It's funny how things turn out sometimes. When I was preparing for law school, I knew I'd miss out on certain things due to time commitments and so on. On the other hand, I wasn't going to miss out on seeing My Morning Jacket live once again. If you don't understand the grave nature of this matter, I recommend you click the My Morning Jacket tag on this post, or let this link here do all that work for you.
I originally cursed the scheduling mastermind behind MMJ's recent tour, who once again put the Oregon date during a time that I would be in school. At least this time they had the courtesy to schedule a show in the middle of the semester, instead of the day after I fly back east. Makes the pain a little easier to swallow. So, knowing that I was going to miss out on that date, I put thoughts of seeing MMJ live on the backburner. Well that was the case until I got a case of "No beer and no TV make Nic Ouzo go something something" during my first week in school, and that prompted me to consult the schedule once again. Damn, no New York dates, except one for New Year's Eve. But...I see a date in Boston. That should be manageable, I've done that trip before. And it's on a Saturday? Fuck, the second I realized this I was on the Ticketmaster website purchasing a ticket at 3 in the morning, details of my travel to be determined at a later date. Hell, I was only semi-coherently angry in seeing my 31 dollar ticket run me over 50 dollars in service fees--I was set to see My Morning Jacket!
A five hour bus ride (thanks NYC weekend getaway traffic!), one night without air-conditioning, and two subway rides later, I hit the Bank of America Pavilion and prepared myself for the evening. MMJ fans had swarmed the Silver Line earlier, packing the bus to the gills (which I guess is what you can call that expandable-rubber joint that extra-long buses have), and the excitement was palpable. We all knew the reputation and all probably watched Okonokos dozens of times, so we realized we were in for something special. The setting looked like it would help--an outdoor amphitheater with the benefit of a giant tent to keep out the elements, a kind of modern circus that befits a band that writes a tune like "Into the Woods".
I was wondering who the opening band was going to be, but with the instruments set up with the trademark Bear in place, I quickly realized that we were not going to mess with a middleman opening act, which was great news--we need all the My Morning Jacket we can get. It also made me glad that I decided to get to the show early, and not gamble on missing the opening act. We didn't have to wait long as the band climbed up on stage and then launched into "Mahgeetah". It's not often that bands have a song that works equally as well as a closer (as it was on Okonokos) as it does an opener (like on It Still Moves), and it didn't take long for the audience to begin to feel the magic as the song evolved and wrapped its warmness around us. How can you not love a song about a man's devotion to his six string (say the song title slowly)...?
The band then kicked into gear with the raucous "Anytime", the happiest goddamn song you'll ever hear about a breakup, with a good helping of the crowd singing along, especially to the part "But what Madonna said really helped--she said, 'Boy, you better learn to express yourself!'", hilariously enough. You follow that up with the slinky "Off the Record" featuring a ripping solo courtesy of Jim James, and you're well on your way to a fantastic show.
After that, we began to hear the new material, beginning with "Evil Urges", and give the audience an idea of how this strange album would play out live. I have mixed emotions about the album, which will probably be hashed out in more detail at a later date, but hearing them live both calmed me and made me realize my worst fears. You get the feeling of fun that is definitely present, but, like a lot of MMJ's work, they straddle the line of good and cheesy a little too much on a lot of the new material. You get the feeling with a song like "I'm Amazed" that the Brosephs identify with it a little too much, and sure enough, you look in the crowd and see your fair share of Broseph (Boston variety, to top it off) looking like idiots dancing along to it. But you know what, I was going to wrestle with that dilemma another night. I had too much great music to listen to.
New material dominated the night, with nearly the entirety of Evil Urges being showcased (though Joe will be disappointed that unlike most shows on this tour, "Librarian" did not make an appearance (and on a sidenote, how come in all the talk about Skinemax-librarian-type Sarah Palin did I not see one comment quoting that song? I'm disappointed in you, internet commentators for that egregious oversight)). Z rightfully got its due, but most of the earlier stuff was ignored. I had gotten a little obsessed with "Lowdown" lately, and sadly it hadn't come up much on this tour--neither had "At Dawn", "Xmas Curtain", "I Think I'm Going To Hell", "Bermuda Highway", or "The Bear". Then again, what I thought at the time were a couple of covers turned out to be songs from the first two albums. With the small applause reserved for those songs (and for "The Way That He Sings", which is inexcusable), you can see how a band that got its big break about 4 albums in wouldn't necessarily feel like delving into the back catalog.
The band was in top form that night, and it felt like they were really feeling the energy of the crowd. Of course, MMJ is a true group of professionals, and who knows if it was merely a routine effort from extraordinary musicians, but they seemed especially keyed in that night, remarking how riled up we were even with the shitty weather rolling in (Hurricane Hanna's outer edges were hitting New England, and leaving the show we felt the brunt of that). Jim was flying across the stage doing his solos, Carl played some blistering leads, and Two-Tone Tommy was holding down the fort at the low-end. It was tough to see Bo, but the underrated member of the quintet had his moments to shine, and the crowd recognized it, while Patrick was his usual goofy self, with his theatrics during "Run Thru" greatly appreciated by the audience. Jim's passion was running especially high that night, and to see him doing his theatrical act with his cloak, or shaking himself to the floor as he sang those unearthly high notes in "Wordless Chorus" was truly a spectacle.
Unquestionably though, there was one true highlight, and both Joe and Mr. Zhuang know what I'm talking about. I've been able to make dozens of people converts (at a 100% success rate) to the religion that is My Morning Jacket by playing just a few of their songs--I start off with "Off the Record", and they think that's pretty cool, then show "One Big Holiday", and they start to feel it, then it's "Dondante", where they get some chills. But there is one song that tops them all, and that's "Lay Low". It's six minutes that make you believe in the full weight of Vonnegut's quote that "The only proof he ever needed of the existence of God was the existence of music", and as my colleagues will affirm, that is no hyperbole. Sure, the first three minutes of it is pretty groovy riff-rock, and you know it might just play well with the ladies--lay low, if the feel is right, I got all that I want in you tonight, and we'll pass out on the bedroom floor after going full-tilt so long--but once the outro kicks in, all bets are off. You have guitars cycling in and out playing various melodies, lining up with the full band after a few bars in moments that are absolutely transcendent.
And that's how we get the title quote--once "Lay Low" was played, I sent a text message cross country to Joe and Zhuangy saying exactly that. All Joe could say was "Shit", with Mr. Zhuang responding with "I think you are right. Lucky Bastard." Of course, for My Morning Jacket, it's no big thing. Lay Low never ends the show, they just roll right into the next song. That's just how they roll.
