favorite live moments ever.

[e_wind]

kind of inspired by the picture of jim way up on the side at RCMH, these are the best moments of my mmj life:

1. The Bear -> Steam Engine, Red Rocks 2011.
Best venue ever, all kinds of good people, a super rarity into my favorite song ever seemlessly. mind completely blown at that moment in time.

The Bear/Steam Engine - My Morning Jacket (Red Rocks 2011)

2. Bermuda Highway, Chicago 2010.
first time hearing this song. The way I felt is what I imagine a preteen girl feels like upon receiving her first kiss.

3. OBH, Nashville 2010.
First song of first show. at the time I didn't know OBH was their "hit" but I knew I loved it. I also thought they were a band that didn't get loud and crazy, so the intro they used that tour was too damn cool for me.

My Morning Jacket "One Big Holiday" Nashville 4-21-10

4. UNSTAGED in general. Such a production, such a show. jesus. TYRONE SOLO

5. Touch Me 2 chant, RR 2011

[Penny Lane]

Eric--agree, The Bear (Red Rocks) is my favorite show moment of 2011.

[j_rud]

I dunno if its my absolute favorite but I swear, first thought on seeing the thread title was "Jim running the walls at Radio City...."

[tdb810]

I dunno if its my absolute favorite but I swear, first thought on seeing the thread title was "Jim running the walls at Radio City...."

THAT was such an unbelievable night.  AND funny you should mention it, as that was the night I attempted to rush the stage during OBH, but got totally BLOCKED!  Jim was killin it right over our heads during Steam.  What a night.....every night has it's own little bit of magic. 

[j_rud]

I dunno if its my absolute favorite but I swear, first thought on seeing the thread title was "Jim running the walls at Radio City...."

THAT was such an unbelievable night.  AND funny you should mention it, as that was the night I attempted to rush the stage during OBH, but got totally BLOCKED!  Jim was killin it right over our heads during Steam.  What a night.....every night has it's own little bit of magic.

Absolutely, every night does. I probably couldnt rattle off which shows Ive been to but all someone has to do is mention a venue/time that registers in my head and its like instantaneous recall: "Oh shit, that was the night (insert memory here)"

[Crispy]

Hey E, I was on the rail at that Nashville show too! Way over on Carl Side, though.

As mentioned, every night has its moments, and I could give examples from every one. Now I see I've gone on a little long with this, but that'll happen.

And, sure enough...

1. Birth of the Jazz Hands -- Jim's run up to the mezzanine during Steam Engine, where my seat happened to be row 1, seat A. I had been fairly fuming most of the night with what I had thought were pretty poor seats, until THIS. (poor video, but still)
My Morning Jacket - "Steam Engine" Radio City 06.20.08

2. Dallas, 2004. First show -- Jim's guitar went out at the beginning of Lowdown, and the band kept rolling, turning up the level on the jam bit by bit while the tech worked it out. By the time Jim was set up and jumped back in, the tune was at a fever pitch, and nearly tore the roof off the place along with the top of my skull. I stood right under Jim's mic that night, aware of the rock show I was witnessing, but not really knowing.

3. "Lil Billy! Give it to me!" The Tennessee Fire, T5. After spending the day learning the ropes of line monitoring under the tutelage of ms y ("We just got here"), we occupied the rail, front and center, with a sea of peeps surrounding us, witnessing not only TTF WITH the first live performance of If All Else Fails, but Johnny Motherfuckin' Quaid AND Twilight AND Evelyn AND Rocket Man AND Tyrone AND...Lil Billy.

