MMJ in the Nation's Capital

[CTdeadhead]

Yep thats why I am taking my 13 Yo to the Boston show.  Shes come to be quite a fan though so shes psyched.  

[BalmerGuy]

Thanks, Sassbox!  Just printed the Set List.  Again, amazing show, everyone.  People around me were dancing a some -- two girls especially - they stood about the whole show.

Not sure why people were so sedated (not up, dancing) overall... could be the mix of ages, but it was still a cool vibe, and the band, bottom-line, still put on a great performance.

Loved James' brief but interesting commentary during the show.  

[Sassbox]

Not sure why people were so sedated (not up, dancing) overall...

It's DC.  I've NEVER seen anything like it.  

[barnylee]

Does anyone have Cliffnotes for some of these posts? (Just kidding!)  ;D

w/ the stoic crowd, I would suggest that it's a combo of the venue and assigned seating, not so much DC. If there was a general admission type setup at a different venue, where hardcore fans could get to the front 1/3 of the floor if they chose to, they of course would be rockin out, and then radiate some high-energy vibes to the rest of the crowd. A lot of people/friends I saw/talked to weren't even from DC...they road tripped there.

[NoVa_NoLa]

DC crowds are pretty stiff in every venue here.  It's really pathetic...my first couple of years living here, I was back in Philly or NYC for my live music needs.  DC shows were just plain weird.  I've gotten used to it now (4 years later) , but it's still a very lame place to experience live music.

But, that's not why I logged on.  Here's the show review from the Post:

My Morning Jacket Lets Loose

My Morning Jacket finished with a six-song encore at Constitution Hall. (By Jim Cooper -- Associated Press)

Friday, September 5, 2008; Page C03

Jam band: The phrase can make even some of the most fervent alt- country/space rock/whatever-you-throw-at-me enthusiasts break out in hives. Most fans of My Morning Jacket, however, balk when that label is associated with their favorite Kentucky five-piece. It's true that MMJ has experimented wildly with its sound, taking a winding, Wilco-esque road from roots rock to synth-heavy psychedelia to the potluck randomness of its latest album, "Evil Urges."

But the group's 2 1/2 -hour performance Wednesday at Constitution Hall leaves no doubt: When you stretch out every other song on the set list to eight, nine, 10 minutes, you're kind of a jam band.

For those concertgoers who prefer their tunes short and sweet, parts of the show were patience-testing, especially considering that the group took the stage 30 minutes late. Good thing, then, that these guys are crazy-talented: Singer Jim James in particular is a marvel. On this night he was rockin' a cape while his high tenor comfortably morphed from old-country croon ("Golden"), to Prince-like falsetto ("Highly Suspicious"), or straight-up wail ("Touch Me I'm Going to Scream, Pt. 2") -- and vocally defeating the venue's reliably tinny mix is no small accomplishment.

The latter two tracks, both from "Evil Urges," were highlights of a mind-blowingly textured and transportive six-song encore. After a set in which the group easily blended everything from funk to reggae to industrial into its repertoire, My Morning Jacket could be excused for taking its time.

[AMCMMJ]

I agree with "j-rud" . Nice to have meet you guys. (Irish dude), while there there was this other guy saying that the band had too come out & sign our material as he said "its a business for the band" "they have to please the fan'safterwards" what a "tool" it was his first time there & he did not know the way things go. I know "j-rud" was not happy with this guy !!!

(edit)

As for that gentleman, I wasnt trying to be rude and I understood his perspective, but when he said "well speaking from a business standpoint they really should" I was pretty bummed. I had just experienced catharsis, a damn life affirming experience, and you wanna talk about the bands obligations to us as businessmen? It just seemed vulgar. Like I said, the band has given more to me than I could ever give to them.

******

Hello, this is that gentleman (not a "tool", dude).

I'm sorry I bummed you out by talking about how a band like MMJ has built and maintained an obviously strong fanbase. I certainly didn't mean to be vulgar, and I'm sorry if you took my comments that way. I've seen many, many concerts by different artists and waited after to meet them. Most are nice. However, I've also seen shows where the artists don't take the time to maintain a relationship with fans, particularly hardcore fans, who'll wait around as we did to tell the artist how much their music means to them.

I am a professional event manager, by the way, and I deal with the logistics of tour management and booking talent every day. It's what I do for a living and, yes, My Morning Jacket makes a living mostly by touring and selling merchandise. I was happy to wait until after midnight to meet the guys in the band and I will happily frame my event poster next to my other autographs. I especially enjoyed talking with a few other folks in our group, though in retrospect not the guy who thinks I'm a "tool" just because I have a broader perspective than maybe he does.  I also had a transcendent experience and I will enjoy MMJ's music and other live performances for years to come.

