Rock and Roll is not Dead

22 Sep

My Morning Jacket Concert – Berkley, CA 09/19/08

It was shaping up to be a wet, drizzly night, as people continued to pour into Berkely’s Greek Theatre open-air venue. Not even the wet weather seemed to deter this eclectic crowd of people, determined to have a good time, and see a great performance. The gentleman from Atlanta in front of me, with his teenage son, informed me that while he was in California for a bat mitzvah, he learned that MMJ was playing and left the temple early to catch the show. He had seen them in his home state and said that indeed they were one of the hottest live shows around. He was right.

As if rewarded for our faithfulness in waiting through the heavy mist, the sky opened up to a beautiful bay area night, moments before the first notes of “Evil Urges” rang out to an excited audience. No opening band was needed. Just MMJ doing a ton of music. 27 songs in all.

As the fog rolled in, it enveloped the crowd, so that we all seemed to be one with the band, and their dry ice and lighting spectacle.There was little banter from the stage, but there was a definite connection through the music, as Jim James and company went all out, dancing spastically, jumping around, and shaking their long hair, without regard to perceived coolness.

They were very tight in their playing, and playful in their arrangements and soloing. There was a great balance between all-out rockers, mid-tempo, and their mellow songs, where guitarist Carl Broemel, sat down at the pedal steel and took us back to an era before super-slick production stripped away the wonderful organic tones of the instruments themselves.

I am always hesitant to see one of my favorite bands in person for the first time. Worried that somehow, they will disappoint and leave a bad taste for their music in my mouth. This was definitely not the case with this show. Quite the opposite. It will be a beautiful memory of a wonderful night of great music and great friends.