My Morning Jacket had plenty of surprises in store for their second concert of a two-night stand at Dillon Amphitheater in Dillon, Colorado last night. Wednesday’s concert at the idyllic venue saw the band work six tour debuts into the setlist and ended with a cover of Bob Dylan’s “Knockin’ On Heaven’s Door” played within “Phone Went West.”
The 22-song performance began with a string of mid-2000 classics as Z favorites “Gideon” and “Lay Low” were split by the title track and “Touch My I’m Going To Scream Pt. 1” off 2008’s Evil Urges. MMJ then looked to their self-titled 2021 LP for “Never In The Real World” before “Magic Bullet” from The Waterfall II saw action.
“Only Memories Remain” was the evening’s first tour debut as MMJ last played The Waterfall standout at their One Big Holiday destination event in March according to Setlist.FM. Another rarity followed with the first “Nashville To Kentucky” since November. Later in the set, the quintet delivered a the Man trio. “Heartbreakin Man’s” 2022 debut kicked off a sequence that continued with “What A Wonderful Man” and concluded with “Honest Man.” The latter hadn’t been performed by MMJ since One Big Holiday 2018.
The ensuing “Slow Slow Tune” off 2011’s Circuital was also a 2022 debut. Jacket went on to end the set by pairing “Compound Fracture” with “Spring (Among The Living)” and “Wasted.” Frontman Jim James thanked the crowd and pointed out the venue’s beauty to start the encore. James went acoustic for the first take on At Dawn deep cut “Hopefully” in over four years. It was back to At Dawn for a show-closing “Phone Went West” after the anthemic “Victory Dance.” However, this was no ordinary “Phone Went West” as Jim James sang the “Knockin’ On Heaven’s Door” lyrics before the jam kicked in.
Carl Broemel provided harmonies on the song Bob Dylan wrote for the soundtrack of the 1973 film Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid. My Morning Jacket continued to vamp on “Phone Went West” and embarked on a ferocious jam highlighted by Broemel and James’ dual leads. While the band had previously played “Knockin’ On Heaven’s Door” three times, the past versions stayed true to the song’s typical structure. Last night was more “Knockin’” performed to the tune of “Phone Went West.”
Listen to an audience recording featuring “Nashville To Kentucky” through the end of the show taped by Alex Leary:
My Morning Jacket now heads to Red Rocks Amphitheatre near Denver for shows on Friday and Saturday. Stay tuned for a full report on My Morning Jacket’s Colorado run.
Setlist (via Setlist.FM)
Set: Gideon, Evil Urges, Touch Me I’m Going To Scream Pt. 1, Lay Low, Never In The Real World, Magic Bullet, Only Memories Remain, Nashville To Kentucky, Least Expected, Off The Record, One Big Holiday, In Color, Heartbreakin Man, What A Wonderful Man, Honest Man, Slow Slow Tune, Compound Fracture, Spring (Among The Living), Wasted
Encore: Hopefully, Victory Dance, Phone Went West > Knockin’ On Heaven’s Door > Phone Went West
