Your OBH 2 recap

[layin low]

OK after detoxing for a day, I'm ready to post my recap here. Also wanted to start a thread for others to share their memories/favorite moments.

We were admittedly on the fence about going to OBH 2, especially after getting married three months prior. It was a hit on the wallet but holy crap was it worth it. I would have been pretty pissed following along here (with all due respect to those who were).

To start: Did anyone get the license plate of that truck that hit us? I think it was "Night1." Holy crap what a way to start! I don't think anyone who went last year expected that. It was almost like they read the boards, heard how people didn't want the same stuff and were like "OK guys and gals, how about some Christopher MF Cross to get you going?!?!" From there it was a total mind blow. When they dropped Tonight I Want to Celebrate With You, I grabbed my wife and we turned the scene into a dancefloor (just another great aspect of this festival, being able to have plenty of space). And then what can you say about Drive>I'm On Fire?Wicked Game>Fade Into You? Amelia from Sylvan Esso ... damn. And Drive was perfect with Adam from WOD.

I wish I could tell you more about "Big D" but after having my face melted from an epic Steam Engine - Run Thru (full!!!), then an At Dawn opener, it was all hazy. I thought Big D was OK, prob. my least fav though I'm sure when I hear album version it'll be great. And then Cobra>I Can't Go For That?>Cobra That happened? To sum up, no one was ready for Night 1.

I'd also be doing a disservice without mentioning a great kickoff by The War on Drugs. I was looking forward to seeing them for the first time and they absolutely didn't disappoint. Great energy, and I could def. see MMJ taking them out on tour with them this summer/fall.

The next night = basically the best Super Bowl viewing party ever, besides being at the game. Kudos to the staff, it was really well done and I enjoyed watching with everyone at the beach (though I wish they would have let us go into the lagoon, but I get it with all the drinks and such). Totally spoiled us. Then to go from that to a well done-but-unfortunately-shortened Pres Hall set (Note: EVERY OBH MUST INCLUDE PRES HALL). When MMJ came out, loved Down to the Bottom and was excited for I Think I'm Going To Hell and Compound, a high energy and rocking new song. That was soon followed by a Dondante that quite possibly topped last year's (and that's saying something). Encores with Mama Don't Let Your Babies Grow Up To Be Cowboys, Bennie and The Jets (Yes!!! Though I think Ben from BOH forgot he was supposed to help out on that one) and the Bob Marley/Phone Went West medleys made me happy.

You'll probably get a lot of opinions on the third night (MMJ off night). I'm a huge Band of Horses fan and that set they did was electric!! We've ended all this Band of Snooze discussion, thanks for playing though. They did stray into the deep end by covering Cruise (no!!!) but loved how they led that into One Big Holiday. Also, can we please get a Carl/Ben pedal steel 30 minute set? Would pay top dollar to see that. I thought Dr. Dog was OK, but I am sure there were people who thought Dr. Dog killed it and Band of Horses was just OK, and I respect that. To each their own, both were good. And to end it with a late night Pres Hall set (how did they all fit on that riser?) complete with a Charlie vs. Danny Clinch playoff ... wow. Lot of second lining going on that night too.

Final night: Was prepared for anything. Finally got a regular opener (Victory Dance, still a good one when Tom drops that frickin bass line and shakes the resort). Probably the best War Begun ever played maybe minus the one in Louisville where the guy's climbing the rafters while fireworks are going off, and then it just went into a slew of guest appearances and covers, all of which I enjoyed. And wow to Only Memories, my favorite new song. Had me feelin some type of way for sure. You guys and gals are going to love this one.

Outside of music, thought the food was a little better, I was glad to see the extra amount of people didn't crowd things (still absolutely ridiculous that waiters come take your order while you're watching the show, so thankful for those people), a few brahs here and there but I can take that, waterslide was fun as always and loved seeing old friends from last year and picking up right where we left off and making new ones this year, planning for OBH 3.

Speaking of that, whether it's back in Mexico or Punta Cana DR as rumored .. if you're on the fence and love this band, their music and awesome people, start saving now. It's more than worth it.

Let's hear your favorite moments/stories/etc. Cheers, and bless you all.

[dub82]

I concur with all of this. The guys were on fire, i haven't heard them sound that good in a few years. Loved the new songs, especially Compound. It was awesome to wake up each morning, and think "crap, I get to see ANOTHER badass live show today!"

Loved the other bands, but their depth and energy does not compare to MMJ. My wife and I made friends with so many other folks, and it was easy because every single person I talked to was extremely nice.

Great experience, would highly recommend.

These guys have been my favorite band in the world for about 12 years, but I found 2014 to be a little stale, and I needed a boost. Well this did it. Can't wait for the rest of this year!

