My Morning Jacket Roll Call

[sweetcell]

oh yeah, forgot to mention the perc tracks - definitely there.

[nova_nola]

Was able to catch both shows and thought night 2 was better than night 1.  The sound (where I was standing) was muddier on Monday.
 
 The thing Jim James was playing during the encore last night is an Omichord, I think.
 
 

Originally posted by thingsfallapart:
  Setlist anyone?

These setlists came from the sound board guys and should be pretty close:
 
 11/27
 anytime
 off the record
 gideon
 wonderful man
 O is the one
 lowdown
 golden
 bear
 dondante
 x-mas curtain
 lay low (laylord)
 one big holiday
 mahgeetah
 --break--
 bermuda highway (acoustic)
 i think i'm going to hell
 wordless chorus
 it beats 4 you
 dance floors
 run thru
 
 
 11/28
 one big
 wonderful man
 way he singz
 gideon
 off the record
 just one thing
 it beats
 wordless
 phone  
 laylord
 the dark
 dondante
 run thru
 they ran
 --break--
 tonite i want to
 nashville to ky
 golden
 steam
 mahgeeta
 anytime

[dutch618]

Originally posted by sweetcell:
 
 what was Jim playing for the first song of the encore?  some sort of triangular-shaped midi surface thingy, from my vantage point i couldn't make out what is was.
 

 

Jim was playing an omnichord.
 http://www.suzukimusic.co.uk/omnichord/suzuki_omnichord.htm

[Darth Ed]

Originally posted by brennser:
   

Originally posted by Relaxer:
  And starting out an encore with three slow songs in a row is poor pacing.

yeah I thought that was a strange choice [/b]

I totally agree with Relaxer (and brennser). I found the whole set list kind of frustrating like that. It felt like 70% of the songs they played were these really slow tempo songs. I'm guessing that's probably typical for MMJ, but it wasn't quite what I expected. I desperately wanted them to deliver the rock. I kept thinking, "Please, please let this song rock." When they rock out, I really love MMJ. When they don't for long stretches, I just get kind of bored. I don't mind slow songs, but please not four or five in a row. Part of the problem may have been that I was further from the stage than I normally like, so I was already more disconnected from the performance than usual, but all the slow songs in a row definitely did not help.
 
 I didn't like the sound either. Way too much reverb/echo on the vocals for my tastes. Much of the lyrics were unintelligible. Some of the songs required the effect, but most didn't. Just came across as kind of muddy.
 
 It seemed a lot of the audience wasn't into the performance. There wasn't a whole lot of applauding between songs, and the pre-encore applause wasn't at all very loud or particularly well sustained for a sold-out show. And as someone mentioned, the audience definitely thinned out as the night went on.
 
 Overall, I have to say I was kind of underwhelmed. There were definitely parts of the concert that I loved though. The last two songs of the encore were a highlight for sure. Loved the disco ball lighting. For the record, I thought they played close to two hours, including the encore break.

[Tom Servo]

Fantastic show - my first one of theirs.  The encore nearly lost me, but they closed strong.
 
 While MMJ wasn't my favorite show of the year, I think I can safely put them among the short list of bands that I can almost universally vouch for live.   No need to qualify it.  If you like going to see shows and generally like music anywhere in the vicinity of rock and roll you will not be wasting your time by going.  
 
 It's a different category of esteem than even necessarily my favorite bands.  My favorite bands are my favorite bands, I'm not going to expect everyone to like them.  On the other hand, if you don't like MMJ, then you're wrong.  
 
 The other show this year that I'd put in this category would be Alejandro Escovedo.  I missed the Neko Case show, but after listening to the CD and reading the universally positive reviews it seems she would be one as well.

[Tom Servo]

Originally posted by Darth Ed:
 
 Overall, I have to say I was kind of underwhelmed.  

And thank you, Ed, for completely undermining my argument.  
 
 Just kidding, I agree on the encore.  A slow groove on the back end of some of the songs is nice, but practically 30 straight minutes of slow is tough for an encore.  It almost took away from the rest of the show.  
 
 Being all the way in the back wasn't as much of a distraction as I thought it might be.  I didn't feel too disconnected, which I thought was another testament to the overall quality of the show.

