Red Mosquito

Night 1 was way better.

Night 2 was hit or miss with not much flow. I thought that was the worst steam engine i've ever heard and his rambling lyrics from get back and lean on me and imagine during the jam felt so forced and low hanging fruit. Colorado/Red Rocks is all about the good vibes only stuff and Jim fed right off that. It felt hamfisted. I hated it.

When they were on, they were fucking on, but that stretch from Steam Engine through Big Decisions was bad. he stopped abruptly during Bermuda Highway (a beautiful part) to talk about a stuffed animal falling through the cracks of his bed? Or something?

Night 1 he spent time rambling about birth canals. It was really weird. He's on another plane right now and im not super digging it. Super weird plane.

But, the band, fucking awesome. Dondante is just a fucking beast. Super loved the entire weekend but night 2 was maybe the worst MMj show ive seen.

Red Rocks? I might be over that place. Seen enough shows to realize how far south humankind has come. Its just too much of a party place. People dont care who's playing, they are just there for the vibe of the place. It can really ruin a good time.

I had 4th row tickets for night 2 and it was just a constant stream of the same 10-12 people coming in and out of the row. Add that to the at least 100 people trying to sneak down into closer rows without a ticket and starting shit witht he security guards who make them leave. This couple came up and put up a huge stink and i told them to knock it off. Within 5 seconds the girl had swiped me and my girlfriends shirts and had them under her arms. I almost had to punch her and yelled at them to get the fuck out while i ripped it out of her arms. Boyfriend tried to apologize or shake it off and i got in his face. Drunk assholes.

That being said, of course I mostly had a great time. See....!

Chris_H_2 wrote:i used to be really, really into this band. and i somewhat took a break from them after their last album. i decided to give them a spin on spotify on random shuffle today while i did yardwork, and realized just how criminally underrated evil urges is. that's a heck of an album.

Yes. The first third and last third of this album is great. The middle third is meh though.

Tomorrow night! Port Chester! The Tennessee Fire show! Can’t wait!

Strat wrote:Night 1 was way better.

Night 2 was hit or miss with not much flow. I thought that was the worst steam engine i've ever heard and his rambling lyrics from get back and lean on me and imagine during the jam felt so forced and low hanging fruit. Colorado/Red Rocks is all about the good vibes only stuff and Jim fed right off that. It felt hamfisted. I hated it.

When they were on, they were fucking on, but that stretch from Steam Engine through Big Decisions was bad. he stopped abruptly during Bermuda Highway (a beautiful part) to talk about a stuffed animal falling through the cracks of his bed? Or something?

Thank you Strat! Sweet validation. I couldn't decide if we were seeing growing pains, inflated ego, a rusty band (18 months off) or a worn out artist. Jim's played around 40 shows in the last three months, so maybe his battery is a worn down. Similar to Pearl Jam, MMJ's music is personal and hits you on an emotional level. The 20 minute Beatles sing along, Jim talking lyrics instead of singing them, the Bermuda Highway debacle and the jams that started way to high and had no where to go. It didn't feel genuine.

The interesting thing is that they didn't play it safe. They WENT for it (jamming into Off the Record, the intense improvisation during the Beatles bit, etc), but there were more misses than hits. The RR show in 2016 had them on the high wire act, but the intensity was all blended together. This time felt like Jim guitar heroing his way over everyone else. The highlight of the show was Tropics>It Beats 4 U. If you have 15 minutes, I would definitely check that out.

Hatfield wrote:

Strat wrote:Night 1 was way better.

Night 2 was hit or miss with not much flow. I thought that was the worst steam engine i've ever heard and his rambling lyrics from get back and lean on me and imagine during the jam felt so forced and low hanging fruit. Colorado/Red Rocks is all about the good vibes only stuff and Jim fed right off that. It felt hamfisted. I hated it.

When they were on, they were fucking on, but that stretch from Steam Engine through Big Decisions was bad. he stopped abruptly during Bermuda Highway (a beautiful part) to talk about a stuffed animal falling through the cracks of his bed? Or something?

Thank you Strat! Sweet validation. I couldn't decide if we were seeing growing pains, inflated ego, a rusty band (18 months off) or a worn out artist. Jim's played around 40 shows in the last three months, so maybe his battery is a worn down. Similar to Pearl Jam, MMJ's music is personal and hits you on an emotional level. The 20 minute Beatles sing along, Jim talking lyrics instead of singing them, the Bermuda Highway debacle and the jams that started way to high and had no where to go. It didn't feel genuine.

The interesting thing is that they didn't play it safe. They WENT for it (jamming into Off the Record, the intense improvisation during the Beatles bit, etc), but there were more misses than hits. The RR show in 2016 had them on the high wire act, but the intensity was all blended together. This time felt like Jim guitar heroing his way over everyone else. The highlight of the show was Tropics>It Beats 4 U. If you have 15 minutes, I would definitely check that out.

I heard too many "that was the best show ive ever seen!!" "ive seen them 15 times and it was the best"

No, you were high on Red Rocks and that's it.

I was at both shows and thoroughly enjoyed both. I actually loved the Steam Engine segment (don't really care about him interrupting Bermuda Highway, seemed like he decided to explain the origin of those lyrics.) I thought putting the Beatles/Lean on Me lyrics over the chugging riffs was pretty cool. There were some sloppy bits, some poor singing, some downtuned songs, but overall I had a fucking blast. Night 1 is probably my favorite MMJ show I've seen. War Begun through the end of the main set was some A+ setlist writing.

Also, agreed on people at Red Rocks. I swore 3-4 years ago that I wouldn't go back unless it was for a particularly special show because I absolutely hate Red Rocks crowds. This qualified as a special set of shows, but also reinforced that decision. Only venue I've been basically puked on EVERY DAMN TIME.

