PAGEANT, St. Louis 8/2 roll call

[ChronicHunger]

I don't know about you guys, but im freaking out c'mon.  2nd jacket show engage. Truck gased, St Louis bound, you can find me in st louis rollin on dubs. Smokin' on dubs in clubs blowin' up like cocoa puffs.

[Rufus T. Firefly]

I'm planning on being at Pi around 4:30 ish, drinks and herbal refreshments!

[BH]

Unfortunately I prob won't get there til 6:15ish.   I'll be wearing my navy Blue Cat Brew Pub shirt.   It's dark blue with a catfish on it.

My wishes for tonight are a single rare slow tune (BH, OSB, By My Car, Butch Cassidy, Needed It Most, etc.) and Highly Suspicious for my dumbass friend who loves it more than any other Jacket song. 

[Rufus T. Firefly]

Unfortunately I prob won't get there til 6:15ish.   I'll be wearing my navy Blue Cat Brew Pub shirt.   It's dark blue with a catfish on it.

My wishes for tonight are a single rare slow tune (BH, OSB, By My Car, Butch Cassidy, Needed It Most, etc.) and Highly Suspicious for my dumbass friend who loves it more than any other Jacket song.

Q Know why you're cool?

A Cause even though your friend is a dumbazz you're still looking out for him

[BH]

Unfortunately I prob won't get there til 6:15ish.   I'll be wearing my navy Blue Cat Brew Pub shirt.   It's dark blue with a catfish on it.

My wishes for tonight are a single rare slow tune (BH, OSB, By My Car, Butch Cassidy, Needed It Most, etc.) and Highly Suspicious for my dumbass friend who loves it more than any other Jacket song.

Q Know why you're cool?

A Cause even though your friend is a dumbazz you're still looking out for him

Don't tell him I said that!  ;)

[mahg33ta]

I have a theory that the first show after a mini-break within a tour is usually awesome.   Let me know if I am right!

[Ghosts_on_TV]

Have fun kids!  8)

[JDUB]

Just met Jim James behind the Pagaent! Very friendly. Took a picture with me and chatted for a moment.

[e_wind]

In the halo with a couple more forumites. Wooooooo

[Penny Lane]

haven't heard from MJK----he probably fainted  ;)

[fitzcarraldo]

Dave and Mike!!! Hell yes.

[Penny Lane]

Dave and Mike!!! Hell yes.

just heard from BH---loooooves First Light and going crazy because.....it's called THE DARK (3rd song I think)

[oistheone]

Sooooo glad to hear The Dark is finally getting some love. I lost it when I heard those opening notes in Toronto. Here's hoping we'll hear it a few more times on this leg of the tour.

And on a somewhat related note, the rockers from TTF really need to be played with more frequency. Evelyn, War Begun, Twilight -- it would be a crime to keep these tunes locked up.

[mjk73]

I'm alive....I think a jizzed and soiled myself a few times. I lost it on The Dark, yes it was the 3rd song. Tom is really fucking cool got to hang with him before and after. They were all exhausted afterwards. I think I have spoiled Trent for concerts. He's seen Sonic Youth on the steps of the Arch, got to have a long conversation with Pokey LaFarge before the show and got music tips, and this.

[Brittney]

I'm sorry I missed the chance to meet any of you guys! (issues @ work, missed plane, blah blah blah). The show was ridiculous- "Dondante" was soul-crushing (in the best possible way) & the "Off/Mahgeetah" combo seemed to light a fire under crowd en masse. Man, withdrawals are going to be a mother...

Yah, I'm hating pretty hard on mjk73 right now  ;)

[Tracy 2112]

I'm alive....I think a jizzed and soiled myself a few times. I lost it on The Dark, yes it was the 3rd song. Tom is really fucking cool got to hang with him before and after. They were all exhausted afterwards. I think I have spoiled Trent for concerts. He's seen Sonic Youth on the steps of the Arch, got to have a long conversation with Pokey LaFarge before the show and got music tips, and this.

Well there. The patient man and the big pay off!

Very, very happy for you and Trent; that is a B E A U T I F U L photo.  :) :)

[mjk73]

Patience is a virtue my friend. The best part about this photo? Look in the backgroup. Someone broke and yellow duct tapped the Queens of Leon pic, right over Caleb. HA

[e_wind]

La barba de Castro, yvon, my girlfriend, and myself were on the rail and could've touched Carl at any govin moment. Super intimate venue- probably the est one I've seen them in. Such a fantastic show!  :D :D and seriously, Carl is the shit. K think I watched him more than Jim.

The poster is awesome, I got that as well as a pick from carl and a setlist! Great fucking night. THE DARK!!!!!

[Rufus T. Firefly]

Sorry I missed all you guys again. Really sorry cause we ended up next to some psychopath who was intent on standing right in front of our table the entire night. The show was incredible and despite the d-baggery a great time was had by everyone. Passed on the poster, I don't think it was nearly as cool as the one from Chicago. Speaking of, I heard that there might be another "artisits" run.

good times!

