Roll Call - Forest Hills

[shumatec1012]

Yea fun show and all, but a 20 song set that has 10 post-Z tunes and is missing many of their best live songs is not in their top uh 100 shows at least.

 Z Came out 16 years ago- all this proves is that the band continues to evolve. It's odd for that to be your perimeter.. 

[RobRoy286]

Yea fun show and all, but a 20 song set that has 10 post-Z tunes and is missing many of their best live songs is not in their top uh 100 shows at least.

 Z Came out 16 years ago- all this proves is that the band continues to evolve. It's odd for that to be your perimeter.. 

Exactly. I mean, the majority of their career has been post-Z...it's been long enough now that I look at a lot of post-Z songs as classics too. But hey I just happen to like it.

[Jbpats]

Yea fun show and all, but a 20 song set that has 10 post-Z tunes and is missing many of their best live songs is not in their top uh 100 shows at least.

I respectfully disagree, last night was incredible

[DaydreamNation]

I'm just on the livestream rewatch, wasn't there but I have to agree with some of yall that the musicianship/stage presence/sound/creativity is as good as it's ever been if not better on this show. But song selection and length are the issues. Lotta blander tunes that there are already a million really good recorded live versions of out there (including on the physical wax that showed up on my doorstep recently!) And twenty songs is just not enough boys! But is what it is.

And that's not taking anything away from the experience of the folks who were there--the Tropics breakdown, for example, is always a blast live even if it's not as exciting when the low notes aren't shaking your chest hundreds of miles away.

Looking at the night one set I really wish they'd streamed that one too so at least we could hear what Phone sounds like in 2021. Oh well. Glad they did this stream! Wish they did more often!

[hoojack]

Looking at the night one set I really wish they'd streamed that one too so at least we could hear what Phone sounds like in 2021. Oh well. Glad they did this stream! Wish they did more often!

[parkervb]

I'm just on the livestream rewatch, wasn't there but I have to agree with some of yall that the musicianship/stage presence/sound/creativity is as good as it's ever been if not better on this show. But song selection and length are the issues. Lotta blander tunes that there are already a million really good recorded live versions of out there (including on the physical wax that showed up on my doorstep recently!) And twenty songs is just not enough boys! But is what it is.

And that's not taking anything away from the experience of the folks who were there--the Tropics breakdown, for example, is always a blast live even if it's not as exciting when the low notes aren't shaking your chest hundreds of miles away.

Looking at the night one set I really wish they'd streamed that one too so at least we could hear what Phone sounds like in 2021. Oh well. Glad they did this stream! Wish they did more often!

ok, so this is pretty much where I am at with it and I was there both nights. Both shows were killer, but yea for those of us obsessed enough to post on a Fan Forum, we need a few more songs to really put it in an upper echelon show. Now, there were some "peaks" and moments that I think are going to remain noteworthy for years and that will set these shows apart...

Night 1: the jam out of Lucky is great and has some real potential for longer jam or transition, live debut of Love Love Love, killer as always OTR and the run of songs from Run It through the encore is up there for me with the best 6-7 song run I've seen live over 25 or so show Jacket shows

Night 2: this was like 2 different shows for me, the first half was ok, I liked hearing the WF2 songs, the Vic Dance-Compound opener combo is a lil too 2017 for my taste but whatever. BUT from Golden on through the remainder of the main set?? That was OUTSTANDING. THe Marvin songs were so perfect and the crowd knew it was special in the moment. MUCH preferred the encore from N1 but this was good. There was a sign for The Bear so I have to guess that's why the lyrics got mixed into TMP2.

Also, Saturday...more like Chatterday. So MUCH chatter everywhere. We moved at one point because this group of college bros were literally standing in a circle talking loud AF during Golden. And we were like 30 feet from the stage not back in the crowd. I will say that despite this, Forest Hills is an amazing concert venue and I will be back next time they play there.

