My Morning Jacket on stage (courtesy MyMorningJacket.com)
The Twilight Concert Series is held every year during the summer in Pioneer Park, SLC. In years past, the series was funded solely by the city, with 2012 being the first to charge an entry fee due to the mounting costs of holding such an enormous event. I was more than willing to part with the meager $5 fee, which was more a donation than anything else and hardly seemed enough given the caliber of artists the season long event attracts each Thursday.
Thursday the 2nd of August was no exception with Joshua James, who currently calls Utah home, gracing the stage as support to the headline act My Morning Jacket. A proud patriot, James and his band delivered a short and sweet 30 minute set, sadly only time enough for 5 songs. Although a bit pitchy in places, James’ unique vocal sound resonated well through the openness of the space with the acoustics remaining surprisingly solid – even with the gentle breeze blowing through the park. Hands down, the highlight of the set was when the a capella style strains of “Coal War” rang out. Showing no signs of the earlier pitch issues, James and the band delivered the song beautifully, bringing instant crowd engagement and reaching the masses with the obvious religious connection. A lovely surprise, Joshua James was a delight to see and listen to live. http://www.joshuajames.tv/blog/
Headliners for the night, My Morning Jacket opened their set with ‘evil urges’. From the get go, the band sound was really crisp and clear, particularly the guitar and piano with Jim James appearing on stage draped in a heavy cloak. Given the evening temperature was still hovering over the 30 degree mark, the cape was soon discarded as they moved into ‘off the record’ (which was spot on) and ‘circuital’.
Accompanied by the obligatory smoke machine and light show, I remember musing early on that the crowd were noticeably subdued. Thinking this a little strange, my olfactory system soon discovered the likely cause as the overpowering smell of dope filled the air. Now, I’ve been to countless festivals and gigs during my time, but not even Parliament Funkadelic came close to the nasal assault that the teenage crowd of Salt Lake delivered. The band must have copped it too as the irony was not lost when ‘out of my system’ started piping from the stage.
The set list for the night was an experiment in fluidity with KRCL (community radio station) giving a shout-out in the afternoon to support MMJ’s ‘spontaneous curation’ approach by asking fans to tweet with song suggestions As suggestions came in, the band appeared to pick what to play next on-the-fly. Thankfully, ‘first light’ made the list, as did ‘black metal’ (and rightfully so!) which gets the nod for the highlight of the set for being the only song the band actually appeared to enjoy playing.
To be perfectly honest, I was a little disappointed with MMJ live. While I enjoy their music and their sound on the night was nothing short of great, they appeared to be a bit disconnected from what they were playing and, in significant contrast to Joshua James, from the crowd. Perhaps, ultimately it was the set list they chose to go with, which appeared a little too safe and was performed like they were just going through the motions. With ‘I’m amazed’, ‘phone went west’ and ‘Mahgeetah’ as a seven minute filler, the set list was clearly a low key selection, perhpas giving some truth to the rumour that Salt Lake is viewed as a ‘night off’ for any touring band…
In all fairness though, the band was getting a nonchalant vibe from the crowd and I guess, responded accordingly. Unfortunately, Twilight Concert Series doesn’t typically attract crowds of true fans to see the headline act so the lackluster engagement was probably more owing to the fact the majority of the audience were only there for some freedom from their olds, not necessarily to see the band. Either way, MMJ lacked the energy and subsequent engagement I was expecting which left me a little disappointed. Despite the great sound, a little more enthusiasm on both sides would’ve lifted the performance a couple of notches. Not totally lost, I would see them play again, although at a gig of their own where the crowd interaction and connection would be likely be significantly improved. Rating? Unfortunately, MMJ didn’t do it for me this time round so I can only give them 7 dope smoking teenagers out of 10.
http://www.mymorningjacket.com/
MMJ set list:
EVIL URGES
OFF THE RECORD
CIRCUITAL
WAY HE SINGS
OUTTA MY SYSTEM
FIRST LIGHT
LAYLOW
BLACK METAL
PHONE WENT WEST
GOLDEN
EVELYN
IM AMAZED
WAR BEGUN
TOUCH ME PT.2
MAHGEETAH
RUN THRU
GIDEON
——–
VICTORY DANCE
WORDLESS
ONE BIG HOLIDAY
crazy cat music 