"One Big Holiday" -- My Morning Jacket @ Radio City Music Hall 6/20/08

Ok, let's set this straight. It's been slightly OVER A WEEK since I lasted posted about My Morning Jacket, so I think I'm finally in the clear here. And man-oh-man where do I begin?! I could go ahead and reinforce my bold assertion that MMJ is the best live band in the world. If you're rolling your eyes at this claim, I will double-or-nothing and say that I experienced history in the making Friday night. At what is already being hailed throughout the blogosphere as downright legendary, I was on hand this past Friday night at Radio City Music Hall to witness My Morning Jacket's most important show of its decade-long existence. And let me just say, this was, without a doubt, one of those "milestone" rock shows -- you know, the kind that transforms a club & theater band into arena superstars. Case in point, the guys are headlining Madison Square Garden New Year's Eve on a ticket that is expected to sell out in minutes. This is a bittersweet moment for me nonetheless, as I can confidently say it will be a VERY long time that I'll get to see the band in as intimate as setting as the 930 Club. But you know what, I can't think of a band that is as deserving of this kind of success, so they've got my full blessing here. Alright, back to the show.

On a night that featured no opening act, the boys went on just after 8 PM, kicking the night off with the album-titled first track of their new record, Evil Urges. Jim James' falsetto vocals were dead on throughout the tune, proving he needed no easy warm-up songs to hit the high notes on this one. This segued beautifully into Z's reggae-inspired, "Off The Record" -- a song that received the crowd's warm reception from the opening notes of its intro riff. From then on in, the guys put on mostly a clinic of their new catalog. Before the night ended, Jim James and crew played all but one song from Urges ("Look At You" was the only tune that didn't make an appearance). In between all the new material, the boys strategically placed old favorties from their first four studio albums, including alt-country gem "Golden," the ska-infused "Phone Went West" and live standard "The Way That He Sings." But there's something that should be noted here. All of this happened during the band's FIRST SET! Yes, you read that correctly. After polishing off the dreamy, Pink Floydy "Touch Me I'm Going To Scream, Pt. 2," MMJ took a brief break before officially proceeding to melt all of our faces. Normally, a 100 minute, 15 song set would be considered generous for most headliners. Not these guys; they had merely just begun.

Jim James started the second set off with a couple of acoustic numbers -- beginning with the obscure "Bermuda Highway" (off of 2001's At Dawn), which then led into "Librarian." James then thanked the crowd, and expressed how honored he was to be on the same world-famous stage as so many legends who have come before him(He had mentioned how his mind had been blown as an attendee of an Aretha Franklin show just months before.). With the full band back in tow, they guys ripped into the one-two Z punch that was "Wordless Chorus"/"It Beats 4 You." After slowing things down a bit with "Dodante" and This Tennessee Fire's "The Bear," the Jacket played what might possibly be the best four-song closer that I've ever heard. Having securely tightened their Southern rock hats, they gave us a good ole fashioned classic rock ass whoopin' with the headbangingly-brilliant "Lay Low," before jamming it out to "Run Thru." I'm pretty sure everyone was on their feet at this point, and the band responded accordingly with my favorite cut from Z, the aggressive masterpiece, "Anytime." Without further ado, MMJ busted out their signature tune, "One Big Holiday" and literally tore the house down. With guitar work that would make Ronnie Van Zant proud, the boys ended a magical night on the right note. The show ended at just around 11 PM, but I'm pretty sure this wouldn't have been the case had there been no curfew. Still, a 2 hour and 45 minute set is nothing to sneeze at, especially coming from a band that has, in my mind, raised the bar for live music excellence. My mind = offically blown.

Setlist
Evil Urges
Off The Record
Gideon
I'm Amazed
Highly Suspicious
What a Wonderful Man
Touch Me I'm Going To Scream Part 1
Sec Walkin'
Golden
Thank You Too
The Way That He Sings
Two Halves
Phone Went West
Aluminum Park
Steam Engine->
Smokin From Shootin->
Touch Me I'm Going To Scream Part 2

Encore:
Bermuda Highway
Librarian
Wordless Chorus
It Beats 4 U
Dondante
The Bear
Lay Low
Run Thru
Anytime
One Big Holiday