There’s nothing that can quite compare to the perfect storm when everything lines up to create the most monumental of experiences. It’s rare for a music fan to have all their needs met. Sometimes, walking out of the show and onto the street, there’s that feeling of complete satisfaction.
This past Thursday, May 30th, was night three of My Morning Jacket’s four-night residency at one of the world’s most quaint and legitimate music venues, San Francisco’s own, the Fillmore. With a capacity of around 1300, diehard fans of the Louisville-based iconic rock and roll outfit stuffed themselves into the packed house for four nights of absolutely incredible music. With no repeated songs, it was more a matter of when, not if, they would play your favorite tune.

As fans jockeyed for position in the storied showroom originally built in 1912, it felt like a family affair. The fan page had been buzzing for months, and it was only a matter of minutes before you met all your neighbors. When the lights finally faded to black and MMJ’s hauntingly, low-droned, prepare-to-launch intro music reverberated off the walls, the Fillmore went ballistic. The best thing about a four-night run with no repeats is that each night provides a piece of the band’s historical puzzle, and the fans get to choose which story they want to tell.
Jim James and company took the plant-laden, jungled-infused stage with ”Regularly Scheduled Programming, the first release of their self-titled record. It wasn’t until they dropped into “Off the Record” a couple of songs later that they fully achieved lift-off.

Each night’s setlist was a curated masterpiece seemingly designed to match the excitement level of anyone who attended on any or all of the nights. Absolute crushers were interspersed with living room-style ballads to create an atmosphere where any night could have been described as their best performance of the run. When all was said and done, the entire experience proved to be the icing on the cake. With silhouetted rock n roll and peace signs bobbing through the air and heads banging to the guitar-laden jams, they moved through the sing-along classic “Lowdown” and crowd favorite, an epic 18:28 version of “Steam Engine.”
MMJ has an uncanny ability to reintroduce you to songs you may or may not already know. After any given show, I seem to have a new favorite song. The heart of Thursday’s set concluded with “Wasted,” and its guitar work seemed to rage into infinity. When they finally walked off the stage, you could tell something special was about to happen.

Reclaiming the stage for their extended encore, they brought a true touch of gold. For a band that can do no wrong, they did not disappoint. A heart-melting version of “Sooner,” made even more beautiful by their 2004 EP, Acoustic Citsouga, had me huddling even closer to the crew I spent the run with. If that wasn’t enough, James stunned the crowd with a breathtaking version of Elton John’s “Rocket Man” followed by a fiery “Smoking’ From Shooting.”
While the Jacket could have left us completely satisfied, they had one more treat in store in the form of a show-stopping “Phone Went West.” With the complete audience singing harmony on the chorus, the Fillmore went into a frenzy until James slowed it down for an offshoot of Journey’s “Lights,” an ode to the Bay Area where this streak of magic had just been created before our eyes.