[Mick C]

Thanks for sharing.  Have not been to the first two but next year is our 20th anniversary so fuck it I need to work out the logistics and go.  Otherwise I'll be on my deathbed wondering why I never pulled the trigger. 

[Clarkwork]

I don't think I can put into words how great it was. Pretty sure we are hooked now and won't miss another one.  We met new friends, great music, sun, food.

The only thing that sucked about it was absolutely nothing!

Set 1 was my favorite!

[walterfredo]

Finally back in the states, waiting for my luggage in oakland...back to reality. No long-winded recap for me that others haven't already iterated. Just wow! What an absolutely unbelievable experience. No point in talking about the negative shit, the whole picture was just mind-blowing! The band f'n crushed it! Great to meet some new faces and see so many old, beautiful faces. The trick is definitely to spend a few days after in a different environment (preferably with delicious food and drink) to relax and unwind. Tulum was just what the doctor ordered.

[Crispy]

Finally back in the states, waiting for my luggage in oakland...back to reality. No long-winded recap for me that others haven't already iterated. Just wow! What an absolutely unbelievable experience. No point in talking about the negative shit, the whole picture was just mind-blowing! The band f'n crushed it! Great to meet some new faces and see so many old, beautiful faces. The trick is definitely to spend a few days after in a different environment (preferably with delicious food and drink) to relax and unwind. Tulum was just what the doctor ordered.

Absotutely, on all counts! It was great to finally shake hands with you, man.

[walterfredo]

Great meeting up with you too Crispy!

Someone set me straight, I thought they sang some alternate/new lyrics to parts of I'm Amazed. Is this old, and I'm just slow? Was I drunk and imagined it?

[SpaceWrangler]

Great meeting up with you too Crispy!

Someone set me straight, I thought they sang some alternate/new lyrics to parts of I'm Amazed. Is this old, and I'm just slow? Was I drunk and imagined it?

Jim messed up the lyrics I believe which isn't abnormal when you have as many songs as they do.  Played it off well

[walterfredo]

Great meeting up with you too Crispy!

Someone set me straight, I thought they sang some alternate/new lyrics to parts of I'm Amazed. Is this old, and I'm just slow? Was I drunk and imagined it?

Jim messed up the lyrics I believe which isn't abnormal when you have as many songs as they do.  Played it off well

that was my first hunch as well, then it seemed like they were just different lyrics entirely (which I guess they actually were).

[SpaceWrangler]

First off, OBH2 was just another amazing experience courtesy of the greatest rock band of our generation!  I can't say that OBH1 is superior to OBH2 or the other way around, they were just different .. which is awesome!  OBH1 was a continuation of possibly the best tour they've had and OBH2 was the beginning of what may be even better! 

My main takeaway is this - they are really in tune with their fans!  I had a friend request "I Think I'm Going To Hell" on twitter.  I was whistling "Honest Man" all day prior to night 2.  We got them both on night 2 which blew my mind.  We were below their room (bottom floor, stage front, Jim's side) and played Rolling Stones LOUD on our jambox literally the entire last day in attempt to "summon" a Stones cover... and they played one ("Happy") which I believe is a first for Jacket (edit: they totally have played a stones cover, I just missed it).. it was a first for me at least.  They seemed to pick up on a lot that was in this forum and on facebook relative to the originals and covers they played.  Maybe this is all a coincidence.. the point is that - whether they heard/read our requests or just felt and played what the crowd wanted (needed even) - they are more in tune with their fans than any band I've followed!

They improvised and really pushed the limits which turned into a few mistakes (some I loved and some i didn't)... but pushing the limit and making mistakes is a GREAT attribute in a band!!  It means they aren't satisfied with where they are...  aren't afraid to try a new cover or ten (some hit, some whiffed) or Jam a little bit just to see how it sounds.. maybe forget some lyrics.  Fuck it!  It doesn't matter to us super fans!  Because if you add pushing the limit with their ability to feel the crowd you get a better product each and every year.  And in the process, we'll get some pretty unique and special Jacket experiences. 

On the actual shows....

Night 1
There is a large contingent of night 1 fans and an equally large contingent of night 2 people.  I'm in the night 2 crowd.  I think the 1st night actually had a better MMJ originals setlist than night 2 but they just didn't perform them as well as they can, if that makes sense.  They were rusty at first and the cover selection left a lot to be desired.  They do best when they come out and set the tone with their opener; the Christopher Cross cover did the opposite.  Honestly, I just needed some more testosterone out of the guys during the first set in general.  That said, they started feeling it right around Steam Engine and took off from there.  By the time it ended, I had no complaints.   

RE: The rusty start... The band admitted as much when talking to the above mentioned friend (who requested ITIGTH) - they (specifically Bo I believe?) said that they had a hard time getting started night 1, but on night 2 they were in the groove from the word go. 

