My Morning Jacket @ The Greek 9/19/08

The Jacket at the Greek last night. With mist, light rain, and breezes flowing through the venue, the band put on a beautiful performance full of thunder, showmanship (from Olliges of course), patience, and sun drenched soul. If you haven't caught an Evil Urges tour stop yet please get with the program. This is the best rock n' roll band out there today. Clocking at approximately 2 hours and 40 minutes this show was slightly shorter than the Red Rocks show I caught in August but for my money was simply louder and possibly, dare i say, better! Of course, my position in the amphitheater was significantly improved over Red Rocks, standing Jim-side just five rows back, rising at stage level on the concrete slabs that create the "greekness" of this theater.

It was a uniquely arranged and often a uniquely performed Jacket show. Although the band rocks out hard they often are not throwing down mind-bending improvisational segments. However, the Dondante from last night deserves a second and third listen. Slowly building to the "jam" section this Dante began to take shape in the form of a groove centric monster. Usually focused on winding and interlocking psychedelic guitar lines, this version stormed through with powerful swing. Being so near the sub woofer and speaker column I was able to appreciate the rhythm section so much more then Red Rocks when the sound seemed to drift toward me. Last night, my head was throbbing from the sonic overload.

A mid set War Begun, Dancefloors combo highlighted slight setlist changes that continued to make this show feel unique. Throw in a Rollin' Back, Lay Low segment in the encore coupled with a Cobra that included a speed metal section in its rocking middle and the Jacket once again provided the Bay Area with musical candy. This band is packed with emotion, joy, and power. If you can't get behind that its rough in the jungle for you.

Here's to hoping my hometown show in Portland and the opera house show in Seattle can live up to this night. Be well ya'll.

The Phish

owwww...been a long time.

so much happening in the world. if you haven't checked out the one link i possess over on the right side of the page, do yourself a favor a take a look at www.phishthoughts.com. With the Phish world revving up in the name of the Trey's return with his classic band and all the reunion rumors that are essentially confirmed by anyone that matters (i.e., band members) it is time to reminice about crystaline memories from days gone by. There truly is no better read that a daily post by Mr.Miner. Trust me on this one. Best Phish reference on the internet for people who love the band. Its all Phish crack all the time, including a staggering amount of downloads that will keep you happy until Trey announces his full slate of dates and pretty much until Phish does.