Tuesday, January 6, 2009

My Morning Jacket New Years Eve 2008


Now I know this is a little late but I think it's something that must be shared with the world. On new years eve 2008, my girlfriend and I went to see My Morning Jacket at Madison Square Garden and it was one of the best nights of my life. We took the subway down there and as we got closer to the garden, we started to see people dressed up in the most bizarre outfits,  ranging from tuxedos and party gowns, to long curly wigs and tie die shirts. We immediately felt under dressed in our regular clothes. 
We were sitting there for about an hour as the arena began to fill up with more of the same crowd and at about 9:15, the band went on. They opened with a cover version of Move On Up by Curtis Mayfield and although most of the crowd did not know the words (myself included), we all went crazy. Next they played the title track from their new album Evil Urges but this time, the crowd went crazier. Both the audience and the band were filled with tons of energy and we knew we were in for a wild night.

They continued to play until 11:40, playing mostly their own songs but they pulled out a few covers by Marvin Gaye, Charles Wright and Dion. All funk songs and all packed with enthusiasm. They ended their first set with Mahgeetah, a personal favorite and promised the hungry crowd they'd be back in 20 minutes, just in time to ring in the new year. 

Surely enough, at precisely 11:59 and with 20 seconds to go, they started the countdown and at midnight, they dropped a huge projection screen down from in front of the band to reveal that they had changed into white tuxedos, equipped with matching top hats and canes. They played Celebration by Kool & the Gang, a major crowd pleaser, and Get Down On It, also by Kool. Their second set was just as good as their first possibly even better. The crowd was completely psyched up and was dancing like there wasn't anyone watching. 

Definitely one of the best concerts I have ever been to and probably the most fun. They put on a great show and played almost all of their best songs. If you have the means to see them, I highly recommend it.

1 comment:

  1. I couldn't put the night into words myself, but you got it right. What a great summary. It makes me want to go back and do it again!

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