The Greatest Rock Band Right Now

MY MORNING JACKET

I challenge you to find a better band. Go ahead. Try. It's impossible. Maybe I'm still coming off of the high I got by watching their set from the Austin City Limits television show that was just shown on KET.

I've been listening to them for a few years, I first saw them at Bogart's in 2005. And, it was through Bonnaroo in which I discovered them, which is where I've discovered most of the bands I listen to these days. I don't think they will ever play Bogart's again. Why? It's not big enough.

I don't know where they would or could play if they came back to Cincinnati, which is something they need to do. However, they are currently on a break, after injuries frontman Jim James sustained at a show weeks back in Idaho. Or was it Iowa? Apparently during the show, when the lights were out, he was stepping up on an amp or a box or something, and fell off the stage. Get better Jim! And when you do, please come back to Cincinnati. It's not really a home to you guys, but being from Louisville, it's close enough.

We love you here in Cincinnati, and we want you guys to come back. Maybe they'll get booked as the main act for MidPoint next year? Yeah, right.

But go ahead. Try to find a better rock band. Maybe they don't have the studio credentials to prove they are the greatest rock band. But go see them live. Try to find a better live band. You can't. A few years ago, The White Stripes were the biggest/newest (although they weren't that new) rock band. Now, it's My Morning Jacket's time (even though they aren't that new either).

One of the greatest things about them is that they don't have one particular sound, like most bands. Their most recent release has a lot of funk and R&B to it. Yeah, they're a rock band. But what band isn't. They're heavy, which makes you think they were influenced by bands like Metallica, not to mention they are one of James Hetfield's favorite bands right now. And Kirk Hammett did guest with them at Bonnaroo 2008. Metallica only wishes they could be as great as MMJ. Okay, there was a time when Metallica was fucking unbelievable. But the Black Album came out when I was in grade school, and it was basically all down hill after that.

MMJ is also slow and mellow, sometimes reminding you of a southern/alt country band, which would make you think they might be influenced by someone like Neil Young, or maybe even Wilco.

Loud. Quiet. Heavy. Soft. Rock and roll. Alternative Country. Funk. R&B. Gospel. They're the whole fucking package. They're the greatest rock band right now.