Night 2
Going along with the above, night 2s opener "Down on the Bottom" was (in my mind) the band saying they left a lot on the table last night, "down on the bottom, no where to go but up".... but they made damn sure they weren't going to leave anything on the table night 2... and they most definitely went up!!   Circuital, Outta My System, Amazed, Smokin from Shootin', Dondante... THE ENTIRE ENCORE was insane  .  holy shit at PWW into Stir it Up back into Pdubs.  Bennie & the Jets??  Another Marley song?  Are you kidding me!?  Head exploded.  Then they played Gideon just to keep said head exploding for the rest of the night.  All of it was perfect!! It took about 24 hours to recover so I'm kind of glad they didn't play the next night.   

I consider night 2 my favorite MMJ show ever and that's saying a lot. 

Night 3 (actually 4 but third MMJ show)
Not afraid to say that night 3 was probably my least favorite night because they just had too many collaborations and it didn't really feel like a jacket show to me.  That said, they actually started incredibly strong.  Vict'ry Dance, Evelyn, the Way He Sings... Possibly the highlight of the entire week was buried in the middle of the first set via "War Begun."  Best WB I've personally seen.  Jim wouldn't allow the song to end and they pulled back into a fantastic impromptu jam right when you expected the song to end.  Meh at the Bright Eyes stuff.  Lay Low, Black Metal, Dancefloors, etc are always good but not anything special.  Really got sick of the collaborations by the time the encore came around and then they doubled down.  Although Rainy Day Women was freaking sweet. Even with those complaints, night 3 was still better than what 99.9% of the bands out there can do on their best night.

I'll leave it at that.  You have to understand that I've been following this band for a long, LONG time and I understand that hold them to a pretty high standard - which you can probably tell when you read my criticisms.  I want to be very clear... I LOVED every minute of it!  Would strongly encourage anyone that's an MMJ fan to attend OBH.  I've been both years and I know it's expensive but it is so totally worth it.  The music is wonderful, the fans are some of the best folks out there, great vibe.  Just go... trust me on that!   

Hasta Luego mi amigos

[tippitoes22]

Still trying to get synapses to reconnect, but my overall impression, without being to wordy is
THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU. Anything I guessed/requested doesn't matter.
They came out HOT! Played things I wanted, and a bunch I didn't know I wanted

Danke Schoen ,
MMJ

[IMeMine]

We just got back last night. What can I say about One Big Holiday? It was perfect! It was better than the previous year and I sure do hope they keep doing this for years to come.

Setlist:
For anyone who wasn't there...apart from the the covers listed (which can spark some imagination) the set lists are just that, a list.  What made the sets special was everything in between.

Some MMJ song highlights (off the top of my head):
Steam Engine into all of Run Thru to close the first set. Awesome.
At Dawn as the 1st encore opener was intoxicating.
War Begun, for a song that I never chase, I was really impressed with that jam at the end.
Evelyn, Honest Man, and Dancefloors were all massive.

Dondante:
I'd say was the best song played over the three night period. Yes I love this song and I am biased, but I stand by my statement.  Although, I can't wait for the bootleg cause I'm already starting to forget. 

New songs:
I liked the first two new songs very much, but I fell in love at first listen with Memories.  I was genuinely impressed and proud as hell of them. I don't know how to describe it but I'll try...it's was like a combination of all the years of their music, of all the elements I love about their music AND of the bands that influence them, taken to a whole other level. It was sophisticated and ethereal, it was original and reminiscent at the same time.  Needless to say I am really looking forward to this tour and these next couple albums.