[Come Closer]

Yea fun show and all, but a 20 song set that has 10 post-Z tunes and is missing many of their best live songs is not in their top uh 100 shows at least.

 Z Came out 16 years ago- all this proves is that the band continues to evolve. It's odd for that to be your perimeter.. 

Consensus (one might even say overwhelmingly so) is that their first 4 LPs are their best work. So how is it an odd parameter? The 2nd half of the show is great. First half isn't anything special. A show with no Dondante, no War Begun, no IWSYS, no Phone, etc just isn't in the pantheon. Not even close.

[Angelo]

Did anyone happen to rip the webcast? Audio + video? If yes and someone wanted to DM me a link I would appreciate it greatly!

I was there for both nights, truly some special moments. The ones that come to mind first are (in no particular order): PWW + Sly Stone, Marvin + NYC tribute, seeing Run It for the first time plus the way they stretched out the end (I least I think they did, hard to remember), Touch Me pt. 2 jam + The Bear, In Color's debut.

I continue to feel that Wordless should be shelved for a minute to allow it to freshen up. At least they opened with it. Usually it bats the top of the order in the encore. Believe can go away forever. But I'm not going to pine for the days of 2012 or whatever and hope we get more TTF or AD deep cuts. Not on this co-headlining bill anyway. They have two full albums worth of new material, shit's going to get bumped as a result. Hopefully by the time the Chicago run rolls around they 1) don't have to be overly concerned with curfews which 2) should allow them to dig deeper into their back catalog and introduce some new covers.

Reminder that if anyone has a rip of the full webcast to please slide all up in my DMs!

[sillyboob]

Did anyone happen to rip the webcast? Audio + video? If yes and someone wanted to DM me a link I would appreciate it greatly!

I was there for both nights, truly some special moments. The ones that come to mind first are (in no particular order): PWW + Sly Stone, Marvin + NYC tribute, seeing Run It for the first time plus the way they stretched out the end (I least I think they did, hard to remember), Touch Me pt. 2 jam + The Bear, In Color's debut.

I continue to feel that Wordless should be shelved for a minute to allow it to freshen up. At least they opened with it. Usually it bats the top of the order in the encore. Believe can go away forever. But I'm not going to pine for the days of 2012 or whatever and hope we get more TTF or AD deep cuts. Not on this co-headlining bill anyway. They have two full albums worth of new material, shit's going to get bumped as a result. Hopefully by the time the Chicago run rolls around they 1) don't have to be overly concerned with curfews which 2) should allow them to dig deeper into their back catalog and introduce some new covers.

Reminder that if anyone has a rip of the full webcast to please slide all up in my DMs!

https://archive.org/details/mmj2021-09-11.sbd.broadcast.flac24

[Angelo]

Did anyone happen to rip the webcast? Audio + video? If yes and someone wanted to DM me a link I would appreciate it greatly!

I was there for both nights, truly some special moments. The ones that come to mind first are (in no particular order): PWW + Sly Stone, Marvin + NYC tribute, seeing Run It for the first time plus the way they stretched out the end (I least I think they did, hard to remember), Touch Me pt. 2 jam + The Bear, In Color's debut.

I continue to feel that Wordless should be shelved for a minute to allow it to freshen up. At least they opened with it. Usually it bats the top of the order in the encore. Believe can go away forever. But I'm not going to pine for the days of 2012 or whatever and hope we get more TTF or AD deep cuts. Not on this co-headlining bill anyway. They have two full albums worth of new material, shit's going to get bumped as a result. Hopefully by the time the Chicago run rolls around they 1) don't have to be overly concerned with curfews which 2) should allow them to dig deeper into their back catalog and introduce some new covers.

Reminder that if anyone has a rip of the full webcast to please slide all up in my DMs!

https://archive.org/details/mmj2021-09-11.sbd.broadcast.flac24

Thanks, but that's just audio, right? I'm hoping someone has the full webcast, audio + video.

