Kentucky's Gentlemen

My Morning Jacket - Merriweather Post Pavilion - May 1, 2010


It was Kentucky Derby day, and Louisville's rock darlings were far from home. This, of course, was a boon for soundproof and thousands of other lucky listeners who descended upon Merriweather Post on a warm, sunny Saturday night.

Preservation Hall was in support, and these guys can just plain play. Fresh off a fantastic set at Jazzfest, they were full of life and energy, vim and vigor. A strange pairing, perhaps, but strangely appropriate given the musical diversity inherent in MMJ's sound. Jim James (or Yim Yames depending on how weird you're feeling today) contributed with the band on a Pres Hall benefit album last fall, and was welcomed onstage to perform one their songs together. And like at Jazzfest, JJ (YY) brought out a small megaphone to try and mimic his signature vocal sound acoustically. And it was pretty effective.

But enough about Pres Hall (who showed up later during an amazing encore which ended in a cover of Curtis Mayfields, "Move On Up"), MMJ blew the stifling roof off MMP. With as much pomp as he could muster, Pres Hall trumpeter Mark Braud opened the set with a bugle call, the very same that sounded hours early in Louisville as a formal welcome and call to the track at Churchill Downs.

After that, it was a two-hour blur of amazing musicianship and unabashed showmanship (come one, JJ wore a gun belt with what appeared to be a cap gun in one holster and a Duck Hunt NES zap gun in the other - you gotta love this guy). The boys came out strong with a fan favorite, "One Big Holiday" and the crowd responded, singing along through much of the song. After that there were more singing-alongs, white-dude fist pumps, and flip-flop shuffles than you could shake a stick at. And somehow it all worked. My scorecard tells a bit more about all the categories of rock. Please, listen to a stream of the show as you peruse the scores (thanks for that Internet Audio Archive!)

01. Kentucky Derby call > intro >
02. One Big Holiday
03. Gideon
04. Off The Record
05. I'm Amazed
06. Mahgeetah
07. Tonight I Want to Celebrate With You
08. Golden
09. What a Wonderful Man
10. Lay Low
11. The Way That He Sings
12. Wonderful (The Way I Feel)
13. Carried Away
14. Steam Engine
15. Smokin From Shootin >
16. Run Thru >
17. Touch Me I'm Going To Scream Pt. 2
18. Anytime
19. E: Wordless
20. Carnival Time
21. Dancefloors
22. Move On Up