HelloAngel
ONE love, blood, life
[SIMG]http://forum.interference.com/gallery/data//585/11265mmj2-sml1.jpg[/SIMG]
By Andy Smith
2006.11
Earlier this year, I paid premium dollar for tickets to see top touring bands as diverse as Tool and Coldplay. As much as I love both of these acts, they did not entirely live up to my appropriately high expectations. When we as fans throw down the equivalent of a paycheck on a show and travel, we should receive something eternal. However, a trend is emerging of too short set lists, even for groups playing arenas and charging more than $50 a seat.
I hate to invoke the moralistic concept of work ethic when it comes to something as adamantly anti-work as rock music, but frankly, for most bands, their “day job” has night hours and provides our fix of geeking and freaking—and a damn decent job it appears to be. So, if I’m going to spend a day’s or a week’s work on a night with my favorite artist, I want the group to—how can we say this delicately—put out for more than an hour and not replicate the exact song sequence for every night of a tour.
I share these anecdotal comments about other bands and how they could give their fans more because this demise of a decent set list is antithetical to what My Morning Jacket (MMJ)—Jim James, Two-Tone Tommy, Patrick Hallahan, Carl Broemel, and Bo Koster—give out every night. These five badass, mothertruckin' Kentucky boys love their work and keep working to please and increase what’s still a small and devoted fan base.
After releasing the live double album and accompanying “Okokonos” DVD, MMJ didn't have to tour. They could have kicked back for a few. Instead, MMJ spent much of 2005 and 2006 on tour, and gigs are already scheduled into 2007. James didn't have to wear a suit and tie Monday night, but he did, because he was going to church. That’s what a show at the Ryman is like, y’all, and with unrivaled acoustics and ambiance, the place must be experienced in musical immersion to be fully respected.
In middle Tennessee, many touring alternative rock acts skip us entirely. It’s not uncommon for serious rock nerds to travel frequently to Atlanta, Chicago, and St. Louis if they want to catch shows. But My Morning Jacket has visited Nashville twice this year—and that’s not including the three-hour early morning session for a huge crowd under and around that tent at Bonnaroo.
(Image courtesy of Lindsay Naughton)
According to The Fader, still riding the adrenaline from Bonnaroo, “The Jacket is the best live band in rock & roll right now. The arrangements are breathtaking—the band storms through huge shred-sections, then stops on a dime for soaring statements from James's voice.” Adding to the waves of critical acclaim, Spin named MMJ one of the top live acts in the business. All this backstory offers some context for what an effervescent and enthusiastic, inimitable and inspired act MMJ has become.
When MMJ took the stage at 8:45pm with an eerie yet appropriate “Nashville to Kentucky,” the Monday-night, beer-wielding faithful were rapt and ready for a revival of a rocking kind. For the next 130 minutes, the five-piece rolled through almost the entire contents of the breathtaking, breakthrough album “Z,” interspersed with less-known gems from the three previous albums “It Still Moves, At Dawn,” and “The Tennessee Fire.”
Songs such as goose-pimple producing hymns “Gideon,” “It Beats for U,” “Wordless Chorus,” and “One Big Holiday” were already engraved in me before Monday’s magic, and their live renderings only further fortified my faith in them. But some tracks, such as the reggae-tinged “Phone Went West” or the sonically searing “Run Thru” finally came home for me at this show.
Since MMJ is still largely ignored by mainstream rock radio, a two-hour live show is not your typical greatest hits sampling of singles, and the set lists change frequently, much to the pleasure of the die-hards. Since MMJ is reputably friendly to fans taping shows, lots of live gigs are available to stream or download for noncommercial purposes from websites like Archive.org.
In a similar sense, the band cannot simply revolve around its mop-headed maestro Jim James, as some groups give too much play to egomaniacal front people. Each member and each instrument contribute to musically complex and emotionally compelling compositions that change with each performance. Even though the band didn’t take its short break until 90 minutes into the show, and the encore took us close to the 11 o’clock hour, many fans would have stayed out late had MMJ continued.
(Image courtesy of Lindsay Naughton)
While the incomparable My Morning Jacket sound draws heavily from southern rock, folk, and reverb-soaked indie-rock, the band possesses an undeniable jam-band ethic and aesthetic. Many fans are likely to indulge in various recreational sacraments as part of the concert experience and seek that ego-dissolving, “face-melting,” Dionysian moment while crunking it up close to the stage. People so primed also love three-hour sets.
When the music finally overtakes you, there’s really no turning back. After “Z,” I became a frequent listener. After the Bonaroo, I became a fan. This past Monday night, I left the Ryman a believer.
Set list
1. Nashville To Kentucky
2. Lowdown
3. Gideon
4. What A Wonderful Man
5. Off The Record
6. The Way That He Sings
7. It Beats 4 U
8. Wordless Chorus
9. Phone Went West
10. Lay Low
11. Dondante
12. Xmas Curtain
13. One Big Holiday
14. Run Thru
15. They Ran
ENCORE
16. Tonight I Want To Celebrate With You
17. The Bear
18. Golden
19. Anytime
20. Mahgeetah
21. At Dawn
22. Bermuda Highway
For more information on My Morning Jacket, please visit the official website and MySpace page. “Okonokos” was released on ATO Records in September, and “Okonokos: The Concert” was released October 31st.
