My Morning Jacket plays glorious gig for hometown crowd

Were you there? Did you shoot photos? Share 'em and see those from others here!

Some nights everything just seems to fall together in fairy-tale fashion, a confluence of events that leaves 10,000 people drained, smiling and wearing their hometown like it was a badge of honor.

Saturday was one of those nights. Louisville’s My Morning Jacket came home for a show on the Great Lawn at Waterfront Park, selling all of the 10,000 tickets printed — and they could have sold more. A full moon shone down on a perfect summer’s evening, the weather cool and the band on fire.

Click here to see a video as the crowd filed in

It was more than a concert in many respects. It was a celebration of music, friends, family and home. When Mayor Jerry Abramson slipped up during his introduction and called the band Our Morning Jacket, he couldn’t have made a more perfect mistake.

“You can’t choose where you pop out in this world,” singer Jim James told the crowd at one point, “but I’m glad I popped out right here in Louisville, Kentucky.”

My Morning Jacket tore through more than 30 songs in three hours, touching on all phases of its 10-year career. By the time they wrapped it up with a blazing version of “One Big Holiday” that had the crowd surging, MMJ had proven once again that there isn’t a better live rock ‘n’ roll band on the planet.

My Morning Jacket is touring behind its recent album, “Evil Urges,” and seemed energized by the new songs, especially the title track, “I’m Amazed,” “Aluminum Park” and a bone-crushing “Highly Suspicious” that blurred the lines between rock, dance and pop music.

Longtime fans were treated to a handful of vintage Jacket dating back to the band’s nightclub days, highlighted by “The Way That He Sings” and an awesomely beautiful “Phone Went West” that nearly levitated the stage.

Speaking of awesome, the Louisville Leopard Percussionists opened with a set that could have charmed the hardest heart. The grade-schoolers rocked, and even taught MMJ a thing or two when the band joined them for War’s “Low Rider” and Santana’s “Oye Como Va.”

Add a comment