REVIEW: Rock the Garden 2011

With My Morning Jacket, Rock the Garden finally rocks.

My Morning Jacket perform at Rock the Garden Saturday, June 18.

Image credit: MPR

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The skies might have been overcast and the ground saturated to flip-flop-ruining proportions, but Kentuckians My Morning Jacket salvaged this year’s Rock the Garden from the dreary weather and less-than-engaging earlier sets, making the 9th year of the festival one of the best yet.

A sea of colorful ponchos gathered on the hill outside the Walker Art Center for a kick-off set from local favorite Tapes n’ Tapes, who managed to warm up the crowd a bit when a horn section joined them on stage, packing the appropriate punch for “One in the World.”  After wrapping up with “Insistor,” it was time for Booker T. Jones to work his magic. Booker T.’s set could have been magical, however there seemed to be only one sweet spot in front of the stage where you could actually hear the music, leaving those at the back and top of the hill disconnected from the set (at least there were plenty of beer tents up there). Things turned around a bit when Booker T. whipped out one of his best-known songs, “Green Onions,” very early.  The crowd, suddenly recognizing the song, perked up and the recognizable hits kept coming, from “Time is Tight” to “Hey Yeah.”

Sound issues reared their ugly head again just in time for Neko Case’s sleepy set.  For having such a piercing voice and an impressive group of musicians on stage with her, most every song fell flat.  Long breaks for tuning didn’t help, and even Case seemed frustrated on stage.  Not to say that her voice didn’t eventually shine—the somewhat depressing weather went perfectly with songs like “Vengeance Is Sleeping,” which was the best moment of Case’s abbreviated set.

Then the beach balls were inflated and finally, after hours of standing and drinking beer in the rain, there was actually some energy circulating through the crowd in anticipation of My Morning Jacket.  Frontman Jim James signaled the start of the show with loud (finally) feedback and one of his trademark howls, and the sky started to clear as the band dove into “Victory Dance” from their latest, Circuital.  Everyone seemed to know this was going to be a goosebump-inducing show as hints of a pink sky appeared just as James and company roared the lyric “setting sunnnnnnn.”  Yes, please.

After “Circuital” and the wonderfully breezy “Wordless Chorus,” James meditated for a bit on the Walker’s famous Spoonbridge and Cherry sculpture, upping the giggle factor and lightening the mood for “Off the Record.” Even during the quiet moments, My Morning Jacket had everyone locked into the show.  A particularly cathartic moment happened during “Steam Engine,” with James singing “the brain melts into twilight,” just as complete darkness descended on the crowd for the big finale.

And what a finale – James looked like some sort of crazed rock god as he worked his furry boots and cape to full effect with dance banger “Touch Me I’m Going to Scream, Pt. 2.”  The crowd freaked out as James howled during the chorus, running around on stage conducting the rest of the band.  Minds were thoroughly blown as “One Big Holiday” sealed the deal.

With fists in the air and the ground churned into mud from all the dancing feet, My Morning Jacket closed Rock the Garden 2011 by ensuring that the festival finally lived up to its namesake, rain be damned.