4. The Full Cobra -- At Dawn, T5. Thinking when it began, "I have a feeling they're gonna play the whole thing..." Breaking the rules, saying out loud, "Hey, I think they're gonna play the whole thing..." Hearing Bo go into that meltdown with Pat, just knocking us out with that jazzy Richard Wright-type beautifulness, and yelling, "They're playing the whole fucking thing!" Breaking the rules even MORE when the kid next to me asked what the hell this was and I started telling him, until ms y turned around and shut me up with that look.  ;D

5. The Golden Fuckin' Rainbow -- Chicago, 2011. Jim directs the lighting guy (several times) to only light the bulbs along the arch of the ceiling while he and Daniel Martin Moore sing Wonderful, and it was just beautiful, with the crowd singing along. Jason and I stood dumbstruck way up in the upper upper balcony for many moments in that show, when we weren't jumping around and rocking like madmen.

6. Montreal, 2005. Leaning against the stage beside my new French Canadian friend who was there just to see Nels Cline -- he didn't even know who Wilco was, let alone MMJ. The boys erupted with O Is the One That Is Real, and the Canuck turned to me with those wide open eyes. And now I see that look in my friends' eyes at every show.

7. Jazz Hands with Ky -- Red Rocks, 2011. And then, just the entire thing at Red Rocks, so absolutely amazingly wonderful.

I could go on and on...

[Dillsnufus]

Hey E, I was on the rail at that Nashville show too! Way over on Carl Side, though.

As mentioned, every night has its moments, and I could give examples from every one. Now I see I've gone on a little long with this, but that'll happen.

And, sure enough...

1. Birth of the Jazz Hands -- Jim's run up to the mezzanine during Steam Engine, where my seat happened to be row 1, seat A. I had been fairly fuming most of the night with what I had thought were pretty poor seats, until THIS. (poor video, but still)
My Morning Jacket - "Steam Engine" Radio City 06.20.08

that was super bad ass

[j_rud]

I dont think I can put these in order, but these are it....

-Electric Factory, 05. First show. Had been a fan for a few years but you have no idea what you're getting into. Jim was in the moon boot phase, bantered about bean bag chairs and how bass waves can get your pregnant. I swear when I walked out that night I knew I was going to amass miles, shows, and stories following that band.

- OBH, Waterfront Park, 08. The 24 hour whirlwind trip to Louisville stands out as one of my best memories of the past 10 years. Jim had his "favorite guitar tech in the world" (his mom) bring him the Flying V. Puppets with giant heads on stage. Dan laughing/screaming that Abe Lincolns head fell off and in my altered state managed to return "I didnt even see the John Wilkes Booth puppet". Later proving that you can treat dehydration with alcohol with Love Dogg and his crew at Louisville's amazing open-till-4AM bars and getting on the plane home an hour later. Just a crazy trip.

-Crispy's previously mentioned Birth of Jazz Hands. I swear the floor was shaking...

-Carnival Time, Merriweather '10. They opened with OBH so I couldn't wait to see what they closed with. They ended up bringing out the entire Preservation Hall and doing a New Orleans standard. I think they were having more fun on stage than we were in the pit. Lasting image: Jim and Joe Lastie dancing/bumping asses and cracking up. You can actually hear Jim laugh on the recording.

-It Makes No Difference, T5, ISM. Pretty simple, I love this song and for some reason never really considered the possibility of them playing it. Afterward Ms. Yvon summed it up nicely: "You OK? You completely lost your shit!"

-Z Encore, T5. A Quick One, I Could Never Take the Place of Your Man, Careless Whisper. Only thing I can say about that: "Bananas-nanas"

[FiddleCastro]

A Quick One While He's Away from Terminal 5. My favorite band covering my favorite band.

[Tracy 2112]

Nashville Riverfront in 08 War Begun. Pretty surreal

My Morning Jacket - War Begun (Nashville 8/15/08)

[FiddleCastro]

Also adding the sound going out for about 10 seconds at Mountain Jam during Steam Engine and all you heard was Patrick. That was intense.

[YouAre_GivenToFly]

Radio City 2008 - A shaking of the floor... the security looking up at the balconies expressing concern that people would just be falling all night long... the guy who just couldnt stay in his area having to be shooed back to his seat every 30 seconds.... The Bear....