[shumatec1012]

Yea fun show and all, but a 20 song set that has 10 post-Z tunes and is missing many of their best live songs is not in their top uh 100 shows at least.

 Z Came out 16 years ago- all this proves is that the band continues to evolve. It's odd for that to be your perimeter.. 

Consensus (one might even say overwhelmingly so) is that their first 4 LPs are their best work. So how is it an odd parameter? The 2nd half of the show is great. First half isn't anything special. A show with no Dondante, no War Begun, no IWSYS, no Phone, etc just isn't in the pantheon. Not even close.

Alright- by that standard the band will never play another show that you consider on the caliber of greatness again unless they become a nostalgia act. All of the songs you mention are still in the rotation- you aren't going to get a show from this band where they ignore their last 16 years of music. To each their own.

A LOT of people think this was one of the best shows in years- ( we don't need to discuss lists..) and I'm going to stay excited about that. :P

New covers that lived up to the moment- great song debut- one of the best versions of one of their best songs ( Touch me Part 2)-I'm not going to fault anyone for having this show on a list.. but I'm a little bias. :P

[slappymoe]

Yea fun show and all, but a 20 song set that has 10 post-Z tunes and is missing many of their best live songs is not in their top uh 100 shows at least.

 Z Came out 16 years ago- all this proves is that the band continues to evolve. It's odd for that to be your perimeter.. 

Consensus (one might even say overwhelmingly so) is that their first 4 LPs are their best work. So how is it an odd parameter? The 2nd half of the show is great. First half isn't anything special. A show with no Dondante, no War Begun, no IWSYS, no Phone, etc just isn't in the pantheon. Not even close.

Alright- by that standard the band will never play another show that you consider on the caliber of greatness again unless they become a nostalgia act. All of the songs you mention are still in the rotation- you aren't going to get a show from this band where they ignore their last 16 years of music. To each their own.

A LOT of people think this was one of the best shows in years- ( we don't need to discuss lists..) and I'm going to stay excited about that. :P

New covers that lived up to the moment- great song debut- one of the best versions of one of their best songs ( Touch me Part 2)-I'm not going to fault anyone for having this show on a list.. but I'm a little bias. :P

unfortunately, imo, precious few songs from their last 4 albums match the brilliance of their first 4 (though i think EU is underappreciated by many.)

it's gotta be a tough juggling act.  working new songs into the rotation means dropping longtime favorites.  i'd much rather hear, say, 'just one thing' than 'feel you,' but i understand they're touring behind a new album and are going to play new songs.

if any band keeps going long enough, they're going to eventually deal with the 'nostalgia act' label. made the trip to cleveland to see the who in 2000, before entwistle died. they hadn't produced new music for 18 years. still in my top 5. if this was a nostalgia act, then please, give me more nostalgia acts.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yJgPqfLJ9Kg

[sillyboob]

Did anyone happen to rip the webcast? Audio + video? If yes and someone wanted to DM me a link I would appreciate it greatly!

I was there for both nights, truly some special moments. The ones that come to mind first are (in no particular order): PWW + Sly Stone, Marvin + NYC tribute, seeing Run It for the first time plus the way they stretched out the end (I least I think they did, hard to remember), Touch Me pt. 2 jam + The Bear, In Color's debut.

I continue to feel that Wordless should be shelved for a minute to allow it to freshen up. At least they opened with it. Usually it bats the top of the order in the encore. Believe can go away forever. But I'm not going to pine for the days of 2012 or whatever and hope we get more TTF or AD deep cuts. Not on this co-headlining bill anyway. They have two full albums worth of new material, shit's going to get bumped as a result. Hopefully by the time the Chicago run rolls around they 1) don't have to be overly concerned with curfews which 2) should allow them to dig deeper into their back catalog and introduce some new covers.

