My Morning Jacket – Next Stop Austin

For those of you lucky enough to have tickets to tonights SOLD OUT MMJ show at Stubb’s, here is a little taste of what’s to come via ATH’s Dallas TX correspondent.

The band played the Palladium Theater in south Dallas Saturday night to a packed and enthusiastic crowd. This venue is similar to Austin Music Hall in size and presentation, but even with a line stretching around the block waiting on the doors, there were tickets still available (for a time) at the box office.

Show review and pictures after the jump

My Morning Jacket is playing without an opening act on this leg of the tour, and with sets stretching to nearly three hours, you don’t feel cheated. The show hit the ground running just after 9PM with Evil Urges, the first track from the new album of the same name. And say what you will about the new album’s change in direction and strange vocal and instrumental choices, but these songs thrive in a live setting. See below for the setlist.

Aside from the few folksier, slower, tracks such as Sec Walkin’ tossed in to tap the brakes, the set screamed along at 90mph almost the entire time. It was a flurry of crowd favorites, epics, and torch songs, with guitar freak outs thrown in to taste. If you passed out drunk after the first 7 songs, it would still have been the best show you’ve seen all year; Evil Urges, Off the Record, Gideon, Wonderful Man, The Way He Sings, Touch Me I’m Going to Scream Pt 1, and I’m Amazed.

Capping off the first set, Touch Me I’m Going to Scream Pt 2 serves as a perfect bookend to it’s prequel, just like on the album. The crowd goes nuts, and waits for the inevitable encore. The first song of the encore wasn’t familiar to me, but with it’s soulful vibe, I figured it was just an old cover further displaying Jim James’ recent all consuming interest in the Al Green’s and Marvin Gaye’s of this world. And then, for the second verse, Erykah Badu!! (Dallas’ own) steps out to finish Call Tyrone, a track from her 1997 Live album. They bring the house down with this one (youtube it.) Seriously. A lesser band would have had to leave the stage after that.  How do you follow that?  Easy. Wordless Chorus, Highly Suspicious, Cobra, Anytime, Run Thru, One Big Holiday. Thank you and good night. All and all, an unimpeachable combination of great songs and incredible performance. Definitely one to remember.

If you can’t make it to tonight’s show at Stubb’s, beg borrow or steal your way into the ACL Taping happening tomorrow night at the UT Campus. This band is not to be missed.

Setlist:

Evil Urges
Off the Record
Gideon
Wonderful Man
The Way He Sings
Touch Me Pt. 1
I’m Amazed
Thank You Too
Sec Walkin
Golden
Two Halves
War Begun
Laylow
Aluminum Park
Mahgeetah
Phone Went West
Bermuda Highway (Jim solo)
Look At You
Dondante
Smokin From Shootin
Touch Me Pt. 2
——
Tyrone (with Erykah Badu)

Wordless Chorus
Highly Suspicious
Cobra
Anytime
Run Thru
One Big Holiday

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