London Forum - 15 July 2008
Evil Urges
Off The Record
Gideon
The Way That He Sings
Two Halves
Sec Walkin'
Thank You Too
Lowdown
I'm Amazed
Touch Me Part I
Lay Low
Golden
I Will Sing You Songs
Smokin' From Shootin'
Touch Me Part II
-------------------------
Bermuda Highway (Jim acoustic)
Look At You
Wordless Chorus
Highly Suspicious
Phone Went West
Dondante (plus mental extended outro)
Anytime
One Big Holiday
Awesome gig. Great energy from the band. They owned the venue from start to finish.
Nice to meet EvilGirl, too, even if it was only briefly.
Thought I had a pic of the moment Jim stagedived into the crowd with his V, but my phone was too steamed up and sweaty for it to come out. 8-)
mmmmmmmm perfect set list. Still much of the same songs, but in a wonderful order.
Man - I hope the US gets so more rareities. I know I'm being selfish, but I hope I get to atleast hear one song live I've never heard before....like War Begun, I think Im going to Hell, It's About Twilight, The Dark, Honest Man...
QuoteLondon Forum - 15 July 2008
I Will Sing You Songs
Smokin' From Shootin'
Touch Me Part II
ooh! wow, be this sounds terrific as a run!
and Look at You!
and...stage dive? ;D
thanks for the notes and setlist!
Superb performance from them. I don't think Jim missed a note with his voice. Phone Went West and Lay Low were the highlights for me.
Yes, wonderful gig, beautifully paced.
Was with a MMJ virgin who was astonished by the variety of material.
Met Jim afterwards and he said they would be back in London in November, though not at the Forum. Brixton perhaps? ;)
And what is it with Har Mar Superstar? He's everywhere these days, was at the aftershow, the only surprise was that he didn't make a cameo onstage having seen him take over sets by both Neon Neon and MGMT at Glastonbury!
Quote
Met Jim afterwards and he said they would be back in London in November, though not at the Forum. Brixton perhaps? ;)
WOW!!! That's good to hear :D
Damn how did you meet Jim? I would kill to just to shake hands with that sweaty beast. On a side note, love your aside about the Dondante outro.. holy wow. I was with a Jacket virgin and she was groovin to it nice and slow then he hit us with the goods and she just lost it. Absolutely fantastic.
Quote
WOW!!! That's good to hear :D
We'll make sure you get to that one, Doc, even if I have to carry you there myself. :)
That was an absolutely awesome gig. Dontante just blew me away, it was spellbinding. The atmosphere at the Forum was electric..this was the fifth time I have seen the band over the last few weeks and I think it was the best one yet. The whole place was jumping by One Big Holiday. My friend had not seen the band before but she was completely bowled over by them. It was nice to meet Mark, shame I didn't manage to catch anyone else though. I wish I had spoken to Jim, I saw him having a smoke before the show but wasn't brave enough to go and speak to him! Really hope its true about the November gig!
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WOW!!! That's good to hear :D
We'll make sure you get to that one, Doc, even if I have to carry you there myself. :)
Now that would be a sight to behold!
Thanks a lot Mark - I'm determined to be there [smiley=vrolijk_26.gif]
Lucky enough to get to aftershow via music folk I know.
Also by chance met Jim at Glastonbury wandering round up towards the Green Fields on the afternoon of their late set on the Park stage. Walked and talked with him for a few minutes and to my astonishment he remembered me from then at The Forum. Top guy.
Yep, November was what he said so here's hoping.
[media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DncmPeiVKgA[/media]
Quote[media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DncmPeiVKgA[/media]
http://tv.popcrunch.com/john-tesh-on-march-11-conan-obrien-video/
QuoteQuoteI wish I had spoken to Jim, I saw him having a smoke before the show...
umm... jim doesn't smoke.
