Last Friday My Morning Jacket sold out Radio City Music Mall. It was a big moment for them, a turning point, and they knew it, and told the crowd just as much. After years of touring, they’ve crept their way up from 400 person theaters to one of the world’s most famous arenas. With the release of their fourth album, now is the time for My Morning Jacket to define who they’re going to be from here on in. Throughout their career they’ve taken advantage of festivals like Bonnaroo and Lollapalooza to broaden their fanbase through their high energy live performances. Are they now big enough to headline these very same festivals? Will they be able to sellout Madison Square Garden on New Years Eve? Are they the next great American rock band?
Pre-show, the atmosphere inside Radio City was rippling with energy and anticipation. As soon as I stepped inside the lobby I was greeted by a big, goofy dude/bro who gave me a fist pound and yelled ‘YEAH!’ People were psyched for this show or, judging from the racial makeup of the crowd, at least white people were. Radio City was chock-full of high-fiving, beer-pounding white dudes and their dolled up, ecstatic girlfriends, who cavorted with friends, marveled at their cushioned seats, and screamed a random ‘WOO!’ every now and then.
At around 8:15 the lights went down and the ‘WOO!’s went up, and My Morning Jacket took the stage to ‘Hypin’ Woman Blues’ (nerd alert: the song Mr. Scruff sampled for ‘Get a Move On!’). When the lights turned on, the band launched into ‘Evil Urges’. This was a big statement from the band: we have a new album out, we know it’s different, we know it’s not the typical classic jam rock you expect from us, but we like it, and we’re going to play it. The new track went over well, and they followed up with two high-energy fan favorites from ‘Z’ ‘Off The Record’ and the always incredible ‘Gideon.’ With the crowd on its feet from the triumphant end of ‘Gideon,’ the band jumped into two more new songs, ‘I’m Amazed’ and the much derided ‘Highly Suspicious.’ I was amazed that ‘Highly Suspicious’ was actually greeted by cheers instead of groans, but after experiencing it live you sort of understand what they were going for. It’s still a horrible song when it pops up on your iPod but as part of a big live concert with a dramatic light show, it’s good for three minutes of goofy fun.
For the next hour or so, My Morning Jacket drew heavily from their new album and took the crowd on a roller coaster, alternating between high energy rockers like ‘Aluminum Park’ and mellow cuts like ‘Golden.’ The crowd was mostly on its feet the entire show, and every song was greeting with a cheer, but it was clear during the quieter songs that people were not there for the ballads. Most of the audience was there to drink some beers and hear some solos, and the band got the crowd roaring again by ending their set with an epic version of ‘Steam Engine,’ and two of the better cuts from their new release, ‘Smokin From Shootin’ and ‘Touch Me Part 2.’
Most people would say the concert had been a success up to this point, and in terms of the crowd reaction, it certainly was. But My Morning Jacket didn’t really take it to the next level until the encore. After they came back out and Jim James lulled the crowd to sleep with two more ballads, the band brought down the house with a handful of classics from ‘Z’ and ‘It Still Moves.’ It’s when they’re playing these songs that they become transcendent. This is the kind of music that makes you suddenly not care if the douche bro and his annoying girlfriend next to you are dancing the kind of rhythmless white people dance that’s painful to watch. This is also the kind of music that makes those very same people forget about the skinny hipster journalist sitting next to them, taking notes and being a downer dick during the songs he doesn’t like even though he got a free ticket to one of the best shows of year. Even the Radio City employees stopped trying to clear the aisles and just let everyone rock out where they please. They could feel something was happening. Everyone could feel it. Suddenly everyone was in it together, fist pumping, head banging, and rocking out, lost in the music. Everywhere you looked people were smiling, high-fiving strangers and screaming with joy. Jim James raced around the stage, the lights were exploding, guitars were wailing, drums were thundering and glo-sticks were flying. ‘Dondante’ brought the crowd to its knees. ‘Run Thru’ channeled Zeppelin. And during ‘Wordless Chorus,’ there wasn’t one person in the entire sold-out crowd who didn’t sing along with Jim James when he got to the lines, ‘We are the innovators, they are the imitators!’
The band closed out the show with mammoth versions of ‘Anytime’ and ‘One Big Holiday,’ then spent a final moment on stage, reveling in the moment, victorious before a standing ovation at Radio City Music Hall. There’s no doubt about it, My Morning Jacket has what it takes to be the next great American band. They can reduce arenas to rubble when they’re at their best. Yet they were at their best when playing a solid block of songs from their older albums. That might be something for the band to consider when they step in the studio to record their next album.
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