Jim solo Camden NJ 2006 - Butch Cassidy. Anytime and Wonderful Man on the omnichord.

Louisville 2008 - Looking back from the front rail and seeing what appeared to be the entire city behind us... and Where to Begin.

Washington DC 2008 - My awkward, semi-star-struck meeting with Jim.

Merriweather 2010 - Dancefloors with PHJB. If you were there, you know.

Newport Folk 2010 - Where to Begin featuring a cello, Master's Voice, Jim performing with John Prine

The Terminal 5 Experience - Getting unexpectedly rocked the first night.... A Quick One... It Makes No Difference... I Will Be There When You Die... Carl's solo show...

Plus all the memorable stuff before and after the shows... Me and Jay's "public transit decathalon" the week of T5... our 24 hour whirlwind tour of Louisville... what I can recall of Baltimore this year... the greatest parking spot ever to be had in DC....

I already can't wait for another show/tour.

[MrWhippy]

Really cool idea for a thread, and fun to read so far.  Here are mine:

Steam Engine - EVERY TIME I GET TO SEE IT

Golden, Carrboro, NC, 2004 - First show, and seeing Jim do this solo was a serious highlight.  Understood his talent in a whole new way after that.

Gideon, Washington DC, Oct. 2005 - Walked into this show not having heard Z yet, as it had just come out in the last couple days.  Hearing Gideon for the first time at this show really blew me away, just so different from anything else they had done before.

Honest Man, Great Plaza, Philly, 2010 - Unexpected treat in this show, and it totally ripped.

Phone Went West, T5, 2010 - Performed with Johnny Quaid, the jam they added to the song before the final refrain was just nuts and possibly the coolest thing I've ever heard MMJ do.

A Quick One While He's Away, T5, 2010 - 'Nuff said.

I Will Sing You Songs, Merriweather Post, 2011 - First time hearing this song live in many years.  I think I levitated.

Also, after still trying to reattach my face 2 days later, I'm tempted to say 8/23/11, Philly - The whole freakin' show.  Seriously, every song felt like a revelation.

[baconus66]

A bunch of these have been already mentioned but I'll mention them again in no particular order of greatness

Roo 08:  The Awakening
I had heard rumors of the greatness but this was my first experience and what a first experience it was.  The rain was really the thing that pulled it together more than anything else, it synced to the music as if there was a tech in the booth controlling it.  I can honestly say this show changed my life.  Before this moment I always was one of those that thought Rock was better way back when this show and in general the whole fest showed the wrongness of this belief.

Tucson, AZ Rialto 08:  Spreading the News
My Morning Jacket had become one of my number one topics of conversation after Roo so when they announced a show in town a couple months later my 2 best friends had to go see what all the fuss was.  It's great when you can see the first time amazement that you felt expressed vividly on your friends faces.  Highlight was Into the Woods complete with Pooch and Denies on Backup vocals

The Levon Helm Band  SF, CA The Independent 10:  When Heroes Combine
I know its not MMJ but Jim joining Levon and his amazing band for I Shall Be Released and The Weight really how much more needs to be said.  Two of my music gods combining forces on two of my favorite songs of all time and I was rail close enough the I could have touched either (in fact Levon shook my hand after the show). 

Unstaged Lville, KY 11: The Great Reveal
An amazing show that kicked off an amazing two week trip that included Mountain Jam and Roo.  The Tyrone solo was the greatest and most soulful thing I've ever heard Jim play.  He was making love to Badu through his guitar.

Mountain Jam Fest 11:  RAGE!!!
There was something about this show that just rocked  harder than any other show I had seen.  I lost my mind during Run-thru jam and OBH.  Highlight was PWW the #1 must see .

Roo 11:  Back in the same place we started from
Ya it was short but it sure as hell was sweet.  So great to see the evolution in the band and in me in the last 3 years since the obsession started.  The point where the bass kicked during Victory Dance rattled my soul. 

