Canal Club

[LaurieBlue]

Even with new members, MMJ satisfies
BY LEIGH BUCKLEY FOUNTAIN
SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT
Monday, January 26, 2004


MUSIC REVIEW
MY MORNING JACKET
AT:
The Canal Club on Saturday
For a very cold and potentially snowy January evening, the Canal Club was pretty steamed up Saturday night.

The band My Morning Jacket attracted quite a crowd, apparently a fair contingent from our nation's capital, where an upcoming show seems to have sold out, sending many a fan to our humble city.

Opening for the band were newcomers Dr. Dog from Philadelphia, who played an impressive set. These guys have been playing gigs for only three months, having been tapped for this opening slot out of the blue because MMJ lead singer Jim James was impressed with their homemade CD. Kudos to them, let's hope it brings more of their songwriting to light.

Shortly before 11, the band took the stage with little ceremony and dived right in, giving "Just One Thing" and "Dance Floors" early on to an appreciative crowd.

  
It was announced recently that the band's lead guitarist and keyboardist had abruptly split, so the real question Saturday was: How would these supposedly thrown-together replacements sound? The answer was a satisfying one. The band seemed to have the energy and communication of a seasoned road team; it was difficult to believe that the lead guitarist was new. Overall, they sounded great.

That's likely because James, the charismatic lead singer and rhythm guitarist, seems to be the fire in the band's songwriting. He was clearly their leader on stage, nearly conducting the band at times. His mass of long, curly blond hair was always in motion; at one point, when he brandished a Flying V guitar during "One Big Holiday," so much hair-shaking was going on that he brought to mind a younger James Hetfield from Metallica.

But MMJ's sound is anything but metal. It is Wilco-esque, with James' distinctive tenor vocals standing out as the band's defining point. James' voice has an almost Wayne Coyne (The Flaming Lips) quality, without the wackiness.

But it was easy to see why so many folks, including new adherents from Friday night's show in Charlottesville, had made the trip. As the show proceeded, the band gained momentum. After a drum solo and a nice acoustic turn from James, during which he played the pretty "Golden," the band returned for a pumped-up rendition of "Run-Thru," the closest thing they have to a single. It was powerful, and a satisfactory conclusion to a fine show.

This story can be found at: http://www.timesdispatch.com/servlet/Satellite?pagename=RTD%2FMGArticle%2FRTD_BasicArticle&c=MGArticle&cid=1031773297320&path=!flair!ae&s=1045855936372