So is MMJ seriously Ray Lamontagne's backing band this summer?

[amskinz]

Saw the show at Artpark in Lewiston last night. First time seeing Ray, and I was totally blown away. I really like Ouroboros. But they brought it all to life. Extending almost every song. They played for the song when required. Then they let loose when it was time. You could tell watching Ray that the boys really brought out the best in him, and each other. The merch guy told me the MMJ guys were raving about the venue, and surrounding scenery all the way from Boston after playing here for the first time last year. Hopefully that means they'll all be back eventually. I didn't see any tapers. Bummed about that. I talked to Ryan Pickett a bit, gave me his setlist actually. He said they record all the shows, but Ray doesn't release much. I hope to find some recording soon. It was truly magical. It'll be tough to top if for show of the year for me, if I can't manage to catch MMJ soon.

[MikeR1390]

Just checked TicketBastard for the Lousivlle show and it doesn't look like they have sold many tickets. Being less than 2 weeks away, plenty of good seats are still available. To those who have been to one of the shows, how well have they been attended?  I'm sure the nearly $100 ticket price after fees isn't helping.

[parkervb]

Just checked TicketBastard for the Lousivlle show and it doesn't look like they have sold many tickets. Being less than 2 weeks away, plenty of good seats are still available. To those who have been to one of the shows, how well have they been attended?  I'm sure the nearly $100 ticket price after fees isn't helping.

saw them Tuesday in Portsmouth, VA. Very sparse crowd, walked down from seats to the orchestra section with no problem. There was a big storm beforehand so walk-ups were probably low.

And because there was a delay to the show due to the storm, he skipped the acoustic portion and went straight to Ouroboros. There were MANY confused faces. I quite enjoyed that b/c I was really only there for Ouroboros.

[LBSUNFLWR]

I thought for sure the Louisville show would sell out!
I got an email this morning about discounted tickets even.

I bought my tickets on the pre-sale thinking they'd go fast.
Oh well. I will be there and am very excited!

[iLikeBeer]

Just checked TicketBastard for the Lousivlle show and it doesn't look like they have sold many tickets. Being less than 2 weeks away, plenty of good seats are still available. To those who have been to one of the shows, how well have they been attended?  I'm sure the nearly $100 ticket price after fees isn't helping.

saw them Tuesday in Portsmouth, VA. Very sparse crowd, walked down from seats to the orchestra section with no problem. There was a big storm beforehand so walk-ups were probably low.

And because there was a delay to the show due to the storm, he skipped the acoustic portion and went straight to Ouroboros. There were MANY confused faces. I quite enjoyed that b/c I was really only there for Ouroboros.

Saw them in Cleveland about a month ago and it was a pretty good crowd. 

I too went for the Ourobors portion of show but it did seem that the majority of the crowd was only there for Ray's radio friendly songs...   

[slappymoe]

I thought for sure the Louisville show would sell out!
I got an email this morning about discounted tickets even.

I bought my tickets on the pre-sale thinking they'd go fast.
Oh well. I will be there and am very excited!

yeah, tickets are down to $80, $60 for the balcony.

still overpriced, imo. as much as i'd like to go just for the jacket boys, can't justify the cost.

[LBSUNFLWR]

I agree it was very expensive, more than I was expecting...but I have been a fan of Ray's since I first heard him when Trouble first came out, and have only seen him twice, so it's a double win for me with most of MMJ being Ray's backing band.

[iLikeBeer]

I only paid $45 for tix in Cleveland.  Must be the venue as to why the tix are so high in Louisville?

I too have been a longtime fan of Ray and with MMJ as the backing band and Ouroboros being such a great album, I would have paid more. 

And the fact that they play Ouroboros front to back makes it even sweeter!

Take the plunge Mr. White!  I think you will be happy you did! 

[LBSUNFLWR]

and also Mr. White - look for these 2 albums: Trouble and God Willin' & The Creek Don't Rise as a way to hear Ray's finest material. These are his 2 best albums in my opinion.

I think I got pretty close up floor seats and that's why I paid a little more too. It's going to be worth it!!

