When My Morning Jacket played Foellinger Auditorium this week, Jono Baron was there. The Gargoyle senior editor gives his take on the performance directly from the front row — complete with a video feed.

My Morning Jacket in concert Tuesday at Foellinger Auditorium. (photo by Jono Baron)

By Jono Baron
Gargoyle senior editor
Posted Thursday, Dec. 7, 2006, The OG, arts

[Note: For links to video footage of this concert, go to the end of Jono's review.]

I'VE JUST gotten home from Tuesday night's My Morning Jacket concert at Foellinger Auditorium, and my ears are still ringing.

The guitar work ranged from complex metal riffs ripped out on sick axes to mellow acoustic parts that coasted about the auditorium lightly but were just as impressive; the drummer pounded like an animal with amazingly awesome rhythms; the bass and keyboard lay a backdrop with perfect subtlety yet incredible (and certainly easily noticeable) power; and tying everything together was vocalist Jim James' great tone and one-of-a-kind falsetto singing voice.

Simply put, My Morning Jacket rocked.

Throughout the roughly two and a half hours of straight-up awe-inspiring rock ‘n' roll, James jumped around the stage in modified boots with skulls and bones on them, banging his head, nearly colliding with those of us standing in the front row each time his guitar dipped down. And each time, the crowd went wild.

This sort of enthusiasm can't be beat — when a musical artist you admire is practically stepping on your hands, wailing on a guitar that's infamous for its origins in metal (specifically, the Gibson Flying V), the passion onstage assaults your eyes and ears and pulls you in.

My Morning Jacket lead singer and guitarist Jim James
with, from left, Matthew Freeman, Devin Johnson,
Scott Sapp, Rohun Palekar, and Jono Baron.
(photo courtesy Jono Baron) (click to enlarge)

But surely My Morning Jacket's allure doesn't just lie in the ability to put on a great show. Indeed, the true attraction is their outright talent.

They've strived to master all sorts of playing styles and work their way into almost every genre imaginable and still bring everything they know into coherent, adeptly devised music. They know what it is to be musical artists; they don't just play for cash, recognition, and fame.

Obviously, the fact that they just kept playing and playing gives reason enough to believe that My Morning Jacket adore what they've given to us listeners in song.

But still, the most remarkable thing about the performance was the personal vibe — you could feel it resonating on the sound waves all night long, and it made the show.

I know I wasn't crazy: Afterward, my friends and I went behind the auditorium and met James, got his autograph, a picture, and even talked about the show.

This is the true indicator of talent, that an artist doesn't mind taking the time to make some East Central Illinois kids happy at midnight in the freezing cold. You don't see the members of mainstream bands talking to their fans after their shows, even thanking them for their support — they're all high and mighty.

The members of My Morning Jacket are down to earth. But, as I could tell after hearing five minutes of their performance Tuesday night, their music is something sublime.

Despite the fact that I've heard plenty of their studio work, that I have their latest original album, “Z,” and that I've thought they were pretty good just from CDs, my preconceived notions about their abilities were shattered by their onstage energy and skill.

It's only the best and brightest who can vastly enhance their music by playing it live while still maintaining the perfect clarity they managed in the recording studio — and who can keep a large crowd totally ecstatic and on their feet (literally) for over two hours. My Morning Jacket passed the test with flying colors … and Flying V's.

Videos of individual songs from the Dec. 5 concert can be seen by clicking the following titles:

from Jono Baron
“Golden”
“Run Thru”
“One Big Holiday”