[Darth Ed]

Originally posted by Tom Servo:
   

Originally posted by Darth Ed:
 
 Overall, I have to say I was kind of underwhelmed.  

And thank you, Ed, for completely undermining my argument.  
 
 Just kidding, I agree on the encore.  A slow groove on the back end of some of the songs is nice, but practically 30 straight minutes of slow is tough for an encore.  It almost took away from the rest of the show. [/b]

Sorry, Tom. I will say that I definitely think they have the potential to "blow me away." I was very impressed with their caliber of performance. They were tight and intense, as you said. They just need a better set list, one that brings the rock for me. I'd be inclined to see them again, especially if their subsequent albums rock more. A better sound engineer would help, too.

[Darth Ed]

Originally posted by Tom Servo:
 The other show this year that I'd put in this category would be Alejandro Escovedo.  I missed the Neko Case show, but after listening to the CD and reading the universally positive reviews it seems she would be one as well.

Those are two of my favorites shows of 2006 for sure! I was shocked Escovedo didn't have a bigger audience. A lot of people are missing out.

[thingsfallapart]

Originally posted by Darth Ed:
   

Originally posted by brennser:
     

Originally posted by Relaxer:
  And starting out an encore with three slow songs in a row is poor pacing.

yeah I thought that was a strange choice [/b]

I totally agree with Relaxer (and brennser). I found the whole set list kind of frustrating like that. It felt like 70% of the songs they played were these really slow tempo songs. I'm guessing that's probably typical for MMJ, but it wasn't quite what I expected. I desperately wanted them to deliver the rock. I kept thinking, "Please, please let this song rock." When they rock out, I really love MMJ. When they don't for long stretches, I just get kind of bored. I don't mind slow songs, but please not four or five in a row. Part of the problem may have been that I was further from the stage than I normally like, so I was already more disconnected from the performance than usual, but all the slow songs in a row definitely did not help.
 
 I didn't like the sound either. Way too much reverb/echo on the vocals for my tastes. Much of the lyrics were unintelligible. Some of the songs required the effect, but most didn't. Just came across as kind of muddy.[/b]

I completely disagree.  I don't know which show you were at, but I thought the Tuesday setlist was terrific.  I actually said to my sister as we were leaving the club that I thought they did a great job of sticking to their more rocking song.  I agree that the beginning of the encore was slow, but that was the only part that felt to me like they weren't going totally balls out.  To say 70% of the show was slow songs is outrageous (unless you were at the Monday show, but judging from the setlist there that would still be a gross exaggeration).  And if you don't like reverb, MMJ is definitely not the band for you.

[brennser]

Originally posted by Tom Servo:
 
 The other show this year that I'd put in this category would be Alejandro Escovedo.  

yeah, that show was friggin amazing - like Ed said, its a shame more people don't come out to his shows

[Darth Ed]

Originally posted by thingsfallapart:
 I actually said to my sister as we were leaving the club that I thought they did a great job of sticking to their more rocking song.  I agree that the beginning of the encore was slow, but that was the only part that felt to me like they weren't going totally balls out.  To say 70% of the show was slow songs is outrageous (unless you were at the Monday show, but judging from the setlist there that would still be a gross exaggeration).  And if you don't like reverb, MMJ is definitely not the band for you.

I think you're right, about them not being the band for me, but I'll stick by the 70% comment. Other than "Off the Record" and "Gideon" and maybe one other song, I didn't see or hear much in the way of rock during their first set. And, frankly, "Gideon" was a let-down compared to the other performances I've seen of that song on youtube.com. If they were sticking to their more rocking songs on Tuesday, then I would have hated Monday night's show for sure.

[shtee223]

did the monday show have the sheet thing in front of the stage for the beginning as well? i thought it worked really really well for "one big holiday" as an opener, but i wasn't sure if it would work as well for "anytime"

[palahniukkubrick]

Originally posted by shtee223:
  did the monday show have the sheet thing in front of the stage for the beginning as well? i thought it worked really really well for "one big holiday" as an opener, but i wasn't sure if it would work as well for "anytime"

you know that little keyboard intro? the sheet was up for that and dropped when the guitars kicked in. It worked well, IMO.