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My Morning Jacket Break Out the Synths for 'Live on Letterman' Taping

My Morning Jacket's Jim JamesTim Mosenfelder, Getty Images

David Letterman seems like the type of dude who'd be funny about people messing with his furniture. Maybe that's why My Morning Jacket frontman Jim James knew Tuesday's night show at New York City's Ed Sullivan Theater was so special.

"We moved his desk out of the way," an amazed James said from the center of the 'Late Show' set, midway through filming a performance for the CBS 'Live on Letterman' webcast series. "That's pretty sweet to move his desk out of the way!"

Indeed, it is, but My Morning Jacket have even sweeter things to look forward to. James is an avid Jim Henson fan, and next week, he and his band will make like the Muppets and take Manhattan, playing five consecutive nights at Terminal 5, dedicating each show to one of its five studio albums. Tuesday night, the group stuck to its three most recent full-lengths, filling its nine-song set with tunes from 2003's 'It Still Moves,' 2005's 'Z' and 2008's 'Evil Urges.'

The song selection showed just how far My Morning Jacket has come in the last decade. Once seen as a modern-day Lynyrd Skynyrd -- a reputation it earned with such Kentucky-fried indie jams as 'Mahgeetah' and 'Golden,' both of which it played Tuesday -- the Louisville quintet is now capable of going straight-up synth-pop.

On 'Touch Me I'm Going to Scream Pt. 1,' from 'Evil Urges,' James put down his guitar and stalked the stage in a cloak, as if auditioning for the lead in 'Beauty and the Beast.' Keyboardist Bo Koster, meanwhile, filled the spaces between guitarist Carl Broemel's chords with glistening tones the Allmans never dreamed of.

Later, on 'Touch Me I'm Going to Scream Pt. 2,' the band floated even further into space, opening the tune with Gameboy-style blips and bleeps, played by James on a sampler. By the end of the song, the singer had fallen to his knees, bowing before his electronic instrument as if simultaneously awed, frightened and inspired.

Given its power to transform a bunch of scruffy southern rockers into dapper disco mavens, this was the right reaction.

Watch My Morning Jacket's 'Live on Letterman' Webcast


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patti

Great show, but it's not a cloak - it's his cape - his trademark so to speak. One girl in San Diego thought it was a towel...
I have seen just about every great band; Zeppelin, The Who, Iggy Pop, U2, B52's, Tom Petty, and on and on...but My Morning Jacket is probably the best or at least 2nd best live show I have ever seen.

October 13 2010 at 11:51 AM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply