My Morning Jacket - Madison Square Garden

My Morning Jacket Shakes the Garden

Images and Article by Bill Kelly

Referring to Madison Square Garden as “holy ground” MMJ frontsman Jim James led his band through a rollicking 3 hour set at the venerable arena.  Home to the NY Knicks, NY Rangers and 52 Grateful Dead shows, the Garden’s suspended floor shook from opening song “Victory Dance” through the last encore, an ensemble cover of the old holiday chestnut “I’lll Be Home For Christmas” that brought opening act Band of Horses back onstage.     The last show of the “Ciruital” tour, the band pulled songs from all corners of their catelog, including the rarely played “Mahgeetah”.  Several tunes during the evening were accompanied by the Elvis Perkins in Dearland horns, bringing punch and brightness to the bands sound.  Throughout the show, James, guitarist Carl Bremel and bass player Tom Blankenship would charge back to drummer Pat Hallahan’s riser, jumping and spinning like dervishes.  The Garden literally pulsed with the energy emanating from the stage, the crowd jumping and singing in unison with the band.Hailing from Kentucky, with the roots of a Southern rock jam band, MMJ somehow transcends that labell by bending it beyond the usual clear noodling common to the genre.  Loud, beat driven with electronica undercurrents, the band demonstrated how a jam band can sound in 2012.

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Holiday Hootenany with My Morning Jacket in San Diego

The 2011 Holiday Hootenany at Jenny Craig Arena, featured several bands including My Morning Jacket. MMJ played a full set of their classics and new songs off the album Circuital. In an initial interview, the band seemed exhausted from their travels, but it did not affect their set as they played the three hour set with colossal energy. The show ended with a fitting track named "One Big Holiday," which had the crowd fired up and wanting more from this legendary quintet. Photos by Doug Siegel Photography.

More coverage at http://www.flickr.com/photos/doug_siegel_photography/

Bonnaroo Music Festival Crowd Photos

The 10th annual Bonnaroo Music Festival attracted around 80,000 music fans last summer to see, hear and experience an huge plethora of bands that came from across the globe to perform.  The mid June festival, held in Manchester, Tennessee, frequently saw temperatures over 100° degrees during the 4 day event.  During the course of four incredible days this summer and photographing at least 30 performances at Bonnaroo, I captured many photos of the crowd during and between the performances.  Many people having lots of fun—that's what you'll see in this gallery.  To play a slideshow of the Bonnaroo crowd photos, click on any photo.  Then click on the large image to scroll through or use your mouse roller.  Visit Performance Impressions concert photography archives to see photos from the last 10 years of Bonnaroo Music Festival including 29 galleries from performances at Bonnaroo 2011.