An Evening With My Morning Jacket
Date: August 18th, 2008
Venue: The Uptown Theater
By RICHARD GINTOWT
Highly suspicious, was I, of My Morning Jacket’s first visit to Kansas City.
Like most folks, I suspect, I became a fan of the band because of At Dawn, It Still Moves and Z – three great albums that dwarf the rest of the band’s hit-and-miss early catalog. The group’s newest LP Evil Urges is a more dicey affair, balancing clear-cut gems like “I’m Amazed” with weirdo numbers like “Highly Suspicious.” Actually that’s the only weirdo song on there, but equally disappointing are the pseudo-Cat Stevens ditties like “Librarian” and “Sec Walkin” (which I always imagine is about to bust into “Viva Viagra!” at the chorus).
I’m being picky here, of course – MMJ is still a great band. It’s just that the instant karma of It Still Moves seems to have been partially stunted by an effort to make some kind of “look at all the crazy shit we can do” statement. But these guys have a reputation as one of the best live acts in the biz, and I had every reason to believe last night’s show would vindicate them.
So did it? Kind of. There was one big problem: MMJ played for two and a half freaking hours. For the jam-band crowd, I’m sure this was a gift from the patchouli-scented Gods. But for the rest of us, it was simply too much. I don’t need “an evening” with anybody but my girlfriend or Bruce Springsteen. Ninety minutes is perfectly fine, thank you.
All the tracks I already loved – “Off the Record,” “Anytime,” “One Big Holiday” and “Touch Me I’m Going to Scream Pt. 1” for example – sounded perfectly great, with Jim James and company turning out invigorated, no-worse-for-the-wear renditions. But the momentum was compromised by the inclusion of snoozers like “Smokin from Shootin” and a bunch of back-catalog numbers that I never had the patience for in the first place. Gimme the money shot, boys!
Self-righteous bitching aside, MMJ still sounds amazing live. Jim James’ voice is pure manna from Bonaroo heaven, and he can play the shit out of his electric git-tar (as can that other guy … ol’ what’s-his-name … Carl Broemel). Long-haired sticksman Patrick Hallahan doesn’t do anything too flashy, but he’s fun as hell to watch, and I’m pretty sure Black Sabbath wants their drummer back. There was probably a bassist and keyboardist as well, and given that I barely noticed them, they probably did their jobs with commendable aplomb.
Five memorable moments:
• Jim James disappears offstage and surfaces 30 seconds later in the stage-right box seats. He jams a wicked guitar solo and waves to the balcony, which responds enthusiastically. This antediluvian Mick Jagger stuff still makes people go batshit.
• Jim James takes the stage wearing a cape. He dons the cape at various other junctures of the show, looking every bit the part of a shaggy-haired guy in a cape. The Phantom of the Opera schtick suits him much better than this.
• The breakdown in the opening number “Evil Urges,” when the strobe lights go off and James and Broemel rip a twin guitar solo while running back and forth across the stage and spinning in circles. This turns out to be oodles more exciting than the other 2,345,763 times the strobe lights go off. The guy sitting next to me will eventually go to his car to get sunglasses.
• James compliments Kansas City on its very nice theater, which is distinguished by its “attention to detail and color.” I bet he says this to all the theaters he sleeps with.
• James goes all Robert Pollard and spins the microphone and catches it just before the lights dim. I bet he’s still rubbing it in Broemel’s face.
Truth be told, “Highly Suspicious” was kind of fun. The instrumental section jams, and the whole thing comes off like a goofball take on The Wall. I can appreciate that kind of humor from a band like MMJ, which also goofs on lyrics about sexy librarians and the “interwebs.” If they had taken an intermission to hand out some peanut-butter pudding surprise, I might even have enjoyed the whole two and a half hours. Ah well, close enough.
Critic’s bias: They didn’t give me a +1, which meant I had to sit all by my lonesome and feel grouchy. Plus, I only ate a salad for dinner and that never holds me.
Random detail: The Apple Market is gone. OH NO! WHERE WILL GET OUR DIET DR. PEPPER AND BEEF JERKY???!! NOOOOOOOOOOOO!