You present it that way and its not an issue, but you were throwing around words like "obligation" and saying that the band "owes everything to the fans". I cant speak for anyone other than myself, but Im willing to venture a guess that those opinions are probably in the minority.

I don't recall using those terms, but, if I did, you might've misunderstood me. I meant that, yes, in a financial sense, a mid-size band like MMJ not a major label (and thus without marketing muscle to push a single or heavily promote material) *does* owe a lot to hardcore fans who will repeatedly see shows (not just one) and buy not just one CD but all of them, including the demo CDs I believe I asked you about. Because they took the time to come out to that bus and I could meet and thank them, they created a satisfied customer. Sorry if phrasing it like that annoys or upsets you, but, from a business perspective, in addition to just being cool, they did the right thing.

I'm not really sure we have anything to argue about, however. We both agree it was a great show, the guys were great to come out and meet us afterwards, and we'll both continue buying their music and seeing their shows. It's a win win situation for the band and the fans.

It's all good, friend. Cheers.

Nahh, I dont mean to argue; just talking. I was put off at first but its pretty clear we're just on different wavelengths, and thats cool too. No worries.

Just so I don't leave the impression I'm some cold number$ person, I will share this: I picked up my wife from the library where she works (yes, she's a librarian!) one night a few months back. While I was driving us home, I switched on the CD and "Golden" was playing (I had just gotten It Still Moves a day or so earlier.) Right during that song, my wife felt our first baby, due in November, kick. That was the first time she'd felt a kick when I was with her (a month earlier, she called me and said she felt a kick and I was at the REM concert at Merriweather Post).

So everytime I hear MMJ and "Golden" especially (one of the most beautiful songs I've ever heard), I think of that memory I'll one day share with my daughter years from now when she's going through my CD collection sometime in the 2020s. Ha.

See! Now THATS the kind of stuff you talk about after a show!

Yes, and I almost shared that anecdote with Jim himself, but I didn't want to interrupt his being with another fan and I had to get home. Maybe at the next show.

Jim James commented in a cnn.com article last spring that, if the band quit touring, they'd all have to get "regular jobs" in a couple of months. You might want to keep being a fan and their business aspects separate, but, if you're interested in reading more about what it takes for a bands to make a legitimate living on the road, I'd recommend checking out "This business of concert promotion and touring : a practical guide to creating, selling, organizing, and staging concerts". Came out last year. It's a great, accessible read about what it really takes to succeed on the road. I find it professionally and personally interesting, but you may not.

[Ruckus]

Man seats were awesome and the show was awesome!  I did, however, have some reservations about the setlist, particularly when I saw what they busted out in Charlottesville.

I'm glad that I got Cobra, War Begun and a KILLER STEAM ENGINE, but ya know, perhaps subtracting a Thank You Too or Sec Walkin for a TFire track would have been nice.  Just me speakin.  Plus no aluminum park or remnants from EU seemed odd.

Alas, tis what NYE is for...

[CTdeadhead]

As a general rule newspaper reviews are written by idiots.  My local one is a total idiot.  But this guy sounds especially stupid.  

[barnylee]

While some of the songs did go 8-10 minutes in length, I would hardly consider MMJ a "jam band." And I like jam bands. I felt like their performance and the songs were fairly structured, where they would sometimes stretch out a song by playing a 3-4 chord rendition over and over, building up with added bass, drums, lights, and some head/hair banging, with some tastey guitar added to it, but MMJ doesn't seem to go into long guitar jams or drum/space thingys. I agree that this writer seems a bit under-nurtured on the live music scene. MMJ to me w/ Z and Evil Urges have gone into a bigger target audience in the mainstream, where they're certainly unique wit their own identity, but like bands like Radiohead, not a jamband.

[digital metropolis blog]

hi, everyone: thought it was a great show the other night. i blogged about it at digitalmetropolisblogDOTcom if you'd like to read it. the real downfall was (and has been) the god awful acoustics at constitution hall. but, i gotta say, it was a fantastic show over all.  "touch me i'm going to scream" part 2 was fantastic.

[CTdeadhead]

7 minutes is a jam to this guy?  He's never seen the grateful dead.  phish is a jam band.  Panic is a jam band.  MMJ is a rock band.  Led Zep never played a 7 minute jam?   Mr Newspaper guy your industry is dying, get a better job.