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I got the great opportunity to photograph My Morning Jacket twice in thee days.  This is the first of the two shows.  Stay tuned for the next show posting!

If you do not know My Morning Jacket, stop right now and go listen to “One Big Holiday”.  It one of the most rocking straight up rock songs for the 2000′s so far.  They toured heavily as an opening band for Pearl Jam for several years and learned a lot from them about performing. 

My Morning Jacket played the wonderful DAR Constitution Hall in downtown Washington D.C. just blocks away from the infamous W’s White House.  Seems fitting considering that My Morning Jacket are touring for their 2008 adventurous album, Evil Urges.

Evil Urges is My Morning Jacket’s second consecutive departuring album from their begining sounds.  Their early recordings were drenched in reverb, soaring vocals, and very Neil Young roots rock feel.  The last two albums have been more adventurous in exploring different sounds and styles.  Jim James has been perfecting his falsetto voice and the jams are less and less traditional.  Critics are comparing their exploration into the unknown to be like Radiohead’s.

Their new material, though innovative and a departure from their comfort zones, translates very well in a live setting and it seems to be getting even better during the tour.  I passed up seeing the second night of Pearl Jam in Camden this year to see My Morning Jacket at the Radio City Music Hall in New York City less than a month after the album came out.  And since then, they have expanded the new song’s jams and are playing them with more confidence now.  Jim James at one point excitedly announced that the band signed the original copy of the constitution stating that when you come to play the Constitution Hall that all members get to sign it.

This band is owning 2008, their fan base is ground leaps and bounds in the last few years.  The fan base is now so large in fact that they are playing Madison Square Garden on New Years Eve in New York City which has a concert capacity of 20,000!!!!   It is hard to believe after seing them for years as an opening band for Pearl Jam or even Dave Matthews Band on the Vote for Change tour that these guys are finally getting the break that they deserve.   

Unbelievable night, and the final 6 song encore was an intense rokcing set at the end of an already 18 song set.  These guys put on a great show every night and it is nothing to see them play for 3 hours on any given night! 

The setlist for the night was:

Evil Urges
Anytime
Off the Record
Touch Me Pt 1
Two Halves
Golden
Thank You Too
I’m Amazed
The Way That He Sings
Sec Walkin
War Begun
Phone Went West
Cobra
Librarian
Dondante
Gideon
Lay Low
Steam Engine

Encore
Wordless Chorus
Highly Suspicious
Smokin’ from Shootin’
Touch Me Pt 2
Run Thru
One Big Holiday