Oh well I thought he was having a smoke..he was with a couple of roadies who were smoking by the side door to the venue and I just assumed he was too, but I guess he was just chatting to them..still, at least I said hello to him in Nottingham. so thats something!
Who were those guys on stage with the band singing along with Highly Suspicious..was it Everest? That was quite entertaining..not sure what was going on with the guy on stage with the suitcase..I couldn't see what he was doing properly, although it looked like he was handing out drinks to the band..or did I dream it?
QuoteWho were those guys on stage with the band singing along with Highly Suspicious..was it Everest? That was quite entertaining..not sure what was going on with the guy on stage with the suitcase..I couldn't see what he was doing properly, although it looked like he was handing out drinks to the band..or did I dream it?
Yes they were members of Everest - I think the guy with the suitcase was their guitarist (but I may be wrong). Not sure what he was doing though.
QuoteQuoteWho were those guys on stage with the band singing along with Highly Suspicious..was it Everest? That was quite entertaining..not sure what was going on with the guy on stage with the suitcase..I couldn't see what he was doing properly, although it looked like he was handing out drinks to the band..or did I dream it?
Yes they were members of Everest - I think the guy with the suitcase was their guitarist (but I may be wrong). Not sure what he was doing though.
it seemed 'highly suspicious'
did anybody see the review in The Times?
It's a little condescending but not bad - here it is if you didn't see it:
From The Times
July 18, 2008
My Morning Jacket at the Forum, NW5
David Sinclair
My Morning Jacket are the latest torchbearers of an American alt.rock tradition that embraces acts such as Mercury Rev and the Flaming Lips. A guitar band given to exploring the rock universe with a sense of obsessive, childlike wonder, the group from Louisville, Kentucky, have been around for ten years or so, gradually gathering critical momentum to the point where they are on the brink of converting cult acclaim into iconic status with the release of their fifth album, Evil Urges. This was their final gig in Britain, after various European and festival dates, and a typically long and languid affair it was too.
Amid dense clouds of dry ice that poured down on to the artfully lit stage throughout the two-hour plus show, the five men wasted no time in launching into the push-and-pull riff of Off the Record. With their long, shaggy anti-hairstyles, and nondescript dress-sense, they maintained a collegiate identity that hinged on a complete disdain for fashion. The singer and guitarist, Jim James, even had a beard. James, who is also the group's songwriter and de facto leader, modestly occupied a station at the side of the stage, rather than at the centre, although he didn't remain there for long.
As the band rolled towards the end of Gideon, an anthem of sweeping, dramatic highs, James began yelling and raving as if trying to attract attention from the top of a windswept mountain crest. During Touch Me I'm Going To Scream Pt 1 he discarded his guitar and, with a cape round his shoulders, lurched around the stage like a novice trying on a pair of skates, while the band produced a hypnotic rhythmic pulse.
The group's willingness to move between genres – psychedelia, prog-rock, country-rock and touches of electronica via several extended jam-band workouts – lent their music an oddly amoebic quality that was endearing and, at times, frustrating. James sang in a Princelike falsetto on Highly Suspicious and seemed to be turning into Michael McDonald as he crooned the easy-listening chorus of Thank You Too!, both songs from the new album. But it was the majestic climax of Dondante, a performance that recalled the glory days of Neil Young and Crazy Horse, that prompted the most passionate response. Coming at the end of a 40-minute stretch of "encores", the final surge of Anytime and a bashing One Big Holiday finished off the job in style.
Hi guys, just back from the Forum!
Well not really ;D away for a few days straight after the gig.
Interested to catch up with others' thoughts.
Intrigued to notice that no one else has mentioned the sound quality. it seems most posters were in the mosh pit. We were unstairs and the sound was shite. Very muffled, yet too loud, with too much bass. It was so incoherent that it was hard to hear Jim's vocals clearly and Carl's guitars were way back in the mix.