[BH]

What a night!   We got to Pi late (6:45ish) and could hardly even get in the place.  I'm bummed I didn't get to meet any more forum peeps.   I should have worked harder to make that happen.   Luckily I ran in to Ms. Y afterwards and we got to glow about the show for a nice long time.   See you tommorow Ms. Y!

Great picture MJK, I was thinking about you all night you lucky sonovah.....

Holy crap, no matter how many times I see these guys, I'm still blown away by the intensity.   We had perfect seats, the nice couple behind me didn't mind that I stood up and danced the whole night.   Great sound, perfect view.   What can I say.   Greatest Band EVAH!   Here's a good local review with the tidbits.......

My Morning Jacket | Delta Spirit
The Pageant
August 2nd, 2011

Considering it's been almost five years since My Morning Jacket played St. Louis, it's only fair that the band began the current leg of their tour to a sold out crowd at the Pageant. Even if it was on the hottest night of the year.

Opener Delta Spirit hasn't neglected St. Louis; it played the Firebird less than six weeks ago. Not that this caused the band to slack -- Delta played like it was headlining the show with a wild and raucous set. Lead singer Matthew Vasquez aims for Jim James' vocal range, and nearly succeeds, although his voice is more punk rock than James' ethereal falsetto. It has to be to keep up with his band's double drum onslaught. Sometimes that's not enough, so they whip out the trash can, banged with a tambourine.

In 45 minutes, the members of Delta Spirit owned the stage, earning a standing ovation before clearing their own gear and replying to fans on Twitter, having lathered the audience into a suitable frenzy.

My Morning Jacket entered in a green glow, reminiscent of the cover art for their most recent release, Circuital, slowing building with heavy bass into "Victory Dance" and "Circuital" -- the opening tracks of the new album. By "The Dark", from their 1999 debut, Jim James was stalking the stage, hunched at the waist, wild curls and navy blue jacket swinging as he bounced, heat be damned. All the musicians were as physically loose as the music was tight.

Before "I'm Amazed", James told of the band's love of St. Louis. "St. Louis is the center of the power universe," he said. "If people knew how much power was here, they might try to fuck it up and it's great the way it is." Through the song, he bounced across the stage, reaching his arms to acknowledge the furthest reaches of the audience.

James' voice might be the finest in rock music today. Clean, clear, and endlessly emotive, his only vocal stumble came during "Gideon," and it was barely noticeable. He sounded a bit weathered but lacking none of his emotional power for "Golden". Soft and quiet, he crooned with the sigh of the pedal steel guitar, his own acoustic playing restrained except in fiery bursts, begging to be unleashed but yielding to his high lonesome croon.

Guitarist Carl Broemel keeps up with James on harmonies with a lilting falsetto highlighted on "Slow Slow Tune", which settled the crowd into a deep, entrancing groove, the music polished without being over-rehearsed.

From there: The calm doesn't last. A dark and dire build-up leads to "Heartbreakin' Man", where a reggae-influence vibe disintegrates into howling guitars, sudden stops, psychedelic pedal effects that create a cacophonous swirl before slamming into pitch-black silence, a door slamming shut before a heavy guitar screech and James' soaring vocals on "Mahgeetah". He could climb to the roof on the strength of one sustained note.

A guitar tease does its job, opening an extended run of songs starting with "You Wanna Freak Out", that blend together. Too often this relegates My Morning Jacket into the realm of jam bands. Jam bands aren't this orchestrated, able to shake the balcony with shuddering restarts, bringing a full-on breakdown of sound that would be a fine ending to a show. But not at 10:30.

For the next forty-five minutes, the band culled its catalog to create a symphony that was nightmare one minute and a plush dream the next with "Movin' Away," a lilting piano waltz that left James perched on a monitor, plaintively addressing his audience, ending with a pristine note before the storm swung into full gear.

The block continued with a primal beat, extended and sustained, that morphed into James screaming through a face full of hair and guitar blasts that feel like a storm, complete with flashing white light and roars and groans, turning into an agonized beast ("Run Thru") before developing into electronic chirps that blip into "Touch Me, I'm Going to Scream, Part Two", with its soaring falsetto harmonies and pounding undercurrent below the blips. Then, the climax and ending action of "Dondante", which ends with breath from Broemel's saxophone before falling into feedback's white noise.

These aren't aimless jams of the "look what I can do with my guitar for ten minutes" variety. It's "listen to the story we can weave as a band." This storytelling tradition is what makes them a "Southern" band far more than their sound and subjects.

The encore started with the climb of "Wordless Chorus" before again emptying suddenly into pitch-dark silence. Then the melodic bounce of "Touch Me, I'm Going to Scream, Part One," which also slams shut at the end.

After the new "The Day is Coming", James told a story about going through a door in a St. Louis skate park and finding himself trapped in a tiny space (at the City Museum, perhaps?). The incident, he said, inspired "Holdin' On To Black Metal", which the band proceeded to rip to metallic shreds before inspiring an full audience dance party with "Anytime" and "One Big Holiday", running cymbals and pounding drums that explode into the closest thing My Morning Jacket does to a classic southern rock guitar homage, before dissolving into Tom Blankenship's most simple, primal bass line: a heartbeat rhythm that gets completed shredded to end the night.