For me, live shows are characterized by a symbiotic relationship; the atmosphere of a venue combined with the overall crowd energy and performance of the headlining band inform the overall experience. When you're going to see a favorite artist, these feelings are always intensified, especially when a road trip is involved, making it more of a musical pilgrimage. My Morning Jacket is undoubtedly one of the darlings of my musical collection, and their live show never disappoints. Last Tuesday’s performance with the Preservation Hall Jazz Band was no exception.
The St. Augustine Amphitheatre is a lovely outdoor theater; it seems intimate and cozy when you see it from the parking lot, shaded by mature oaks dripping in Spanish moss, yet it opens up unexpectedly into a full-scale venue. Once inside, I was surprised by a loud and clear sound system and excellent views of the stage from nearly every location in the place. The show wasn’t sold out, either, which gave it an even more exclusive feel to the night's performance.
The band entered dramatically with a high energy instrumental lead-in to “One Big Holiday,” the stage lights casting a multi-hued glow on fog machine plumes blowing in the light, early evening breeze. My Morning Jacket hasn’t toured the U.S. since 2008 because vocalist/songwriter/guitarist Jim James has been occupied, releasing a solo album, Yim Yames, and collaborating with Conor Oberst and M. Ward in indie supergroup, The Monsters of Folk. They are clearly well-rested and excited to be touring together again, and came out rocking harder than I’ve seen them in years.
The set for the evening was filled with selections from their last three records, and two songs, “Losin Yo Head," and “His Master’s Voice,” off The Monsters of Folk (the latter performed acoustically by James alone). While they always put on an incredible live performance, their sets typically feature more songs from their earlier releases. The excitement of seeing the band perform material from a new album was also missing. MMJ is certainly overdue for a release, but the one new song, “Friends Again,” was a nice taste of what to expect from their next album. It's heavily tinged with 1950’s influences and an alt-country overtones, and ended with Jim James taking over lead guitar duties from Carl Broemel.
