Wednesday 23/08/06 My Morning Jacket @ Academy 2, Manchester

On a personal level, My Morning Jacket owe us a damn good show tonight - a great heaving hairy mammoth of a show. Cancelled tours, line-up changes, throat infections and all manner of unfortunate circumstances have ensured Kentucky’s finest maintained a deceptive allure, instilled by one breathtaking performance back yonder Glasto 99.

Deception would be a valid direction for tonight’s gig, as we’re sure we’re not alone in wishing Jim James would return to the romantic cowboy of old instead of the  creative doorstop that was latest album ‘Z’. Amid occasional hack clarity ‘Z’ has been hailed as the pinnacle of MMJ’ s career which is baffling beyond belief, but most of all damaging to their unflinching back catalogue. Tonight things aren’t so black and white, in fact the new material sits relatively comfortably against past glories.

Opening with an energetic flurry of ‘Z’ numbers, Jim James invokes a giddy James Hatfield, thrashing his curlies and stomping his territory. Musically they don’t hit their stride till the operatic ‘One Big Holiday’ which flexes and expands under a fleshier reworking, something that doesn’t quite transpose to record. ‘Off The Record’ on the other hand sounds just as lame live as it does dans la record, one big calypso balls up, a cheesy attempt at infiltrating the mainstream that hopefully wont be repeated. Jim’s vocals are as ever delicate and ethereal, effortlessly stretching and hauntingly beautiful, and none more so than on ‘Phone Went West’. ‘At Dawn’ tasselled with cowboy sentiment and a deep southern heart is pure country aesthetics, and couldn’t be further from the sweaty cavern of the MDH, but MMJ’s ability to captivate and transport us as listeners is a formidable attribute.

Perfection is never far from My Morning Jacket, they’ve achieved it previously, they can and will do it again, but as with any truly great band patience is often the hardest hurdle. Stick with them.