Denver Reviews

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http://www.fortcollinsweekly.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=442&Itemid=42

At Saturday night's My Morning Jacket show at the Ogden Theater, the second of the band's two-night stint in Denver, there was only one way to dance—bang your head. Amidst the glitter and pop of a billion flashing strobe lights and the reeking cloud of fog and incense smoke pouring from the stage, the Louisville, Ky., quintet sought a balance somewhere between Dr. Teeth and the Electric Mayhem and Metallica, and they managed to pull it off with a punchy flourish rarely seen with contemporary live performers.

They rocked. And they rocked hard.


Lead singer Jim James, wearing a poncho, a novelty cowboy hat, a pair of knee-high Skeletor boots, and a hip holster with two toy revolvers, provided the audience with a visual reminder that My Morning Jacket is first and foremost a distinct—if sometimes bizarre—presence, an inventive entity that plays a mishmash of ethereal, polyphonic delights.

Perhaps one of the best things about the band is that it's so difficult to pigeonhole them. Their music, a mixture of alt-country wistfulness and straight-up rock sensibility, is heavy on the metal licks and is underpinned by a peculiar brand of psychedelic folk lyricism. James's echoing, siren-like whistle of a voice—which is easy one of the two or three most recognizable among singers today—whirred and yelped its way through a play-list chockfull of fan favorites: "Magheeta," "Gideon," "One Big Holiday" and, my favorite of the evening, "Golden," the best of which came from multi-instrumentalist Carl Broemel, who accentuated the song perfectly from his seat at the steel guitar.

Drummer Patrick Hallahan was a barely controlled fury behind the kit, and bassist "Two-Tone" Tommy was unshakeable; not even a broken E string during the band's extensive encore could interrupt his pounding bass-lines. During the additional set, the James gang was joined onstage by Elvis Perkins and Dearland, an eclectic foursome of folksy mountain-man hipsters who opened for My Morning Jacket. (The verdict on Perkins: Good, heartfelt Appalachia-rock ballads by four very talented musicians, which was unfortunately undercut by a brooding, latent pretension. I love a good pitched-bass-drum-and-tambourine-stick solo every now and then. But it seems as if they were trying to be different for the sake of being different, which is not the same as being different as a result of being musically innovative.)

Saturday night's performance marked the end to a successful tour in support of My Morning Jacket's latest album, Okonokos, a live double-disc CD and DVD recorded during their 2005 tour to support Z, the album for which the band has received the most critical acclaim. My Morning Jacket is now taking a break to write another album; they will next be appearing at the jam-friendly Langerado music festival in Sunrise, Fla., in March.

[Chills]

Since I visit the wilco site viachicago once in a while, this caught my attention.

QUOTE
Interference.com : Articles

Jacket Ecstatic: Two Nights of Reverb and Revelations in Denver*
By Andy Smith, Contributing Editor
2007.1


Having toured incessantly since "Z" was released in October 2005 (including a stint opening for Pearl Jam), Louisville's My Morning Jacket just played the last shows of two short tours that followed the release of their live epic "Okonokos."

To mark this moment, two dedicated fans from Nebraska got stuck in the ice and missed Friday night but finally made it Saturday for their first Jacket show. Traveling devotees flew in from around the country, including one woman from Los Angeles who came via the band's last show in Salt Lake City—she'd taken time off work to follow them since the legendary New Year's Eve shows at San Francisco's Fillmore. One woman from Japan currently living in Colorado will see her first show since the band played Tokyo.


Pretty funny. World fame for Ms. Yvon. They did forgot to mention she also writes entertaining reviews after the shows. Good work Ms.  [smiley=beer.gif]

[Anu]

Well, I wrote that little ditty for interference, and forgive me if I didn't give ms.Yvon the props she deserves, because she is the coolest!

[ms. yvon]

no way, jose!  reading that totally made my day!


as for the ft.collins reviewer:  elvis p. in dearland, pretentious?  are you kidding me?  the bass drum/tambourine stick combo isn't an affectation.  one makes music with the instruments they like.

so there.

*righteous fist in the air*

[vespachick]

While I absolutely enjoyed the music streaming forth, I have to impart that I felt Elvis came across as a bit of a dick - But, to be fair, I'm referring to the Portland show where I saw him/them perform.  Is it just me or does he seem kinda angry at the crowd? Somewhat offputting, but still, I'd listen again.

[ms. yvon]

it must have been the p-land show.  the crystall b-room is a weird venue for quieter acts.  that been garden is deadly to acoustic tunes.  he might have been cheesed by noise or something.

i've seen him downright gregarious.

[Anu]

LOVED EP & D. Really strong set, strong songs, stunning parlay with the audience.