[Our fearless team, Nicci Boots and Ian McNeil spent three days listening to an obscene amount of fantastic music above the stunning Columbia River Gorge in George, Washington. Check out all our coverage here, over 30 sets from a who's who list of indie music.]
I’ll never forget when the 21st Century variety of Southern rock was released unto the world, because it turned me into a kid at Christmas. I’ve been derided enough for my love of the genre, because it seems everyone feels the need to harbor a hatred for Skynyrd. Sure, we’ve all heard “Free Bird” one too many times, but the rest of that band’s music, not to mention the libraries from The Allman Brothers Band, ZZ Top and others, is absolutely legendary to me. It’s such a simple, yet delicious sound that can turn just about any moment into a party. So there.
Anyway, when the new Southern rock came around, it brought two of today’s biggest rock ‘n’ roll hit-makers to the crowd: Kings of Leon and My Morning Jacket. I was definitely more of a Kings kind of girl for a long time, but Jim James’ taut voice slowly turned me into an MMJ believer. I’d heard for years that their shows were epic, so I was more than excited to see them close the first day of Sasquatch! on Saturday night. And the group brought absolutely everything to the table; it seemed as if every member of the band was working to play their instruments to the bone, and it produced an immensely full sound. MMJ play a howling kind of rock ‘n’ roll, one replete with rapid-fire guitar strumming and an emission that feels delightfully devilish at times. I admired the elongated jams on so many of the songs, but I also started to find some of their music to be too sprawling. It’s like they’re trying to stretch their tunes into every possible direction, and it can end up feeling like way too much. That’s why their more to-the-point songs are that much more appealing to me.
Bottom line: MMJ are phenomenal. But they need to contain themselves if they hope to keep the interest of people like me.