extended jam, with unmatched guitar heroics. And speaking of extended jams, nothing, and I mean NOTHING could have prepared me for the performance of "Dondante" that followed.
Even in its eight minute studio version on 2005's "Z", "Dondante" is a powerful song. A tribute to a friend and ex-bandmember of Jim James who committed suicide after a lifetime of battling mental illness, the song goes to a whole other place in its live incarnation. I've watched many clips of MMJ playing this song, but on this night it was extended to just over 20 minutes in a jaw dropping version. With an extended intro and outro, lots of guitar improvisation in between, Patrick Hallahan's impeccable work on the drums and the lighting effects onstage, it absolutely blew me away. Broemel's signature saxophone solo at the end was even much longer than on record Please tell me there is a high quality video of this performance somewhere out there on the Internet.
If you're getting the idea by now that this was a long show, you're spot on. The main set was still nowhere near finished as "Gideon" and "Smokin' From Shootin'" followed, with the ending of "Run Thru" tacked on to the end of the latter. They returned to the new album for "First Light" before another of my all-time MMJ favorites "Touch Me I'm Going To Scream Pt. 2" was played, with Bo Koster doing his thing on keyboards. James then donned his black cape and danced his best vampire moves for "Touch Me I'm Going To Scream Pt. 1" before they closed out the main set with "War Begun".
An encore is hardly ever in question anymore at a concert, the only real question is how long the band is going to play during it. My Morning Jacket made the most of it at Meadow Brook with a five song encore, starting with fan favorite "Wordless Chorus" that had the audience singing along to its, well, wordless chorus of 'Ah's'. The new "The Day Is Coming" followed, slowing things down for a few minutes before a spectacular finale. Opening act Neko Case returned to the stage, along with a couple members of her band, for what James said was a 'new song' they had just written at rehearsal that day. It was pretty obvious from the way he was going on, they were about to play a cover and that they did kicking into a rendition of the Stevie Nicks/Tom Petty classic duet "Stop Draggin' My Heart Around". Case played the role of Nicks perfectly, even going out of her way to sound like her during her vocal parts. I am not the biggest Neko Case fan, but this was a very cool performance. Check the fan video after the pictures.
The night ended with the staggering one-two punch of "Holdin' On To Black Metal" and usual closer "One Big Holiday". In "Black Metal", My Morning Jacket have created a new rock anthem that will surely be a setlist constant for years. The guitar riff on this song is a monster and all the meaner live than on record. 'Two Tone Tommy' Blankenship's bass work surely rattled some teeth on this one as well. The celebratory anthem "One Big Holiday" seems like the obvious choice to close the show, but the story of the band being discovered works for me every time so no need to change anything. Its status as a fan favorite is not in any jeopardy given the jumping, dancing, fist pumping and joyous vibe at Meadow Brook during the performance.
23 songs, a 20 minute "Dondante" and a nearly two and a half hour long show were packed into this night in Rochester Hills, Michigan. With so many acts skipping this area these days, a massive thanks to the band for returning to Metro Detroit with this tour. I suppose I really didn't need further proof, but this concert confirmed what I already knew. My Morning Jacket are simply the best live act out there right now.
this is an awesome Concert \m/
Posted by: leather jackets manufacturers | November 28, 2011 at 07:14 AM