My Morning Jacket satiates its Chicago fans on Christmas weekend

December 27, 2008, at the Chicago Theatre

By Genevieve Diesing
Published: December 30th, 2008 | 1:05pm

Two months may have seemed like an agonizing amount of time for Chicagoans to wait to see alternative country group My Morning Jacket, whose October performances were postponed when singer Jim James injured himself by falling off the stage during a performance earlier that month. Yet, after churning out a satisfying mix of solemn, spot-lit ballads and unwinding instrumental jams at the Chicago Theatre Saturday night, the Kentucky-based quintet surely eliminated any hard feelings.

Not that My Morning Jacket devotees are the kind to hold a grudge. Concertgoers proved this when they packed the iconic theater, overflowed out of its rows of chairs to dance, and saluted the band with raised beer cups, fist pumps, and cell phone cameras. The undeniable scent of pot wafted around and possibly up to the elegant venue’s enormous chandelier.

The group kicked off its 24-song set with “Evil Urges,” the high-strung title track to its 2008 ATO release. Songs from Urges dominated the night, such as the transfixing “Librarian,” a transcendent ode to a prototypical literary crush. James sang the soft tune under a single spotlight on the right side of the stage with a spine-tingling clarity. Another standout Urges track, “Highly Suspicious,” contrasted James’ daintiest Prince-impression falsetto against a metal-tinged chorus.

If James experienced any trauma from his temporarily debilitating accident, he didn’t let on. He admitted to the crowd the group was “really bummed” to have missed its initial shows — especially a fundraising performance scheduled for Obama’s presidential run. Luckily, he said, “It didn’t matter, because Obama did that shit!”

When audience members weren’t rocking gently to beckoning harmonies or losing themselves in the balls-out, psychedelic groove segments, they were likely part of the chorus of hooting, screaming praise that persisted throughout the night. In keeping with the mysterious vibe created by a somewhat-blinding, full-spectrum light show and two slightly menacing images of eyeballs projected on to the stage for the duration of the set, James concluded the night in a full-length black cape, from which he tended to peek out in a bat-like fashion for emphasis.

After two and a half hours from its 8 p.m. start — including a generous encore — My Morning Jacket had treated its fans to a virtual turntable of its range of sound. Though long awaited, the crowd left the Chicago Theatre significantly more sweaty and satisfied than it had come.

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For more photos from this show, visit Venus Zine's Flickr Page.
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Review of My Morning Jacket's Evil Urges