Scene and Heard

I waited for this show before putting the final touches on my best of 2010. It was the correct decision. The benefit to save  ear X- tacy, the landmark local record store, sold out Headliners Music Hall and brought many of Louisville’s top musicians out pleading with the audience to keep our city from becoming a box cutter town full of out of town chain businesses.

Jim James, of My Morning Jacket thanked the audience for supporting the show stating, “ We travel a lot on tour and every city seems the same. Local businesses like ear X tacy make our city real. This is the place we go to discuss our music, and share our stories. We have all grow up spending our youth shopping and learning about new music there”.

The employees of the store, with the help of Production Simple organized the benefit, contacting the musicians and venue. It was all done without the knowledge of store owner, John Timmons who remarked,” I wouldn’t have asked for this. It’s the best Christmas present I have ever received,”

Scott Carney of Wax Fang began the show with a beautiful acoustic four song set, displaying his wonderful voice. Carneys’s voice sometimes goes unnoticed in the heavier sounds of his band. This set allowed you to understand how talented he is.

The Watson Twins followed with a soulful set that featured MMJ’s Patrick Hallahan on drums.

When Ben Sollee walked out with his cello the excitement continued to grow. The talented local favorite played his unique style of music brilliantly and was joined by Jim James for two inspiring numbers to end the set.

Cabin led by Noah Hewitt-Ball whose angelic vocals and range along with his bandmates came out specifically for this show.  “ We weren’t planning on playing for a while but when I got this call, I said count us in”.

By the time Jim James and Patrick Hallahan took the stage the show was into it’s third hour. The audience was primed and ready for the pair of My Morning Jacket members to put an exclamation mark on a legendary show.

As the pair began with a grunge version of “Ill be Home for Christmas” it was clear that these guys were up to the challenge of finishing the show with a bang. With James  playing bass, acoustic guitar and mixing sound from his distortion box, while Hallahan furnished his usual powerful drumming as backing they played many fascinating versions of My Morning Jacket’s most popular songs.

The genius of Jim James is evident. He continues to  rearrange his songs in a way only he can conceive, It is always enjoyable and amazing to see him in different elements from his band. The music and energy takes off when James hits the stage, he is controlled by it. They finished the set with “One Big Holiday” which included the normal guitar solo played on the bass and thanked ear X tacy for giving them the opportunity to find music and friends while growing up. “Thank you for supporting the store now go tell your friends to buy there too!”

John Timmonds stood by the exit thanking everyone for their  continued support through the years. Let’s hope this show was recorded as part of this benefit. It was a night worth reliving.

More Photos :http://albums.phanfare.com/isolated/TFjDNhXn/1/4955774