My Morning Jacket at Bonnaroo 2008

MMJ took the stage at midnight and treated us to the show of the festival. Hands down.
A two-hour first set saw a number of rockin' tunes and balanced new material and old. Here's a quick vid of the glowstick war near the start. There were also jaw-dropping covers, "Hot Fun"(Sly&The Family Stone), "Hit It and Quit It"(Parliment), and "Tyrone"(Erykah Badu). They closed the set with "One Big Holiday" with Kirk Hammett of Metallica. He and Jim were shredding so hard that they were laughing at each other! Maybe the best single live song I've seen all year. Jim was all class, walking off stage so that Hammett could command the crowd for a moment on his own. A monsoon, had started about an hour into that first set.
"It's all being washed away", Jim said. He also dubbed the performance "Return to Thunderdome Pt.2" in reference to the band's 2004 Bonnnaroo show. Another rainsoaked rager of mythical proportion.

The second set is when things really got outta-hand. The first three songs might give you an idea, but the mp3's will kick that ass for sure. A freakin' disco party opened the second set with "Cold Sweat"(James Brown), featuring Jim James in a cape and top-hat, shufflin' feet like The Godfather of Soul himself; followed by a super funked-out "Get Down On It"(Kool and the Gang); and a from-left-field "Across 110th Street"(Bobby Womack). Now, the latter song is a 70's r&b favorite of mine. It's also featured in the Tarantino film Jackie Brown. Shit is unreal. The rest of the set was pure psyched-out MMJ bliss with a cover of The Velvet Underground's "Oh, Sweet Nothin'" that was on-point! And here's a good vid of "Wordless Chorus".

But the finale really had us spun. Jim began looking confused asking the crowd, "Has anybody seen Little Orphan Annie? Anyone?" It was at that point that my brains scrambled and Zach Galafanakis entered the stage in a way-too-tight "Orphan Annie" dress. He had a Budweiser and a sheet of notebook paper, and proceeded to karaoke Motley Crue's "Home Sweet Home" with Jim. Then he flashed us all.

Over the course of this show we rocked out, arms locked, with the most amazing group of people we may never be amidst again. It felt like everyone's ego had vanished leaving no worry of preception or judegment of others; an inherent, understood brotherhood. 3 days removed already, and I can't get past the feeling that it was and is so easy to connect with other human beings when pretense is checked at the door. The same people was pass in the street, never making eye contact, God-forbid a smile or a wave. After the show, those of us in front were hugging each other like, "So great to have shared this with y'all, man!". Some were in tears. It was the best crowd for a show I have ever been a part of. WE ARE ALL BEAUTIFUL! WE ARE ALL SO DIFFERENT! WE ARE ALL THE SAME!
So, if you've read this far, you deserve to hear what all that gushing is about. Here is the show in total. There are three discs, and they're only about 65MB apiece, so they won't take long to download. The sound quality is very good. If you have never seen My Morning Jacket or have never been to Bonnaroo, get this show. Even among the greatest of festivals, Bonnaroo is amazingly unique. And, to hear perhaps the best live band in the world in such a setting ain't too far from experiencing a miracle.

Enjoy.