People still talk with awe and reverence about seeing bands like Zeppelin, The Stones, and The Who back in their prime. Those classic rock juggernauts often serve as a template by which lots of current bands can draw comparisons and measure success while also serving as badges of honor for those fortunate enough to have attended their shows. Maybe one day, thirty years from now, I can look back and brag to younger generations that I was there to see My Morning Jacket, a band destined to be put into the pantheon of legendary rock acts. Being a veteran of many previous Jacket shows and an unabashed fan, I had them highlighted as a must-see for this trip to Wakarusa and have been equally as excited about their new album, Circuital. To say I was looking forward to their Friday night set would be a major understatement. Needless to say, the band did not disappoint; in fact it may have been one of their finest moments as they tore through a 2-hour set with a sense of urgency and purpose that might just put them on that path to conquering the world.
Circuital got an early spin, as the band opened up with back to back cuts, “Victory Dance” and the title track, both flawlessly played as if they’ve been part of the set for years. “Off the Record” and “I’m Amazed” kept things rolling along, before the familiar cymbal intros introduced “One Big Holiday,” their signature jam packed early into the set rather than closing the show as is often the case. Feeding off the energy and rapturous applause put forth by the packed field at Wakarusa’s Main Stage, My Morning Jacket never slowed down, dipping down for a 15-minute extended take on “Steam Engine,” stirring the echoes with “Gideon” and getting funky on “Touch Me I’m Going to Scream, Part 2” and with a surprisingly strong take on “Holdin’ On To Black Metal.” Jim James danced around stage, wearing knee-high fur boots for the first half of the show and his soon to be trademark cape during the opener and “Wordless Chorus”. His hair has also grown back out and he often sings with it obscuring his face in a throwback to the It Still Moves tour, when I caught my first glimpses of the band at the Cat’s Cradle. Other times, large stage fans blew his hair out and the crowd caught his intense, locked in expression as he stared outward or saddled up to Carl Broemel and Tommy Blankenship in solos and guitar freakouts. Bo Koster’s keyboards added a spectral haze to the set and Patrick Hallahan continued his unyielding assault on the drum kit, arms and hair flailing away in ecstasy.
Amazingly, it was their first performance in Arkansas and, although the festival crowd comes from all over the country, the locals were certainly graced with quite the debut. As for me, I will eagerly await further local dates myself and continue to pick my face up off the ground from last night’s show.
Setlist:
Victory Dance
Circuital
Off the Record
I’m Amazed
One Big Holiday
Holdin’ On To Black Metal
Gideon
Steam Engine
Outta My System
You Wanna Freak Out
Lay Low
First Light
Slow Slow Tune
Smokin’ From Shootin’
End of Run Thru
Touch Me Part 2
Wordless Chorus
Phone Went West
Mahgeetah