Covers:
They were all perfect. Just perfect.
-Ride Like The Wind: ("to make it to the border of Mexico") with the wind blowing through Jim's hair.  The guys even came out with a bit of an attitude.  It was brilliant. That song just puts a smile on my face and it's fun to sing. I loved how Carl really tried to sound like Michael McDonald during "such a long way to go." Sooo good.
-Drive: that song is fantastic. Ear to ear smiles. We slow danced to the entire song.
-I'm On Fire: I know this sounds completely narcissistic but I'm pretty sure they sang that song for me I can't express how much I love Bruce Springsteen! Aside from the title track every song on Born in the USA is gold. I was beyond joyful when this song came on.  I. Love. That. Song.
-Wicked Games: What a seamless song to go into after I'm on Fire. It's a great song that I completely forgot about until the moment they started singing it, although I will never forget that music video, a friend of mine at OBH actually told me that there was a second video made for that song directed by David Lynch (which ties the whole Twin Peaks theme together). We were all a little surprised and geeking out when this song came on and talking about the videos, etc.  So I can't wait to hear this again on the bootleg so I can really listen to Jim singing it.
-Fade Into You: this was one of my favorite covers at OBH II. The surprise factor alone made it exciting. It's a beautiful song and I still dig Mazzy Star. Fade Into You was completely part of my adolescence, I LOVED that song when I was a young girl. And although I don't think Mazzy Star's version is one of the best songs of all time, MMJ's cover sure was up there. It's kind of like Tyrone.  When MMJ does it, it's magic.
-I CAN'T GO FOR THAT: OK, true story: We arrived in Mexico on the 30th and rented a car, but didn't stay at the Hard Rock the first night. On our way to the HR on the 31st we took a wrong turn and needless to say there was some tension in the car. I picked up my phone to play some music and Tippitoes said "can you please play something calming, like The Fruit Bats?" I was already ahead of him and said "I got this" and I played H&O 'I Can't Go For That' knowing full well he would immediately be void of stress. That was the song playing as we pulled up to The Hard Rock:)  So I'm pretty sure they played that song for us too
-Luckenbach Texas > Mama Don't Let Your Babies Grow Up To Be Cowboys: Waylon and Willie!!! Enough said.
-Bennie and the Jets: fun, but my least favorite cover.
-Phone/Marley/Phone/Marley: so much fun! Phone is one of my favorites and an MMJ concert must-have. I love that they had fun with it.
-Happy: it kept me happy.
-Sweet Jane>Rock & Roll: love Loaded songs back to back. But I can't deny, I miss Oh! Sweet Nuthin'
-Danke Schoen: Nostalgic, romantic, playful, beautiful. In my top 5 OBH covers.
-Twist & Shout: althhough it wasn't recorded by them, the Beatles made that song what it is. If you don't like the Beatles,  you should at least love that song.
-Rainy Day Woman: Made my entire experience. What a way to close! EVERYONE was up on stage for Rainy Day and they looked like they were genuinely enjoying themselves, like they were having their very own midnight ramble and we were just lucky enough to be witness to it.

One last thing I'll say is: last year the guys didn't have time to put together a whole new show for OBH (totally understandable) so we saw a lot of the same covers and collaborations. But this year they had the time to plan and rehearse something special for us and for themselves. I really hope what happened at OBH II stays there. I want OBH to remain special. I love all those covers but I truly wish we don't hear them again for awhile.  Let the tour be the tour and let OBH be whatever the hell they want it to be.

Thank you to everyone who made One Big Holiday happen.  The memories shall remain.

[SpaceWrangler]

@IMeMine - love the "I can't go for that" story.  I swear they were up there reading minds or something

[walterfredo]

We were below their room (bottom floor, stage front, Jim's side) and played Rolling Stones LOUD on our jambox literally the entire last day in attempt to "summon" a Stones cover... and they played one ("Happy") which I believe is a first for Jacket (playing a Stones cover).. it was a first for me at least.

Miss You was played at T5, FYI.  Can't think of any others off hand. 

[IMeMine]

@IMeMine - love the "I can't go for that" story.  I swear they were up there reading minds or something

Thanks man, and so true:)

[SpaceWrangler]

We were below their room (bottom floor, stage front, Jim's side) and played Rolling Stones LOUD on our jambox literally the entire last day in attempt to "summon" a Stones cover... and they played one ("Happy") which I believe is a first for Jacket (playing a Stones cover).. it was a first for me at least.

Miss You was played at T5, FYI.  Can't think of any others off hand.

Thanks.. I would love to see that btw

[walterfredo]

We were below their room (bottom floor, stage front, Jim's side) and played Rolling Stones LOUD on our jambox literally the entire last day in attempt to "summon" a Stones cover... and they played one ("Happy") which I believe is a first for Jacket (playing a Stones cover).. it was a first for me at least.

Miss You was played at T5, FYI.  Can't think of any others off hand.

Thanks.. I would love to see that btw

it was a perfect transition of Miss You>Cobra, one of my highlights of the 5 nights.  I'm still holding out hope for a T5 complete release at some point. 

Would love to see them cover more Stones!  Happy was definitely fun. 

[SpaceWrangler]

We were below their room (bottom floor, stage front, Jim's side) and played Rolling Stones LOUD on our jambox literally the entire last day in attempt to "summon" a Stones cover... and they played one ("Happy") which I believe is a first for Jacket (playing a Stones cover).. it was a first for me at least.

Miss You was played at T5, FYI.  Can't think of any others off hand.

Thanks.. I would love to see that btw

it was a perfect transition of Miss You>Cobra, one of my highlights of the 5 nights.  I'm still holding out hope for a T5 complete release at some point. 

Would love to see them cover more Stones!  Happy was definitely fun.

Dude - that's fucking insane!!

I'm so jealous. Does anyone have a video of that??

[walterfredo]

found this on youtube... pretty shitty sound.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q_ur0dKjZUk

edit:  better sound on this one...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qdJFmGWmNDI

[Tutofqueens]

They've covered "Loving Cup" before too. Super good.

Here's a taping of the set when they played it at bonnaroo 06: https://archive.org/details/MMJ2006-06-16..4011s