Also coming up at The Palace, another amazing double header for me when Josh Ritter opens for Jason Isbell 9/29

[getinthevan]

Detroit folks!  My sister has an extra lawn ticket for tomorrow night's show.  We would love to see it not go to waste!  Anyone interested?

[MOWJO8185]

Has Ray been hitting the stage pretty much right at 7?

[oistheone]

Saw MMRay the other night at WayHome, and GOOD LORD they might have been my favorite act of the whole weekend (if it wasn't for a devastatingly awesome LCD set). I must have seen about two dozen bands all weekend and Ray and the boys stood miiiiles above every other act in terms of sound. Their tone is fucking fantastic.

I was (admittedly) fortunate enough that they just launched right into Ouroboros and skipped the acoustic portion, which was awesome because I wanted nothing more than to rock. Their sound is juuuust hard enough to rock out and juuuust chill enough to get into a blissed-out trance.

It was so cool to see Bo get so much play. Had a few nice solos and really killed it on the harmonies all night. "Drive-In Movies", "Lavender", "She's The One" were all major highlights, but "Hey No Pressure" (all of Ouroboros, really) was just phenomenal.

Posted up Carl side, which was awesome as always, but really, everyone was on top of their game. Really don't think there is a better musical unit ANYWHERE these days, and I think the way they adapt to being Ray's band proves it.

I am the furthest thing from a Ray fan -- in fact, some hardcore Ray fans I talked to after the show had less than kind things to say -- but this tour is a must-see. It'll likely never happen again, and I felt very fortunate to have seen it. Especially in a festival atmosphere where I could truly let loose like I would at a Jacket show.

Keep it up boys!

[MOWJO8185]

Yeah my understanding is that hardcore Ray fans aren't really digging the RAWK going on onstage. I like Ray's old stuff enough and I think I'll enjoy the acoustic portion tonight, but I don't think I would have ever bought tickets to see him without the whole MMJ factor. Should be pretty great.

[LBSUNFLWR]

And for people who are bigger MMJ fans than Ray fans, but still love Ray too (like me) I have a feeling I will love both parts!!! So excited for the Palace show on Tuesday!
Hope they have something special in store for the MMJ hometown crowd!!

[MOWJO8185]

Went to St. Louis last night. show was fantastic. The boys sounded really good. There were definitely a lot of people (including a couple who went with me) who were definitely not prepared to see that from a Ray Lamontagne show. Just kept yelling out songs from his first album, and seemed to be unaware that he even had a new album, or had been trending toward this sound for the previous two. Like, I get he's made a stylistic change and I get that some people are going to like his previous music more, but if you buy tickets to see an artist when you haven't even listened to his most recent 3 albums, then I don't really know what to tell you.

Before the show started, I knew one woman I was behind in the drink line was going to be disappointed with the show when I heard her talking to her friend about a killer Jason Mraz show she went to.

[LBSUNFLWR]

ha! very funny.

[odelljaj]

I am going to Nashville show on Friday. Do they have an opener or show starts as says on ticket?

[parkervb]

I am going to Nashville show on Friday. Do they have an opener or show starts as says on ticket?

no opener, I think they go on at 8:30

[werduga]

Attended the show at the Fox last night and it was well worth getting some under face Craigslist tickets (face value was overpriced to me...)
Not really a Ray fan but he and the boys sounded like they've been in a band together for years.  It was a perfect date night for those debating whether to go.  I thought Bo really shined on the keys too!

[LBSUNFLWR]

I thought the boys killed it last night in Louisville! Really brought a lot of life to the songs from Ouroboros. Almost even made me like the songs from Supernova...but not quite.

Band sounded absolutely perfect and Ray's voice was great as expected. He talked more than I would have imagined, mostly about being in Louisville to make the record and what a unique and wonderful experience it was for him. He said it was the most fun he ever had in the studio...something like that.

My only complaint is that I loved the solo Ray bit, loved the Ouroboros part too, but after they finished the album they played many more Ray songs and they were pretty much all from Supernova, which I really just didn't like. I know the boys can't learn all of Ray's songs but it just would have been nice to hear 2-3 others.

Performance-wise they sounded fantastic. and The Palace is just the best venue.