Red Rocks JFW 11:  Birthday Bash!
I can't even come close to picking a single thing or moment this show was #10 for me, on my birthday, and in the #1 venue I had been wanting to see a show at.  It turned out to be the greatest show I had ever seen by any band ever.  I can't even describe how amazing I felt for that whole show.




It's a true testament to the band that I can go to ten shows in a matter of 3 years and not only ever get bored but it seems every show tops the last.  I can't wait until the next run of shows so they can continue to amaze me.

[ericm]

It's a true testament to the band that I can go to ten shows in a matter of 3 years and not only ever get bored but it seems every show tops the last.  I can't wait until the next run of shows so they can continue to amaze me.

I know exactly what you mean. They are quite addictive aren't they?  ;)

[headhunter]

It's a true testament to the band that I can go to ten shows in a matter of 3 years and not only ever get bored but it seems every show tops the last.  I can't wait until the next run of shows so they can continue to amaze me.

I know exactly what you mean. They are quite addictive aren't they?  ;)

Every show, every experience has been beyond compare. Not possible for me to pick favorite moments as that would imply some were less special than others.

I've been fortunate to seem that at MSG NYE, all 5 at T5, 2x at Merriweather w Neko and PHJB, Mt Jam, Philly 2010 front row center and the first time I met many forum folks who now feel like family, Jim at Newport 2x both front row center, Red Rocks.  For me, not one of these is better than the others as not one of them is less than any of the others.  This band and each and every live MMJ show I've been lucky enough to see has never ceased to amaze me with a favorite live moment. 

One day I may see a show that is not as special as all the others I've seen, but that hasn't happened yet.

[manonthemoon]

I dunno if its my absolute favorite but I swear, first thought on seeing the thread title was "Jim running the walls at Radio City...."

That's what jumped out in my mind.

Would have to say if I had been there for the Danzig cover at T5 that would of been one for me.  Ultimate black metal.

[kydiddle]

e_wind....GREAT thread.

So many great moments and most of them come from T5. In no particular order...

The Bear>Steam Engine. Red Rocks. There is a part in the video where you see the wind roll across the stage and Jim hits those notes and I'm not religious by any means, but if you can pick your heaven, I want it to be that.

All Night Long. T5. The ladies only (and Ruckus) dance party.

Cobra. T5. It went on forever. It didn't seem long enough. It swelled and sucked you in and rolled into itself. Whatever that jam was that Bo pulled out, I hope we get to hear it again someday.

Capturing this last year at the Philly show:

Steam Engine Jam 8.29.2010

Steam Engine. Merriweather last year.

Having Crispy in my line of vision for every night of T5 and those Jazz Hands.

NYE 2008-2009. Meeting Sass and ALady (briefly) and starting that connection with you dear people. That's probably my favorite show moment. Even though it's a non-show moment.

[Crispy]

The Levon Helm Band  SF, CA The Independent 10:  When Heroes Combine
I know its not MMJ but Jim joining Levon and his amazing band for I Shall Be Released and The Weight really how much more needs to be said.  Two of my music gods combining forces on two of my favorite songs of all time and I was rail close enough the I could have touched either (in fact Levon shook my hand after the show). 

I was in San Francisco then, was at Outside Lands and saw Levon Helm and MMJ, and THEN heard than Jim had joined them the night before while I was watching Dawes through the fence outside the California Academy of Sciences. I nearly died when I heard about that.

Sorry for blocking your view so often, Ky.  ;)

[ralph]

Not a "live" moment as such, but when the TTF Instrumental track started playing over the PA to start the T5 run and having that adrenilin shot running through my entire body while standing in the crowd wondering "how the fuck did I swing this, to be standing in this room on the other side of the world about to witness something that really had never crossed my mind would ever happen?"

And then having my face melted off onto the floor... over and over again....

I still get all goosebumpy just thinking about it.