Philly Review

[NoVa_NoLa]

I was home (NYC area) the weekend after the Duo were added to the line up in Philly.  I bumped into Aaron (the reviewer) at the Knitting Factory and asked if he was going.  He hadn't even heard about the show.  Months later, he had organized a caravan to Philly.  Here's his take:

http://weeklyned.blogspot.com/2006/12/long-review-road-trip-w-mmjduoslip.html

Damn, I miss being home... :-[

[bridget]

That was freaking fantastic. thanks:)

[tbone]

this was a fantastic show...

there were a few technical glitches early, and there were times when the vocals were barely audible, but overall it was great.

i saw them at the TLA last year when they played "Z" front to back... and i liked that smaller venue better...

but this show was better AND if it's even possible - they've gotten better...

these guys didn't go on until after 11:00 pm!!! and then proceeded to kick my ass for 2 hours...

and they played their asses off all night... i mean, they BROUGHT it all night long... i would even say they got BETTER as the night went on.... i mean these guys put their heart and soul into their music and it's just so freakin' obvious.  

there were some moments that were mind-bending last night...  the ending of "Off the record" and "They ran" would be 2 highlights for me.  "At Dawn" was soooo sweet to hear live, although i wish they opened with it b/c i love the buildup vs. "it beats for you"...

I like Z, but "at dawn" and "it still moves" are the 2 records that just hit me sooo right.

phone went west was beautiful....  the only thing i would have liked is steam engine, but it was not to be.

Jim James's voice was always great, and magical at times... how on earth can someone sound so good?  this guy has one of the best voices i have ever heard...

The crowd was actually pretty good for a philly crowd... pretty well behaved and into it.

i had some friends with me who have never seen them, and are just getting into them - and you could just tell they were like  :o

i just really love this band, and appreciate just how great they are.  i wonder if they know how amazing they really are and how much they mean to us?

[doEVILslittle]

Mid-show:

"Philadelphiaaaa? (cheers) Philadelphia (more cheers) Philadelphia...is like my favorite bean bag chair back at my grandmother's house. It's just so nice to sit down with you all here, and sit and get comfy in my bean bag chair and really get my ass in..with you.

Do you know, that scientists have proven through scientific fact that bass tones....not just the bass guitar but bass tones in general can...the vibrations can get you pregnant. And it's not just if you're a woman. It can happen to men too. The bass tones vibrate up off of the floor and find the correct orifice and travel up and can get you pregnant. I like...i really like playing shows where the stage is low, we really like playing on the same level as you guys out there and if the stage was lower you could really get a feel of more of those bass tones, cuz we can really feel it up here. So if tonight you  feel the urge...if you feel yourself getting...PREGGERS....i want you all to scream."

End of Show:
"We wanna thank you all for coming out and thank XPN for treating us well and for broadcasting the show live here tonight so all of your screams are being broadcast out there. It really feels like its thanksgiving here even though it's not, but it is because it feels like we're home here, even though we're not.....and you're all pregnant."

I am still going insane right now trying to find my face....cuz it melted off. The MMJ alone was worth every penny i spent on the ticket and bus ticket home from college....thats without saying. But the openers the slip and benevento russo duo were AMAZING....and i only talk about them because i'm able to, i can't comprehend thought around what MMJ gave me on friday...just wow. I was literally on the verge of vomitting from being so god damn happy to see this band play with the fucking intensity they gave us on friday

[LaurieBlue]

http://www.philly.com/mld/inquirer/news/magazine/daily/16157764.htm

 Posted on Mon, Dec. 04, 2006  
 


Triumphant My Morning Jacket

By Steve Klinge
For The Inquirer

Five short years ago, My Morning Jacket played an opening slot at the tiny Khyber in support of its second album, At Dawn. Then, it was indie-rock's best-kept secret, a spontaneous and exuberant Southern rock band given to large gestures in small spaces and prone to covering anything from Elvis Presley to Black Sabbath to Erykah Badu.

Since then, the Louisville, Ky., band has returned often enough for leader Jim James to comment, in the middle of Friday's triumphant sold-out (and over-crowded) show at the Electric Factory, that Philadelphia felt like home. "You're like my favorite beanbag chair at my grandmother's house," he said. "You're so comfortable."

Fortunately, that comfort didn't lead to complacency. From the opening salvo of "It Beats 4 U" and "Gideon" - with their hair-swinging codas and James' reverb-saturated falsetto oohs and ahhs - to the closing celebration - more than two hours later, with the heavy, fist-pumping "Run Thru" and buoyant "Anytime" - MMJ rocked, pure and simple.

Not that the songs are simple. Whether brief and concentrated (the ecstatic "What A Wonderful Man") or long and elastic (the slowly building "Dondante"), MMJ songs seek maximum drama. They employ multi-part structures, thrilling crescendos both sudden and gradual, carefully orchestrated guitar jams that often feature James and Carl Broemel riffing in lockstep and, most of all, false endings: Just when a song like "Mahgeetah" seems to exhaust itself (and the audience), the band pauses, then kicks in again at an even higher level of energy.

MMJ has perfected what it does. It sharpened (rather than dusted off) a few early album tracks such as the doo-wop-based "They Ran" and reggae-flavored "Phone Went West," but the song arrangements in Friday's set varied little from those on the excellent new live album/DVD, Okonokos.

Part of the joy, however, was in knowing what to expect: James' impossibly high voice concluding "Wordless Chorus," the bubblegum-glam riffs propelling "Dancefloors," the gentle acoustic guitars shimmering through "Golden."

"You better learn to express yourself," James sang in "Anytime," self-reflexively proclaiming what is no longer a secret.
 

[Chancing-Glancing]

Those low end bass tones were truly amazing.  It was, "a feelin' in my bones I never felt before."

[knotcameloose]

Here's the review I wrote for my school paper of this show...
http://edisk.fandm.edu/william.montgomery/Files/Yield/TCR/Fall%202006/MMJ%2012.04.06.bmp

I don't usually write music reviews, so I forgot to send in a letter grade.  Would've gone with the A, but the editor took the safe route and gave it a B+.

Anyway, a great show.