Roll Call - Santa Barbara (09/23/2021)

[MMJTX]

OMG Where to Begin!!!!!! Unreal, i hope this show was taped, can't wait to hear it.

Wasted - Run Thru - Dancefloors closer, SHEESH!

[Varitek]

Thanks for the rundown and pics RadiationVibe. A strong return to the West coast for the band it would seem..

[MMJTX]

Interesting they didn't play Dondante or Steam or even PWW, right?

[trave]

Really great show. I went to both in Queens and this one was better. GUITARS! They've really become an even bigger guitar band that crushes really hard.

[shumatec1012]

A mid-set 'OBH' and 'Where to Begin'!!!!

Very, very sweet. It's almost like they heard the rumblings

My thoughts exactly- they heard our complaints- since posting about stagnant set lists the last 3 shows have been full of treats!

[walterfredo]

So amazing!!

No sax at all last night, right? Can't think of another show I've been to where the sax never came out. But yeah that was a lot of fun!!

[RadiationVibe]

The nice couple sitting next to us last night drove to Santa Barbara from Anaheim to see their son at UCSB and catch a show at the Bowl. Until they got to the box office, they thought they were seeing Lord Huron, which is next week, and had never heard of MMJ before. When they were leaving, the husband said to me, "I thought this was going to be some indie rock kind of show, but these guys fucking rocked. So glad I got to see them."

[justbcuzido]

The nice couple sitting next to us last night drove to Santa Barbara from Anaheim to see their son at UCSB and catch a show at the Bowl. Until they got to the box office, they thought they were seeing Lord Huron, which is next week, and had never heard of MMJ before. When they were leaving, the husband said to me, "I thought this was going to be some indie rock kind of show, but these guys fucking rocked. So glad I got to see them."

Wow, what a happy accident. I couldn't imagine thinking I was seeing Lord Huron and then having MMJ come out lol.

[mdgsolo]

The nice couple sitting next to us last night drove to Santa Barbara from Anaheim to see their son at UCSB and catch a show at the Bowl. Until they got to the box office, they thought they were seeing Lord Huron, which is next week, and had never heard of MMJ before. When they were leaving, the husband said to me, "I thought this was going to be some indie rock kind of show, but these guys fucking rocked. So glad I got to see them."

That made me lol.  Pretty awesome

[Varitek]

The nice couple sitting next to us last night drove to Santa Barbara from Anaheim to see their son at UCSB and catch a show at the Bowl. Until they got to the box office, they thought they were seeing Lord Huron, which is next week, and had never heard of MMJ before. When they were leaving, the husband said to me, "I thought this was going to be some indie rock kind of show, but these guys fucking rocked. So glad I got to see them."

This is fantastic

[RadiationVibe]

The nice couple sitting next to us last night drove to Santa Barbara from Anaheim to see their son at UCSB and catch a show at the Bowl. Until they got to the box office, they thought they were seeing Lord Huron, which is next week, and had never heard of MMJ before. When they were leaving, the husband said to me, "I thought this was going to be some indie rock kind of show, but these guys fucking rocked. So glad I got to see them."

This is fantastic

Best two moments...

Before Touch Me Pt. 1, wife said to me, "Did he just put on a cape? This guy's a bit of a showman, huh?"

And I think toward the end of In Color, she said, "That drummer. WOW!"

Since they'd never even heard of the band before, it was cool to watch them try to figure them out in real time.

[danimal]

This show was the first post COVID show for my wife and I and it was an absolutely EPIC first show back. The energy from the band and the crowd was incredible. We have seen a lot of MMJ shows through the years, in many cities and venues and this was among the best. The sound at SB Bowl was really stellar.

