 |
| photo by Will Piper |
There was definitely a different vibe to the Sunday show, which consisted of 21 different songs that were not played the night before. For starters, the theater was about half-full, the smallest crowd I've seen for a Jacket show since I first saw them in 2006. The fact that many of the Jacket's fans are men in their 30's-40's with families, like myself, and it being Father's Day might have had a lot to do with this fact. However, once again, the band gave it it's all and then some. For night, "Numero Dos" to quote Jim James, The Jacket started out on a more mellow note, choosing a set list of songs that are lyrically more reflective in nature and musically a little slower in tempo than the night before. In a bold move, the band chose to play a lot of deeper cuts (9 of which were over ten years old), and showcased only a couple of tracks off of their most recent record, The Waterfall. And for the mood of the crowd, this was exactly the right fit.
After a riveting "Spring (Among the Living)" from 2015's The Waterfall to open the show, the band started off a series of songs that worked perfectly together to create a chill vibe to fit the atmosphere at the Riverside. "Compound Fracture," perhaps the most radio accessible song off of The Waterfall came second. Another early highlight was the reggae infused groove-laden "Off the Record," which the band flowed into "First Light." Reflective tunes like "Golden," one of the stand out tracks from It Still Moves, was set against another softer number, "Thin Line," off of The Waterfall.
The "jam band" theme really came out more towards the latter part of the main set, with a truly creative sonic run of tunes that started with the often requested, "Dondante" off of 2005's Z album sequencing perfectly into "War Begun," a track that dates back to the band's debut alum, 1999's The Tennessee Fire, and then flowed into the reggae infused set closer, "Phone Went West," which hearkens back to 2001's At Dawn record.
If there was any doubt that The Jacket would segue from more slow tempo numbers to rockers, it was quickly refuted in the encore. After a solo acoustic, "I Will Be There When You Die," (also from 1999's Tennessee Fire disc), The Jacket cranked it up to eleven for a run that would feature "Strangulation," into an epic "Run Thru" and then finishing off with crowd pleasing tracks, "Anytime," and "Mahgeetah."
So, after two evenings, approximately five hours of music, unique lighting for each song, music spanning the band's discography, and fans with ear-to-ear grins and fists in the air for the whole time, is My Morning Jacket the best regular touring rock band out there today. The simple answer is yes.
Opening both nights of My Morning Jacket's residency at the Riverside Theater was Floating Action, a band fronted by Seth Kaufmann and hailing from Black Mountain, North Carolina. Like My Morning Jacket, Floating Action is a rock band with southern grooves. Their sets both nights featured members of The Jacket sitting in, including Carl Broemel guesting on lap guitar both nights, and drummer Patrick Hallahan joining the opener to pound the skins the second night. Floating Action was highly entertaining and had Dante Schwebel, the guitarist of Hacienda and most recently Spanish Gold, jamming as a member of the band, Floating Action was a perfect rock opener to get fans pumped for My Morning Jacket, and stood out as a great soulful rock act.
My Morning Jacket Set List: Courtesy of Setlist.fm 6/21/15
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
- Encore:
-
-
-
-
No comments:
Post a Comment