By: Alexander Broadwell

Friday night 8:30: My Morning Jacket took the stage in a relatively empty Fillmore at Jackie Gleason Theater in Miami. People slowly filled up the theater during the show, and they would all witness one of, if not THE best live music experiences today. Surprisingly opening with “Touch Me I’m Going to Scream pt. 2”, they quickly established just how exciting the night was going to be with their use of incredible lighting, an electronic sound touch pad, mind-blowing riffs, and a vampire style cape, all on the first song. It’s refreshing to see a band like this onstage with so much raw talent and musicianship, but also not taking themselves too seriously at the same time. Look no further than the lobster sticker on James’ guitar to see he’s there to have fun.

They really seem to know the importance of putting on an actual show. Never will you see them droningly going through the motions. Either the lights freak out and create a fantastic spectacle, or James jumps right in the audience’s faces, close enough to where he almost hits a few audience members with his guitar head. Even the dud from Evil Urges “Highly Suspicious” was incredibly entertaining live. When a band can turn the worst song from their newest album into a genuinely fun live music moment, you know they must be doing something right.

Apart from the incredible showmanship, the pure talent cannot go unnoticed. Tommy Blankenship’s bass playing was essential, whether he was subtly thumping along or doing some insane funky slap bass. Carl Broemel brought his best as well, with his cool steel guitar playing and his jazzy saxophone playing. Patrick Hallahan is an incredible drummer. On the quieter songs he slowly but effectively tapped away, but he could just as easily absolutely steal the show on some of the harder ones. Enter frontman Jim James. One minute he will just be singing with his excellent classic rock voice, and the next he is putting himself in the ranks of Thom Yorke and Jónsi Þór Birgisson as a great falsetto singer. If the mood strikes, he can also let out what I can only describe as a barbaric shout that instantly gets the crowd jumping. Their use of reverb on his voice is simply brilliant. I also find amazing their ability to go from smooth Santana-esque solos to silly but impressive tapping solos like Van Halen. Some of their longer solos almost evoke The Allman Brothers, as the sweet melodies and awesome guitar tone go unmatched.

Highlights included “Lay Low,” “Run Thru,” and of course the closer “One Big Holiday,” which easily got the biggest reaction from the crowd. Much of the crowd seemed to get distracted and break into conversations during the slower numbers like “Dondante,” but I and some others around me were just entranced the entire time, which made the payoff when the slow ones morphed into epic solos and explosions of pure sound even more satisfying.

Admittedly, I didn’t know the words to very many of the songs, but I still had more fun at this show than at some where I knew every word sung the entire time. Even those that do not know My Morning Jacket at all should go see them. Take a chance, spend “an evening with My Morning Jacket,” forget openers, the more MMJ the better!

Show Setlist

1. Touch Me I'm Going To Scream Pt.2
2. Touch Me I'm Going To Scream Pt.1
3. Wordless Chorus
4. Evil Urges
5. Highly Suspicious
6. It Beats 4 U
6. Phone Went West
7. The Way That He Sings
8. Lay Low
9. Aluminum Park
10. Thank You Too!
11. Knot Comes Loose
12. Dondante
13. Smokin From Shootin
14. Gideon
15. I'm Amazed
16. Magheetah
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17. Off The Record
18. Anytime
19. Golden
20. Run Thru
21. One Big Holiday