By Andy Smith
2006.11
Earlier this year, I paid premium dollar for tickets to see top touring bands as diverse as Tool and Coldplay. As much as I love both of these acts, they did not entirely live up to my appropriately high expectations. When we as fans throw down the equivalent of a paycheck on a show and travel, we should receive something eternal. However, a trend is emerging of too short set lists, even for groups playing arenas and charging more than $50 a seat.
I hate to invoke the moralistic concept of work ethic when it comes to something as adamantly anti-work as rock music, but frankly, for most bands, their “day job” has night hours and provides our fix of geeking and freaking—and a damn decent job it appears to be. So, if I’m going to spend a day’s or a week’s work on a night with my favorite artist, I want the group to—how can we say this delicately—put out for more than an hour and not replicate the exact song sequence for every night of a tour.
I share these anecdotal comments about other bands and how they could give their fans more because this demise of a decent set list is antithetical to what My Morning Jacket (MMJ)—Jim James, Two-Tone Tommy, Patrick Hallahan, Carl Broemel, and Bo Koster—give out every night. These five badass, mothertruckin' Kentucky boys love their work and keep working to please and increase what’s still a small and devoted fan base.
After releasing the live double album and accompanying “Okokonos” DVD, MMJ didn't have to tour. They could have kicked back for a few. Instead, MMJ spent much of 2005 and 2006 on tour, and gigs are already scheduled into 2007. James didn't have to wear a suit and tie Monday night, but he did, because he was going to church. That’s what a show at the Ryman is like, y’all, and with unrivaled acoustics and ambiance, the place must be experienced in musical immersion to be fully respected.
In middle Tennessee, many touring alternative rock acts skip us entirely. It’s not uncommon for serious rock nerds to travel frequently to Atlanta, Chicago, and St. Louis if they want to catch shows. But My Morning Jacket has visited Nashville twice this year—and that’s not including the three-hour early morning session for a huge crowd under and around that tent at Bonnaroo.
(Image courtesy of Lindsay Naughton)
According to The Fader, still riding the adrenaline from Bonnaroo, “The Jacket is the best live band in rock & roll right now. The arrangements are breathtaking—the band storms through huge shred-sections, then stops on a dime for soaring statements from James's voice.” Adding to the waves of critical acclaim, Spin named MMJ one of the top live acts in the business. All this backstory offers some context for what an effervescent and enthusiastic, inimitable and inspired act MMJ has become.
When MMJ took the stage at 8:45pm with an eerie yet appropriate “Nashville to Kentucky,” the Monday-night, beer-wielding faithful were rapt and ready for a revival of a rocking kind. For the next 130 minutes, the five-piece rolled through almost the entire contents of the breathtaking, breakthrough album “Z,” interspersed with less-known gems from the three previous albums “It Still Moves, At Dawn,” and “The Tennessee Fire.”
Songs such as goose-pimple producing hymns “Gideon,” “It Beats for U,” “Wordless Chorus,” and “One Big Holiday” were already engraved in me before Monday’s magic, and their live renderings only further fortified my faith in them. But some tracks, such as the reggae-tinged “Phone Went West” or the sonically searing “Run Thru” finally came home for me at this show.
Since MMJ is still largely ignored by mainstream rock radio, a two-hour live show is not your typical greatest hits sampling of singles, and the set lists change frequently, much to the pleasure of the die-hards. Since MMJ is reputably friendly to fans taping shows, lots of live gigs are available to stream or download for noncommercial purposes from websites like Archive.org.
In a similar sense, the band cannot simply revolve around its mop-headed maestro Jim James, as some groups give too much play to egomaniacal front people. Each member and each instrument contribute to musically complex and emotionally compelling compositions that change with each performance. Even though the band didn’t take its short break until 90 minutes into the show, and the encore took us close to the 11 o’clock hour, many fans would have stayed out late had MMJ continued.
(Image courtesy of Lindsay Naughton)
While the incomparable My Morning Jacket sound draws heavily from southern rock, folk, and reverb-soaked indie-rock, the band possesses an undeniable jam-band ethic and aesthetic. Many fans are likely to indulge in various recreational sacraments as part of the concert experience and seek that ego-dissolving, “face-melting,” Dionysian moment while crunking it up close to the stage. People so primed also love three-hour sets.
When the music finally overtakes you, there’s really no turning back. After “Z,” I became a frequent listener. After the Bonaroo, I became a fan. This past Monday night, I left the Ryman a believer.
Set list
1. Nashville To Kentucky
2. Lowdown
3. Gideon
4. What A Wonderful Man
5. Off The Record
6. The Way That He Sings
7. It Beats 4 U
8. Wordless Chorus
9. Phone Went West
10. Lay Low
11. Dondante
12. Xmas Curtain
13. One Big Holiday
14. Run Thru
15. They Ran
ENCORE
16. Tonight I Want To Celebrate With You
17. The Bear
18. Golden
19. Anytime
20. Mahgeetah
21. At Dawn
22. Bermuda Highway
For more information on My Morning Jacket, please visit the official website and MySpace page. “Okonokos” was released on ATO Records in September, and “Okonokos: The Concert” was released October 31st.
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