Venues
Events
VideoMusic
Celebrate the New Year with My Morning Jacket’s Jim James
My Morning Jacket is one of the endless options for ringing in 2009 in the frozen apple
My Morning Jacket (Photo: Autumn DeWilde)
| | More
My Morning Jacket at Madison Square Garden is just one of the typically endless options for New Year’s Eve in the frozen apple. If singer Jim James can survive until then, that is. James and the band have been keeping an unusually low profile these last few months, considering their penchant for touring and the critical success of their latest LP, Evil Urges. I suppose they decided to tone it down a little after James tumbled off the stage in Iowa City in early October, severely injuring his torso. Yes, the man took a step in the dark and face-planted before several thousand witnesses.
His recent cameo appearance at a John Prine show eased the fears of MMJ fanatics that the Garden gig would be another in a series of post-tumble cancellations. As of this writing, the show will go on, wobbly or not. They have even scheduled dates supporting Neil Young in Australia next year so it seems to be business as usual. If you’re not committed to Patti Smith at the Bowery Ballroom or Yo La Tengo in Hoboken or some obscure loft party in outer Bushwick, then you might want to find yourself in rock’s most important room with psych/country’s favorite big-time jam band. The bearded boys from Louisville have developed a reputation for airing it out in concert, playing long shows with plenty of trippy guitar exploration that has drawn a devotional following. Just don’t stand too close to the stage without a helmet.