My Morning Jacket @Williamburg Park, Aug. 19th
Rolled into the fan club line early courtesy of Wawa and managed to get up front on the rail very easily. All the people around me assured me that it'd be a great time tonight in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, for my first experience, and boy, they weren't kidding. I also had the company of emmyjane and Angela from turntable.fm, so we awaited the entrance of Jim James and Co. like a bunch of kids on Xmas morning.
(More pics and words after the jump. Click to enlarge.)
Granted, I am a casual fan of MMJ, so I didn't know every tune they played, but their music is so sweeping, it reaches way into you regardless of your familiarity. Jim James' voice is so joyful and stirring. While my focus remained on him for most of the show, we stood in front of guitarist Carl Broemel, who was a BEAST.
I love seeing a show with a good crowd of fans (especially one like my buddy Wawa, who spazzed out many times), and this bunch did not disappoint for the most part. Even when a drunken bimbo slammed her way up front and tried to steal a spot on the rail (we did manage to get security to escort her out) and ruined the vibe for about ten minutes, I was able to regain my focus on this magnificent spectacle of a band and walk away completely blown away.
Set-wise, they hit a good mix of songs across their albums, including emmyjane's "Lay Low" and Wawa's requested "I Can Never Take the Place of Your Man" (Prince Cover). Dean Wareham of Luna, Galaxie 500, etc. fame also joined the band during the encore for a cover of George Harrison's "Isn't It a Pity." It had been ages since I'd seen him so it wasn't immediately obvious to us who he was. D'oh.
Wawa asked me before the show began whether I'd be interested in catching MMJ in December in Portchester, NY, and I told him it'd on how much I enjoyed tonight's performance. The concert tonight was really excellent. Now I don't know if I want to tarnish my memory of it with an experience that would be hard pressed to top this one.
1 comment:
Don't be scared to go to the next show. They are all amazing. While being on the rail provides a phenomenal experience, the show is still great without that benefit. Just some words from an MMJ fanatic who has seen his fair share of shows from the front of the crowd to the back.
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