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| My Morning Jacket @ the Fillmore (Photo: Sean Reiter) |
My Morning Jacket packed The Fillmore to the gills with a four-show run this week coming out of a daytime performance at BottleRock. It seemed that many in the audience were there for all four nights and had made the journey from out of town. MMJ’s team had packed as much light on stage as possible with more than a dozen huge lights behind the stage. Additionally, foliage had been brought in and hung from the ceiling from the back of the hall all the way to above stage and plants were place on the stage as well (in a very nice touch, night three of the run also saw the on-stage bear mascots dressed in Giants jerseys and hats). The stage – combined with the excitement of many making a long journey for the week’s performances gave the shows the feel of an arena show that had been packed into a 1,300-person dance hall.
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| My Morning Jacket @ the Fillmore (Photo: Sean Reiter) |
Night two of the run saw MMJ doing a deep exploration of their more heartwarming and touching songs. The opening trio perhaps belied the night’s tender-hearted nature - as “In Color” started off soft and sweet but built to a powerful climax. “It’s about Twilight Now” with its surf music vibe and “Strangulation” showed the band’s acuity at laying into a straight up Southern rock ballad.
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| My Morning Jacket @ the Fillmore (Photo: Sean Reiter) |
But songs like “Slow, Slow Tune” and “Way He Sings” were delivered at a heart-tugging crawl with moments of crescendo tossed in. Throughout the night, Keyboardist Bo Koster and multi-instrumentalist Carl Broemel added a ton to the vibe with both his slide guitar and pedal steel. “Never in the Real World” seemed like drummer Patrick Hallahan and bassist Tom Blackenship were bringing thunder, while James held the vocal reigns back a bit to ensure the pace stayed more in keeping with the early night’s theme. James let loose one of his “Woo”s before unleashing a fierce solo that pushed the proceeding forward at a faster pace. On both nights, James wore a rose on the lapel of his white Kentucky vest suit with a red shirt underneath.
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| The My Morning Jacket crowd @ the Fillmore (Photo: Sean Reiter) |
As night two continued, the tender “How Could I Know” was a terrific balance of James’ sweet love song voice and Broemel’s slide mastery. “I Will Sing You Songs” led into the band doing a soft-paced cover of Neil Young’s “Harvest Moon” that elicited a rising level of cheers as the audience members recognized the song in waves.
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| My Morning Jacket @ the Fillmore (Photo: Sean Reiter) |
The night turned from its slower pace with MMJ’s 14th song of the night when they delivered a hypnotic version of “Victory Dance” that had the crowd roaring and dancers all over the historic dance floor as James prowled the stage wearing his vocal effects box. The song evolved from trancelike to a locomotive toward the end of the song.
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| My Morning Jacket @ the Fillmore (Photo: Sean Reiter) |
From there, the band abandoned the softer side for faster-paced rock ‘n’ roll – first bringing forth a hard version of Aluminum Park and following that up with a blitzkrieg speed cover of the Beach Boys’ “I Get Around” that saw James finish the beloved California-anthem with a screaming solo. They finished the main set with a blistering “Anytime” that was highlighted by Koster’s piano and Hallahan’s thundering drums.
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| My Morning Jacket @ the Fillmore (Photo: Sean Reiter) |
James emerged for the encore with a huge smile. “The Fillmore!” he roared. “We are here! We are live here inside The Fillmore! Of all the places we could be on earth, we all are right here - alive in the Fillmore. How lucky are we?”
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| My Morning Jacket @ the Fillmore (Photo: Sean Reiter) |
“It’s like a constant river of memories in the Bay Area. We’ve made music here. We’ve recorded here. We did Harvest Moon earlier and I was thinking of when we did the Bridge School Benefit and got to do that with Neil. It’s fu#*ing crazy! The energy of this area is so thick and so powerful and so real!”
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| My Morning Jacket @ the Fillmore (Photo: Sean Reiter) |
The band then delivered a four-song encore that featured interludes of “Sleepwalk” and “Dear Prudence” before ending with a rowdy and raucous version of “One Big Holiday” that sent the crowd happily down the stairs for the eagerly awaited free Fillmore event posters.
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| My Morning Jacket @ the Fillmore (Photo: Sean Reiter) |
Night three brought a much different vibe and pace as MMJ went primarily with big, strong songs – starting with “Regularly Scheduled Programming,” Hallahan driving a huge “Compound Fracture” and then the band completely sprinting out of the barn with “Off the Record.” They explored their psychedelic side with “Tropics (Erases Traces)” bringing haunting drums and bass to accompany James’ expansive vocals and then James strapping on an acoustic for a gorgeous “Death Is the Easy Way.” The intro to “If It Smashes Down” (performed for the first time in six years and only the fourth time ever.
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| My Morning Jacket @ the Fillmore (Photo: Sean Reiter) |
“Least Expected” saw James throw in a freestyle rap version of Bob Marley “One love…Let’s get together…and feel alright” and was later followed by “Steam” with the Fillmore disco ball filling the hall with wild light as Broemel donned his saxophone and brought an improvisational jazz vibe to the song. A rare performance of “By My Car” began with James on a hollow body guitar and accompanied only by soft drums and Broemel’s pedal steel. “I’m Amazed” began with James backed only by guitar before the full band kicked in after his wailing “Where is the Justice?” plea. MMJ’s incredible version of the song brought the loudest roar of the middle two nights and biggest singing along.
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| My Morning Jacket @ the Fillmore (Photo: Sean Reiter) |
The main set was finished by three blistering songs as “Believe” once again showcased Koster’s piano with its positive message, “Lay Low” reached a huge finish and “Wasted” saw Hallahan bring it home after big guitar solos and the band at one time freezing mid-song in a most dramatic pause.
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| My Morning Jacket @ the Fillmore (Photo: Sean Reiter) |
“Oh San Francisco! Oh, the magic of the Bay Area! Oh yeah!” James exclaimed as he led MMJ out for the encore with a chant. “The spirits are thick in the Bay Area oh yeah! What a beautiful night it’s been! We’ve been in the star chamber – all space and time gone. And that’s a good thing! We’re just so grateful to be here with you all!”
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| My Morning Jacket @ the Fillmore (Photo: Sean Reiter) |
A rather chill version of “Sooner” started it out and led nicely into a terrific full cover of Elton John’s “Rocket Man” that had the crowd swooning under the lights of the disco ball as an acoustic guitar-playing James led the band. Their version was true to form but also featured several unique tweaks that put an MMJ stamp on it. “Smoking from Shooting” and “Phone Went West” – which featured a brief interlude of Journey’s “Lights” – finished out the third night and had many in the crowd hungry to complete their musical cycle with the night four show to come.
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