In the absence of Steam, PWW or Dondante - I feel like every other song got a chance to stretch out a LOT. As the jam for Lay Low went on and on, I thought to myself "this is just as epic and grand as something like PWW." OBH as an early/mid set placement is just awesome. I had a panic moment where I went "what time is it? are we that far along already?" when I realized we were barely getting started I was like "ok, we are in for a good one tonight." The song really crushes and elevates the energy at such an early set placement. I liked Love Love Love and Regularly Scheduled much more live than I did hearing them as singles. In Color is a great song with lots of guitar jam packed into the live version. Feel You was super epic and wonderful to hear live. I really enjoyed the acoustic/electric finish version of I'm Amazed. That song crushed in a whole new way. All the Z songs were super epic. The "screaming" bit at the end of Wordless was super cathartic and groovy to participate in with the crowd. It Beats is always amazing live. Off The Record was jammed out and so Floyd-ey and beautiful. Anytime is such a rocker.

Wasted was just crazy and as much as I was appreciating it, I knew we were close to the end and said to myself "what a crazy show this has been, it's too bad we didn't get something like Run Thru though..." then they went into the middle/end of Run Thru and it was next level good.

Where To Begin was a special treat. This song was so amazing to hear live. They stretched it out between the verses and jammed out the ending, culminating with Jim soloing in his chaotic country rock manner and it was such a crazy beautiful juxtaposition with the lovely 3/4 country waltz backing. This performance was among the most amazing things I've seen performed by this band or any other.

[walterfredo]

Correct me if I'm wrong on these two things about SB show...

-I don't think Carl touched the sax at all last night? Can't recall a show where that was the case.

-was I'm amazed actually acoustic>electric? I seem to recall that Jim and Carl were actually on electric guitars the entire song, but the first 2/3 of it were mostly just jim and Carl playing it very slow (like Jim did on solo tours) then at the end it kicked back to full speed and full on band rocking out.

[danimal]

You are correct that no one actually played an acoustic guitar on I'm Amazed. It was all electric guitars but more like a solo version for the first 2/3.

Also I forgot to mention how amazing Dancefloors was to close the show. It was an all out jam and the piano took all of the solos for the entire ending of the song. Bo's playing was just channeling some Jerry Lee Lewis rock n roll piano, throwing down and shredding just as hard as the guitars. It was great to have the keys highlighted so much there.

[Shug]

Also I forgot to mention how amazing Dancefloors was to close the show. It was an all out jam and the piano took all of the solos for the entire ending of the song. Bo's playing was just channeling some Jerry Lee Lewis rock n roll piano, throwing down and shredding just as hard as the guitars. It was great to have the keys highlighted so much there.

Yeah reminded me of a ripping Sugar Magnolia or One More Saturday Night with the riffing and pounding piano!

[Maxwell North]

This show was pretty epic to me! Still can't stop thinking about it. I just felt every song had new and fresh life to them. Loved the setlist order. Jamming was at an all time with some really great & extended arrangements. I felt every member of the band was on fire. Sound was great! Venue is great! Crowd was a little laid back, but that didn't matter to me and just made me able to focus on the music more! The whole band seemed to really be enjoying themselves and rocking out! I absolutely loved this show and hope they release a soundboard recording of it so others who weren't there can listen to this magic and us lucky ones who were there can relive it!

[Lonndown27]

WHERE'S THE TAPE??!?!?!?!!!?!?!

[Hoptimus Prime]

WHERE'S THE TAPE??!?!?!?!!!?!?!

        I hear ya! I really want to hear the show, keep checking archive...

[WickedMessenger]

As others said this show was long overdue for Southern California! I liked the setlist mix with new songs sprinkled in.  Steam and Dondante are epic but don't have played at every show. I don't know if it was the excitement of a first show since COVID, or the beautiful SB Bowl, but the vibe in the pit was special.
The band sounded tight on Spring, that song begs to be jammed longer. I noticed that Carl seemed to have tech issues a few times during the show but they got worked out.
Also the poster for this show is one of the best for this run.   

[Lonndown27]

this was unreal....even without the big three in the setlist, it looks magical...like the last minute of the song "That's Not Me" off Pet Sounds...California vibes