12/31/2012

[capt. scotty]

Also a brief mention for seeing McLovin from SuperBad at the show!

I always knew McLovin was the man!!   

[oistheone]

When you're ringing in the year with McLovin, you know you're doing something right.

Right?

Anyway, what a great New Year's party! "You Never Can Tell" was one of the biggest genuine surprises I've ever had at a Jacket show, loved the crowd boogie that was goin' on during that one! And those gigantic "New Year's Balls" were a great touch leading up to the countdown. Also loved the giant inflatable MMJ-brand Champagne at the countdown! Shout out to the Casbah lyrics-holding guy provided some good laughs. And what one-of-a-kind souvenirs for the lucky folks that got one of those posters! Overall, a great party-vibe type show, which is what I felt was needed for a gig like this!

[CAUTION: Rant follows. This is not important and has nothing to do with MMJ, I just gotta get it out.
Agganis Arena is BRUTAL! The lines for any drinks or snacks were ridiculously long and inexcusable for an arena of that size. I waited 20 minutes for my first drink during the PHJB, and was hoping the line situation would improve once MMJ started. I ducked out during Victory Dance and ended up waiting in line nearly half an hour, before reaching the front and being told my out-of-state driver's license would not be accepted as a form of ID and that I was out of luck. Even though I had purchased a beer earlier using my driver's license and credit card no problem. I showed my driver's license, a credit card, a government-issued health card and even my insurance card as further proof but I was denied. A passport, they said, was the only way for an out-of-state resident to purchase alcohol now... apparently? The mid-show policy switch really bummed me out as not only did I come up empty-handed in the drink department, but I also missed nearly half an hour of the show. A passport was now the only ID they would have accepted. Moral of the story is, just pretend you're going on an international flight every day, and never let that passport leave your pocket. New Year's Resolution!

[CountSA]

You're just a jaded fan at this point.

Before MMJ my favorite band was 311.  I've been seeing them since I was 15 years old (I'm 31 now) and have seen them 32 or 33 times, traveling all over the country in the process.  I've been to 3 311 Days (3/11/xx, which they play every other year, 4 - 5 hour shows which end up being 60 - 70 songs.)  A couple years ago I traveled to ATL for their Halloween show where they played their first album in it's entirety followed by another set.  After the show I found myself upset with setlist, in my mind they were supposed to play the most epic set ever, filled with rarities and songs I hadn't seen them play yet (which at this point was just a handful of songs out of their entire catalog).  This show was about a week after the MMJ T5 run so that didn't help matters either.

Eventually I realized until I adjust my expectations and not assume the greatest setlist everytime, there was no way I could just enjoy the show for what it was.  Now I just go with the goal of having fun and not just "checking off" songs that I haven't seen.

Was I expecting some rarer gems on NYE? Sure.  I would have loved to have seen some of their b-sides and deep cuts.  But in the end I ended up having so much fun just dancing and singing along that whatever was left off the setlist didn't matter in the end.

So I know this isn't going to go over well but I thought the show was a C+ at best. The first half for me was really standard MMJ and just not exciting. The song selection and playing was just boring. I know they want to reach a wider audience but NYE is a night to go all out. Even PWW was boring and it is one of my favorite songs of the past 10 years. Compared to the Red Rocks versions this was like listening to PWW on At Dawn.

The only interesting moment for me was the Steam Engine. The show did pick up at Touch Me Pt1 through the end of the main set. I have nothing negative to say about this part of the show. I loved the Cobra>Run Thru and You Can Never Tell.

The encore portion was fun but not really exciting. I had seen all of the covers played live before with the exception of Hungry Hearts. I never need to hear them play All night long or Celebration again.

In many ways this show just felt like a rehash of the past year and brought nothing new. Compared to the MSG NYE it felt stale and like the band didn't want to try to take any risks. At 12/31/2008 the covers they chose felt specifically picked out for that night. They all had similar themes and played together extremely well. But this year it was just a bunch of random cover songs. Also compared to the Red Rocks shows which I think are 2 of he best shows the band has ever played I would say there was very little "spontaneous" about the show. In many ways the show for me represented everything that frustrated me about the 2011 tour with the highly repetitive setlists and standard playing.

[nuggets]

haha. glad you guys are enjoying the vid. wish it was better or rather longer. 

and thanks to yac for putting together the pre-show meet-up. you rep nh well, sir.

[nuggets]

oh and....a recording would be nice. was the guy recording the same as the guy who did boston '10, yac? i hope not, 'cause we'll probably never see it.  maybe an official bootleg release? please?

[johnnYYac]

Thanks, Nuggets, er... Tom!  Enjoyed hanging with you as well.  Should have visited your car with you.    Nice to have a fellow Granite State-er along for the ride!

I've showed your video to about 100 freshman science students.  They were mostly impressed (some 14 year olds are never impressed by anything). 

[logan5ive]

Here are a few pics I took that night:
http://photobucket.com/logan5ive_mmj2012nye

[Fully]

So I know this isn't going to go over well but I thought the show was a C+ at best. The first half for me was really standard MMJ and just not exciting. The song selection and playing was just boring. I know they want to reach a wider audience but NYE is a night to go all out. Even PWW was boring and it is one of my favorite songs of the past 10 years. Compared to the Red Rocks versions this was like listening to PWW on At Dawn.

The only interesting moment for me was the Steam Engine. The show did pick up at Touch Me Pt1 through the end of the main set. I have nothing negative to say about this part of the show. I loved the Cobra>Run Thru and You Can Never Tell.

The encore portion was fun but not really exciting. I had seen all of the covers played live before with the exception of Hungry Hearts. I never need to hear them play All night long or Celebration again.

In many ways this show just felt like a rehash of the past year and brought nothing new. Compared to the MSG NYE it felt stale and like the band didn't want to try to take any risks. At 12/31/2008 the covers they chose felt specifically picked out for that night. They all had similar themes and played together extremely well. But this year it was just a bunch of random cover songs. Also compared to the Red Rocks shows which I think are 2 of he best shows the band has ever played I would say there was very little "spontaneous" about the show. In many ways the show for me represented everything that frustrated me about the 2011 tour with the highly repetitive setlists and standard playing.

I completely disagree. Yeah, the songs themselves weren't anything we haven't seen before, but the way they played them made the party keep going the entire night. Phone was not boring. I was at Red Rocks and loved it there, but on NYE, I had an experience while Jim was playing that made me feel like  the spiritual world was speaking to me through Jim. I never say shit like this either, but there it was. The whole night felt like a big dance party of love and friendship to me. The encore was probably one of the best encores they've ever done. And that's all I've got to say about that.

[slyke25]

Hello everyone,

I was very fortunate to receive a photo pass for this show, and just posted my photos.  Feel free to check them out. 

http://bostonthroughmyeyes.com/post/39662683859



Until next time!

[Northern Neighbour]

Great photos, Chris!

[SaraBananaBear]

Josh,

Yes, Sara from Sweden got the poster. I believe Scosby caught it, and being the guy he is, gave it to her. They also did this at MPP over the summer, and our very own Rob (GO4IT) snagged that poster. Complete with lyrics, and signed!!

Fully gets the credit for giving Sara that poster!

Yes, a million thanks to sweet Fully with the kindest of hearts! 

[Fully]

You're most welcome. It was a true pleasure to finally meet you in person.

[SaraBananaBear]

You're most welcome. It was a true pleasure to finally meet you in person.

You too! All my love to all of you, especially rail buddies Fiddle, Fully and Crispy! 

[FiddleCastro]

You're most welcome. It was a true pleasure to finally meet you in person.

You too! All my love to all of you, especially rail buddies Fiddle, Fully and Crispy! 

Good to see someone recorded our group hug at midnight! 

[Crispy]

You're most welcome. It was a true pleasure to finally meet you in person.

You too! All my love to all of you, especially rail buddies Fiddle, Fully and Crispy! 

Good to see someone recorded our group hug at midnight! 

Awwww, yay! That was a good group hug too.

[walterfredo]

Finally back to reality after an extended visit to Boston and New England.  Spent 8 days, visited friends in Vermont (froze are California arses off!) and had a blast being geeky tourists all throughout New England.  I will preface my thoughts by saying I had an absolute blast on NYE, there wasn't anywhere else I would have rather been, or any other band I could have imagined spending that night with.  Great friends old and new, MMJ rocked it (do they ever not?).  NYE was sadly my only MMJ show all year and I had a great time.

So, all of that said...I completely agree with midwesterner on this one.  I'm sure I too will take some heat for my comments because (understandably so) Jacket fans don't like to hear any negativity about their beloved boys.  And I wouldn't even classify my feelings of the show as negative...I danced my ass off all night and was all grins.  I just don't think they really brought it like I was expecting them to.  Yes, my expectations were high.  Sky high.  This NYE show brought only a fraction of the energy that was brought at both the Fillmore and MSG NYE shows.  Both song selection wise and just overall enthusiasm by the band were lacking in comparison.  I also think it can be a slippery slope when comparing shows to each other, but this is a discussion forum of the shows, and I cannot help but compare this NYE show with the previous two that I saw.  The energy at MSG was literally on another planet.  They just didn't seem as excited to be playing NYE in Boston.  They wore their normal gig threads, played an extremely standard setlist (sans covers of course), and were off the stage by 12:45 (boooooh!  I think they played until 1:30 or later at MSG?) 

And at the risk of pissing of the boston locals (please, no offense meant whatsoever), I think Boston and the Agganis arena was a terrible selection, that place was awful.  I had a similar experience to that of osistheone.  I think I had 2 beers in the venue, and waited an eternity each time.  Went back to get another at 10:30 (or thereabouts?), waited for a long, long time, only to hear that last call was a minute away as I was 2 people back.  Last call...at 10:30...on NYE...WTF!!  Then the dude waited about 30 seconds and disconnected all the taps and told the crowd who had all waited far too long....'too bad, no more beer'.  I was a tad salty.  How on earth can you call off beer sales at 10:30 on NYE.  And even after the show I felt the city was just dead. 

I will restate that I had a great time seeing my favorite band and all comments above aside, I still would have made the decision to come to this show, nowhere else I'd rather have been.  So great meeting several new forum peeps and seeing some again.  And seeing some of my closest non-forum friends in New England, great times.  I do think though, if I had to chose I would have chosen to see the Port Chester shows over NYE in a heartbeat.  Don't hate me....this is just like my opinion....man. 

Hungry Heart was awesome!!

[wonderfulman]

If you are looking at the show from a song-selection point of view, yes this might have not been their best show. But I thought that this was definitely one of the better Jacket shows I have seen all year. Everyone who is complaining about the crowd, I have no idea what you are talking about. With the exception of people on the forum, I sometimes find myself surrounded by people who are not as into the show as I am. This results in laughing and even dirty looks (both gestures I received at PC in the balcony). Where I was sitting on NYE (Section 104 row A), I was surrounded by great people. The people next to me and the people below me on the floor danced All Night Long.

[walterfredo]

I thought the crowd was great.  People were definitely rawking out pretty hard, with the exception of a couple girls directly behind my wife and I that thought we were off our rockers for dancing so hard.  Only saw a small section of people sitting just a few rows above where the dude was signing that pretty much sat down the entire show.  Other than that, folks were boogying. 

[Fully]

You're most welcome. It was a true pleasure to finally meet you in person.

You too! All my love to all of you, especially rail buddies Fiddle, Fully and Crispy! 

Good to see someone recorded our group hug at midnight! 

Awwww, yay! That was a good group hug too.

best group hug I've had in awhile

[wonderfulman]

When they announced the PC shows and NYE, they explicitly said that NYE, "will not be part of the Spontaneous Curation Series in order to ensure an evening full of surprises." The word "surprises" might have been misleading, but you should have known the deep tracks would have been kept to a bare minimum.