Reports about the theatre's acoustics before the gig were very positive. I'm gutted as a result because the guys performed superbly. :(
Being a boring old fart, I'm going to have another moan. >:(
This is the first gig I've been to where the guys are now revered by the nutter element.
Up till now (seen them 6/7 times in UK) they have been an up and coming, under the radar sort of band. Lots of loyal and (dare I say) discerning music fans have been their hardcore audience. But last Tuesday Jim couldn't open his mouth without some nutter being convinced that he was witnessing the 2nd Coming. Bermuda Highway was destoyed by 4 drunken yanks standing on their seats next to me and yelping through the whole bloody song and, in the process, I was thankful that only half the contents of one guy's pint of lager landed in my lap. Do't get me wrong, the audience reaction is what gives a gig its atmosphere, but this was too much. The tragic and emotional lyrics of Dondante, so beautifully delivered by Jim, and Carl's plaintive and climatic alto sax ending, were completely lost under a tsunami of untimely, inappropriate, drunken screeching.
Z and Evil Urges seem to have delivered upon MMJ a new set of fans for whom fanaticism knows no constraints. It can only get worse imho. :'(
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/d36a0ed4-54e7-11dd-ae9c-000077b07658.html?nclick_check=1
A poor review by a critic who thinks he knows more about music than he actually does, imho. :-?
http://music.guardian.co.uk/live/story/0,,2291817,00.html
Who is this guy called Jim Jones, please :o
Quotehttp://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/d36a0ed4-54e7-11dd-ae9c-000077b07658.html?nclick_check=1
A poor review by a critic who thinks he knows more about music than he actually does, imho. :-?
Tosser
Quotehttp://music.guardian.co.uk/live/story/0,,2291817,00.html
Who is this guy called Jim Jones, please :o
Sloppy work
Quotehttp://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/d36a0ed4-54e7-11dd-ae9c-000077b07658.html?nclick_check=1
A poor review by a critic who thinks he knows more about music than he actually does, imho. :-?
Some people just don't have a clue... sad :-[
Quotehttp://music.guardian.co.uk/live/story/0,,2291817,00.html
Who is this guy called Jim Jones, please :o
Letter to the Editor:
Aaahhh the beauty of the interweb. The first two reviews, earlier in this thread, sound like fashion show critiques. I understand the element of stage presence, but I think if all you are going to write about is a band's physical appearance than I'm going to wager that you may have been erroneously assigned as a journalist, stick to the runway. To be honest I went to see MMJ live for the first time, years ago when they actually did have long hair, and when I saw them I thought I was about to see a set from Megadeath. I did not let there physical appearance influence the sweet and amazing sounds that I heard that night and ever since I have thouroughly enjoyed their music. So if some journalist wants to spout off at the mouth about a guy's beard or the way some one dresses I say screw 'em. At least we won't have to worry about some wanker standing next to us at our next MMJ show ruining our evening or asking us why "Jim Jones" wears Skeletor boots and a cape. "I don't know maybe he's a superhero!"
"I don't know maybe he's a superhero!"
Definitely ;D
QuoteHi guys, just back from the Forum!
Well not really ;D away for a few days straight after the gig.
Interested to catch up with others' thoughts.
Intrigued to notice that no one else has mentioned the sound quality. it seems most posters were in the mosh pit. We were unstairs and the sound was shite. Very muffled, yet too loud, with too much bass. It was so incoherent that it was hard to hear Jim's vocals clearly and Carl's guitars were way back in the mix.
Reports about the theatre's acoustics before the gig were very positive. I'm gutted as a result because the guys performed superbly. :(
Being a boring old fart, I'm going to have another moan. >:(
This is the first gig I've been to where the guys are now revered by the nutter element.
