Pleasant surprises never lose their charm and, considering the high expectations projected on My Morning Jacket, it's a wonder they manage to go so far above and beyond. Louisville, Kentucky's red-hot quintet arrived fresh off their marathon Bonnaroo appearance to entertain the Toronto faithful with their expansive palette and, Monday night be damned, the Kool Haus crowd was rarin' to go.
The title track from this spring's Evil Urges opened MMJ's two-hour set
smoothly, easing both band and audience into the show. The evening's
first five songs showcased five different musical moods, all executed
with virtuous fervor. Interestingly, frontman Jim James' flexible voice
is often the only potential giveaway that the listener may be hearing a
MMJ number. The band is almost as stylistically broad as Ween, albeit
with less humor. Moving gracefully through funk, R&B, psychedelia,
Southern rock, bittersweet ballads and everything in between, James
and his boys poured themselves into the performance.
Grounded by Patrick Hallahan’s sturdy beats, the exalted collective
wailed and serenaded with immaculate tactility. Each player brings
significant gifts to the table, the sum of the band’s parts forging a
symphonic juggernaut. Just when the room had been whipped into a wrath,
James’ contemplative wordplay would usher us into the eye of the storm,
only to be capped off by more faultless fury.
Leaning heavily on the new album, and obliging proudly when the
grateful fans cheered for old classics, MMJ justified the build up.
James donned a cape and belted the falsetto of "Wordless Chorus" to
open a notably strong encore, as the band made obvious its unaffected
joy of being onstage. With shining musicianship, lyrical depth and a
creative genius at the helm, the sky's the limit for My Morning Jacket.
Don't miss them!
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