By the way: The two projected eyeballs on the backdrop of the stage made for one of the better rock-show visuals I’ve seen in a long time. When the five red circles lit up underneath the eyeballs, I imagined the Uptown Theater going OM NOM NOM NOM NOM.
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This guy is selling one of your photos on ebay as a poster. I suggest you file a complaint.
http://cgi.ebay.com/My-Morning...
WTF ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT?? TOO LONG??? WHO ARE YOU, ARE YOU HUMAN??? I mean I know everyone has a right to their own opinion...but like the other guy said. " SIR YOU PISS ME OFF" BADLY.... Personally you should stop writing articles... MMJ is partly considered a "JAM BAND" so if you dont want to go to a concert that is "too long" (whatever the hell that means) the you should prolly steer clear of "JAM BANDS". Dude... bottom line, you sir have not right to write an article on MMJ. YOU SUCK.
Anonymous(if that's your real name), yes my panties were in a bunch, thanks for asking and I do feel much better. They always start creeping up there when someone who claims to be a writer makes things up to make their article sound better. There's just no integrity in the media anymore.
my my BH...got your panties all in a bunch, don't you?
aww, do you feel better now?
"WHAAAAA the show was to long"
That show would have lasted just as long if there was an opener in the first place. I loved how it was "an evening with my morning jacket", it made me want to wear a tie to the affair.
That was the best show KC has had in a long, long time.
Too long? So go home early and it's a great show right? You're an idiot. I would maybe actually take your review seriously if you actually knew what you were talking about.
#1 I noticed your preview of the show in the last Pitch mentioned "Peanut Butter Pudding Surprise" on Saturday Night Live. They didn't even play that song on SNL. How do you even make that mistake? Strange.
#2 Then there is this gem, "Like most folks, I suspect, I became a fan of the band because of At Dawn, It Still Moves and Z � three great albums that dwarf the rest of the band�s hit-and-miss early catalog."
"The rest of the band's hit-and-miss catalog????" Do you mean Tennesee Fire, the only other full length?
Then you say "But the momentum was compromised by the inclusion of snoozers like �Smokin from Shootin� and a bunch of back-catalog numbers that I never had the patience for in the first place. "
Get it together dude.
P.S. Smokin' From Shootin' is the best song on the new album, hands down.
P.S.S. Can I get a copy of the SNL with Highly Suspicious on it. It must be a real valuable rarity.
Harper, I agree with you full heartedly on the lights comment. I could have done with less as well. At some points I felt I might go into an epileptic seizure. However, great show I didn't mind the 2 and half hours especially because I had a rad view in the balcony.
Jon, just because it was billed as such doesn't make it a good idea.
But, personally, I enjoyed the show and was there 'til the end. I enjoyed lots of the back-catalog stuff the most, especially "Just One Thing" and "Steam Engine," tracks 10 and 11 from It Still Moves, which are back-to-back stargazing lovelorn hot mama odysseys.
I still hate "Highly Suspicious" because it's dumb. And immediately after the ridiculous falsetto workout that song affords, did anyone notice how James' sang the next one, "Anytime," which is a great song, mostly off key? He needs to cool it on the all-falsetto songs (see also "Evil Urges"). His regular voice is beautiful and otherwordly.
Other complaints: The sound was poorly mixed. I couldn't hear 85 percent of the notes coming out of the bass player's amp, could only sense loud booming. James' guitar was too quiet and Broemel's was too loud. Also, I'm sorry, but these dudes are not the cleanest guitar jammers ever, which would be fine, except they jam A LOT. I think they're both just limited soloists -- there's lots of sliding way up the neck and picking really fast with the right hand as fast as possible while moving the fingers on the left hand as fast as possible. They're great at writing guitar parts and playing rhythm and deliberate stuff, but for the real firepower, they should make like their often-compared-with friends Wilco and hire a Nels Cline. And what was with the vocal backing tracks?
But, really, those are just pet peeves. I think MMJ is a great band with a fantastic stage presence (fewer lights, please) and a really strong song catalog, even the back parts. See, I love them so much, I wants what's best for thems.
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