Reminder that if anyone has a rip of the full webcast to please slide all up in my DMs!

https://archive.org/details/mmj2021-09-11.sbd.broadcast.flac24

Thanks, but that's just audio, right? I'm hoping someone has the full webcast, audio + video.

Yes, this is just the audio.  The video will come.  It always does.

[parkervb]

so some of yall noticed the lil kiosk on the far side of the venue that had some different posters for the show but wanted to let those who didn't check em out and be sure Mr Bill Sullivan sells each of the 50 he has for each show. I liked the 9/11 one much more than 9/10 and because of the significance of the date.

https://www.thekioskny.com/product-page/my-morning-jacket-brittany-howard-sept-10-poster

https://www.thekioskny.com/product-page/copy-of-my-morning-jacket-brittany-howard-sept-11-poster

[sillyboob]

so some of yall noticed the lil kiosk on the far side of the venue that had some different posters for the show but wanted to let those who didn't check em out and be sure Mr Bill Sullivan sells each of the 50 he has for each show. I liked the 9/11 one much more than 9/10 and because of the significance of the date.

https://www.thekioskny.com/product-page/my-morning-jacket-brittany-howard-sept-10-poster

https://www.thekioskny.com/product-page/copy-of-my-morning-jacket-brittany-howard-sept-11-poster

I'm in the process of updating all of my bootlegs with custom art, and I'm using this poster for the cover for this show.

[ranyart]

Betsy and I really enjoyed watching the 9/11 show yesterday.  The boys looked and sounded great and we really appreciated the excellent stage camera work and behind the scenes shots of things like Patrick walking to his drum kit and up close shots of Tom and Patrick jamming out.  The shots they got during the Marvin Gaye covers of lower Manhattan with the WTC memorial lights turned on and the red/orange crescent moon were off the charts awesome and worth the price of admission alone!  We hope to re-watch it again tonight.

We both enjoyed the setlist as well and really liked the new In Color debut.  RSP works really well live and I can't wait to hear the rest of their new album both studio and live.  And of course we want to hear more of Waterfall II live because we are really digging that too.

I have to agree with the folks that say new music adds to and not subtracts from their older albums.  I always thought it was super sad when a band releases a new album, only plays a few token songs from it on the release tour, and drops the songs forever moving forward.  I love all of MMJ's studio work and of course there are some albums I love more than others, but that doesn't mean at all that I don't want to hear anything they want to play live for us as long as they are playing it well and with gusto (and they never let me down).

[RobRoy286]

Circuital
Waterfall
Waterfall II

All underrated on this forum

[panack]

Yea fun show and all, but a 20 song set that has 10 post-Z tunes and is missing many of their best live songs is not in their top uh 100 shows at least.

 Z Came out 16 years ago- all this proves is that the band continues to evolve. It's odd for that to be your perimeter.. 

Consensus (one might even say overwhelmingly so) is that their first 4 LPs are their best work. So how is it an odd parameter? The 2nd half of the show is great. First half isn't anything special. A show with no Dondante, no War Begun, no IWSYS, no Phone, etc just isn't in the pantheon. Not even close.

I certainly agree with you that their first four records are their best, and if I were writing the set lists (which I might remind some of the grousers the band was as recently as a few years ago inviting fans to do), they would look a lot different from the shows so far this tour, including Forest Hills. But you lose credibility with me when you say "without this or that song, the show can't be an all-timer." That completely misses most of what makes shows great and historic. The songs matter, but not as much as what they do with them onstage, and the mood and energy created by the performance are significant parts of the equation that don't show up on paper either.

Phish played a 47-minute Soul Planet a couple weeks ago that's the third-longest jam of their career. 3.0 song most fans actively dislike, but you know what? The band loves it! And when a band plays music they love and are excited to be up there playing, magic can happen.