My tapes of both nights:
https://archive.org/details/mmj2019-08-02.cm33
https://archive.org/details/mmj2019-08-03.CM33

Night 1 here in New York was epic. The entire first set (1 hour, 45 mins) was an incredible performance of The Tennessee Fire. The last half hour plus was a string of songs off their early b-sides albums including Tonight I wanna Celebrate With You, Tyrone, Rocket Man and a couple more. One of the best shows I have ever witnessed.

Pulled up the set list:

Heartbreakin’ Man, They Ran, The Bear, Nashville to Kentucky, Old Sept Blues, If All Else Fails, It’s About Twilight Now, Evelyn Is Not Real, War Begun, Picture of You, I Will Be There When You Die, The Dark, By My Car, Butch Cassidy, I Think I’m Going to Hell

Encore: Rocket Man, Week’s Go By Like Days, Tyrone, Tonite I Wanna Celebrate With You

Show was about 2 hours and 15 mins and every second was solid. A lot of songs shocked me on how great they sounded live. I expected it from The Bear, I Think I’m Going to Hell and The Dark (which was far better than I imagined it would be), but Old Sept Blues, Twilight, War Begun and Picture of You were mind blowing. They Ran was also much better than I expected. The encore was beyond fantastic. Can’t wait for tomorrow night!

I love Tennessee Fire.

BurtReynolds wrote:I love Tennessee Fire.

This album live has pretty much just changed my whole perspective.

Night 2. Totally different from night 1. Seemed to me like they were really taking their time and stretching things out more the first night while really focusing on getting the songs as close to the nose on night 2 as they could. Very different experiences and both extraordinary.

Setlist:

Compound Fracture, The Way That He Sings, I’m Amazed, Golden, Mahgeetah, Victory Dance, Circuital, Gideon, Off the Record, Spring (Among the Living), Smokin’ From Shootin’, Tropics (Erase Traces), Lay Low, Steam Engine, Phone Went West

Encore: Wordless Chorus, Touch Me Pt. 1, Touch Me Pt. 2, One Big Holiday

liebzz wrote:Night 2. Totally different from night 1. Seemed to me like they were really taking their time and stretching things out more the first night while really focusing on getting the songs as close to the nose on night 2 as they could. Very different experiences and both extraordinary.

Setlist:

Compound Fracture, The Way That He Sings, I’m Amazed, Golden, Mahgeetah, Victory Dance, Circuital, Gideon, Off the Record, Spring (Among the Living), Smokin’ From Shootin’, Tropics (Erase Traces), Lay Low, Steam Engine, Phone Went West

Encore: Wordless Chorus, Touch Me Pt. 1, Touch Me Pt. 2, One Big Holiday

Note a mistake: Evil Urges was played before Victory Dance. Show was about 2.5 hours. They hit the stage at 7:30 and left at 9:55 (10:00 pm curfew).

liebzz wrote:

liebzz wrote:Night 2. Totally different from night 1. Seemed to me like they were really taking their time and stretching things out more the first night while really focusing on getting the songs as close to the nose on night 2 as they could. Very different experiences and both extraordinary.

Setlist:

Compound Fracture, The Way That He Sings, I’m Amazed, Golden, Mahgeetah, Victory Dance, Circuital, Gideon, Off the Record, Spring (Among the Living), Smokin’ From Shootin’, Tropics (Erase Traces), Lay Low, Steam Engine, Phone Went West

Encore: Wordless Chorus, Touch Me Pt. 1, Touch Me Pt. 2, One Big Holiday

Note a mistake: Evil Urges was played before Victory Dance. Show was about 2.5 hours. They hit the stage at 7:30 and left at 9:55 (10:00 pm curfew).

Was it not meant to be another Tennessee fire show ?

Strat wrote:

liebzz wrote:

liebzz wrote:Night 2. Totally different from night 1. Seemed to me like they were really taking their time and stretching things out more the first night while really focusing on getting the songs as close to the nose on night 2 as they could. Very different experiences and both extraordinary.

Setlist:

Compound Fracture, The Way That He Sings, I’m Amazed, Golden, Mahgeetah, Victory Dance, Circuital, Gideon, Off the Record, Spring (Among the Living), Smokin’ From Shootin’, Tropics (Erase Traces), Lay Low, Steam Engine, Phone Went West

Encore: Wordless Chorus, Touch Me Pt. 1, Touch Me Pt. 2, One Big Holiday

Note a mistake: Evil Urges was played before Victory Dance. Show was about 2.5 hours. They hit the stage at 7:30 and left at 9:55 (10:00 pm curfew).

Was it not meant to be another Tennessee fire show ?

No. This date was announced beforehand and was part of their summer shows. They added the Tennessee Fire show at the Cap late in the game. I had a great time both nights but certainly the Tennessee Fire show will stick out to me as one of the great shows I have ever seen from any band.

These were actually the first headlining shows and first shows at all for me from MMJ since 2007. I have stayed a fan but the timing never worked until now. I hope I get the chance to see them again.

I was at the Forest Hills show. I've seen them quite a few times and they never disappoint. Steam Engine is such a beast live. The crowd/vibe at their shows is among the best out there too. Awesome times.

This new Tennessee fire album is great.. technically it's not new, but I didn't know it existed so it's new to me

so another new jim james album before a new mmj album. *sigh*

Yeah, but with an orchestra so it might be great.

I WANT A NEW MMJ ALBUM DAMMIT!!

There’s a lot to like in The Order of Nature. Here in Spirit sounds really fantastic. A little sad it’s not all new stuff but Jim James did a great job transforming his pre-existing material in a new setting with at least some new material.

Over and Over is also crazy fun here.