Up till now (seen them 6/7 times in UK) they have been an up and coming, under the radar sort of band. Lots of loyal and (dare I say) discerning music fans have been their hardcore audience. But last Tuesday Jim couldn't open his mouth without some nutter being convinced that he was witnessing the 2nd Coming. Bermuda Highway was destoyed by 4 drunken yanks standing on their seats next to me and yelping through the whole bloody song and, in the process, I was thankful that only half the contents of one guy's pint of lager landed in my lap. Do't get me wrong, the audience reaction is what gives a gig its atmosphere, but this was too much. The tragic and emotional lyrics of Dondante, so beautifully delivered by Jim, and Carl's plaintive and climatic alto sax ending, were completely lost under a tsunami of untimely, inappropriate, drunken screeching.
Z and Evil Urges seem to have delivered upon MMJ a new set of fans for whom fanaticism knows no constraints. It can only get worse imho. :'(
Sorry to quote your entire massive, disgruntled post, but here is my response. First of all, why would you buy upstairs tickets to a MMJ show? The sound quality was fantastic on the floor. I could hear everything perfectly - especially Jim's highs and that amazing sax ending on Dondante. But I too read good reviews on the acoustics at the Forum, so I would assume that should carry quality to not just the front row but upstairs as well. Like you mentioned, it sucks terribly because it was simply poor acoustics and not the boys.
As for drunken yanks, there were those as well as drunken brits. I am a yank, however I was not intoxicated at all and right on the rail in front of Jimbo. I apologise that you were unlucky enough to get next to some idiots, but I feel that on the whole - the crowd at a MMJ concert remains far, far superior to those at other rock concerts.
They may be picking up in noteriety, but EU and Z are still attracting the same types of listeners: good effing people. Obviously you have seen them quite a few times in the UK (I had no idea people actually listened to them over here) - so dare I say that one show in London shouldn't ruin your impression of new MMJ fans. I brought a MMJ virgin with me and now there is one more fan to join our ranks - of the discerning, not heavily intoxicated kind.Thats all I really have to say on the topic.
I guess I do sound a bit prissy :-[
My better half isn't the tallest and can get claustraphobic in a mosh pit situation so thats why we where upstairs. Interesting that the sound was good downstairs.
I'm sorry if you felt my rant was anti American, that was not the intention. It was simply anti those four Americans' behaviour. My reference to 'new' fans was regarding the above guys lack of knowledge of MMJ's canon and their evening long screaming for Highly Suspicious, probably Jim's most controversial creation amongst boring old fart fans like me. It didn't seem quite so naff live though, I have to say! :o especially with Everest joining in.
Glad you enjoyed the gig in dear old Blighty and I can assure you that MMJ have massive respect this side of the pond. ;D
Ah well I suppose I came back as a bit over defensive as well. I totally agree on the Highly Suspicious front. I hated the song before I saw them play it live, but I really felt its vibe once they did. I understand your point about the fans as well.. a couple hammered idiots can ruin it for anyone. Looking forward to catching them in Kansas City and Council Bluffs later this summer :)
Hi Guys,
just joined the forum to give you a set of mymorning jacket pics live from the press pit.
check liveon35mm.com I know some of you will disagree on the review, so come comment is free!
ciao
Vale
QuoteQuotehttp://music.guardian.co.uk/live/story/0,,2291817,00.html
Who is this guy called Jim Jones, please :o
Sloppy work
The opener wasn't Off the Record either - very sloppy. 3/5....it was one of the best gigs i've ever been to - I would've expected 4/5 at the least.
QuoteAh well I suppose I came back as a bit over defensive as well. I totally agree on the Highly Suspicious front. I hated the song before I saw them play it live, but I really felt its vibe once they did. I understand your point about the fans as well.. a couple hammered idiots can ruin it for anyone. Looking forward to catching them in Kansas City and Council Bluffs later this summer :)
Just to sum up those guys' behaviour, they all, en masse, went to the bar during 'The Way That He Sings". >:(
Envious of you seeing MMJ again so soon. It's my ambition to see them as close as I can to Shelbyville, Kentucky.
One day!!! ;)