And magic is most definitely what happened on Saturday night. I'm lucky to have seen a lot of all-time great MMJ shows, mostly in and around NYC (Terminal 5, Williamsburg Waterfront, Cap '12 and TTF, Beacon Thanksgiving) and multiple Red Rocks/CO runs...and it may be a little bit of recency bias, but I think Saturday night is right up there with the best-played and most special to be a part of shows I've ever had the pleasure of attending. And the fact that they played nothing from At Dawn or TTF doesn't do a thing to degrade it in my mind. They're doing what makes them happy and fuels them creatively and spiritually, and it's unmistakeable when you see it.

And as recently as Aug 2019 (only a few shows ago) they played TTF show with all the old rarities, and not long before that they were doing every song in their catalog at OBH. Give 'em a break!

/rant

[Come Closer]

Yea fun show and all, but a 20 song set that has 10 post-Z tunes and is missing many of their best live songs is not in their top uh 100 shows at least.

 Z Came out 16 years ago- all this proves is that the band continues to evolve. It's odd for that to be your perimeter.. 

Consensus (one might even say overwhelmingly so) is that their first 4 LPs are their best work. So how is it an odd parameter? The 2nd half of the show is great. First half isn't anything special. A show with no Dondante, no War Begun, no IWSYS, no Phone, etc just isn't in the pantheon. Not even close.

I certainly agree with you that their first four records are their best, and if I were writing the set lists (which I might remind some of the grousers the band was as recently as a few years ago inviting fans to do), they would look a lot different from the shows so far this tour, including Forest Hills. But you lose credibility with me when you say "without this or that song, the show can't be an all-timer." That completely misses most of what makes shows great and historic. The songs matter, but not as much as what they do with them onstage, and the mood and energy created by the performance are significant parts of the equation that don't show up on paper either.

And you lose credibility with me when you tell someone else on the internet that they lose credibility over their opinions. Shrug. Songs matter more than the mood for me, agree to disagree. Not trying to piss in anyone's wheaties, just think there's a ton of recency bias at play (Remember when people said Feel You was one of the best ever Jacket songs b/c PiNk FlOyD? Doubt as many feel that way today.). But if you love the modern cleaner version of Jacket, more power to you. I prefer the dirtier psychedelic side more and the songs where Jim actually wrote mysterious/evocative lyrics and didn't operate in corny cliches. But certainly a great version of Touch Me and Dancefloors. Didnt love the Dondante-ing of the Steam outro, pretty uninspired imo.

[itrainmonkeys]

Not trying to piss in anyone's wheaties, just think there's a ton of recency bias at play

At the same time, I would also say it's important to remember that not everyone gets into the band at the same time.  And I think that plays a big part for what songs people enjoy at live shows. For me, personally, I learned of the band through Okonokos so Z, ISM, and even Evil Urges hold some sweet spots for me and will be the songs that remind me of when I discovered the boys.  My first show was Bonnaroo 2008 and I had been listening to them for about a year or so leading up to it.

Did I eventually dig into the older tunes and find a lot of amazing stuff? Yeah, for sure.  But it also took me a little more time to really get into it since it was definitely more of an alt-country/folky rock kind of sound. I went through the same thing with Wilco and got into them during their more experimental/trying different things phase (YHF) and was surprised to hear their older stuff sounding more traditional.  I also imagine having the change in lineups has an effect on things from back then.

So I feel like the group (and apparently Jim) wanted to focus more on the catalog that features all of them. I'm sure those older songs aren't done forever but I appreciate them maybe drawing a line in the sand for this early part of the tour and trying to really get all they can out of their last decade and a half of released material considering a good chunk of their audience likely started to listen to them during that time. It's easy to complain because we've been spoiled so much over the years with varied setlists and especially the Spontaneous Curation tour shows.  I'm still thankful that they will still change up their setlists for the most part and keep things fresh as opposed to a LOT of current acts that just play the same setlist with one or two changes from show to show.

That said....I will ALWAYS be happy to hear "I Will Be There When You Die" or "The Dark".  I'm sure they'll be back at some point.