Review: Pavilion at Riverfront and Spokane enchant Jim James from My Morning Jacket

In the more than 20 years that My Morning Jacket has existed and has become known as an indie rock institution, they have held their performances in Washington exclusively for the West Side.

That was until Wednesday night, when the Kentucky-born band made up for lost time with a 21-song marathon that spanned almost their entire career at the Pavilion at Riverfront.

The Durand Jones & The Indications R&B outfit, tasked with opening chores for the northwest portion of their tour by My Morning Jacket, started the day playing their soulful accents in front of a receptive, if sparse, audience as the crowds time let.

The eight-piece band (with defending champion Jones and consisting of keyboards, guitar, bass, drums, percussion and two background singers) got the crowd most swaying with a cover of Fleetwood Mac’s “Dreams” and the latest single “Witchoo” double vocal attack by drummer Aaron Frazer and Jones left the most electrifying impression of their set.

When My Morning Jacket took the stage to the tune of “Circuital”, the standing crowd had swelled to cover almost two-thirds of the concrete, while other fans watched the show comfortably nestled against the slope.

Between an electrified interpretation of “War Begun” from their 1999 debut album and the two singles from their upcoming, self-titled ninth album, the intimate Spokane audience was enchanted. Still, maybe not as enchanted as frontman / songwriter Jim James by his first experience with Spokane.

“We’ve never been here – it’s such a beautiful place,” James said at the beginning of the set. “When I woke up this morning and walked around town and saw the waterfalls and saw the town, the day was so beautiful and the town felt so beautiful.

“We’re really glad we’re here and I can’t wait to come back and find out more about the city,” said James, before moving on to I’m Amazed.

James was also enthusiastic about the venue itself and said, “I’m a huge fan of the World’s Fair … and it really made my day easier. What a spectacular thing. I can’t get enough of this place. It just feels so good to be here. “

Throughout the night lead guitarists Carl Broemel and James swapped solos and flashed moments of harmonized guitar work by Allman Brothers, while founding bassist Tom Blankenship, drummer Patrick Hallahan and keyboardist Bo Koster held back the winding live arrangements.

With a line-up that had been tested on tour through two decades and fresh from a nearly two-year hiatus (partly self-imposed and partly due to COVID-19), the set comfortably stretched for nearly two hours and included songs like “Mahgeetah” and the # 1 adult alternative that maps “Feel You”.

Starting with “Feel You,” the band fired an undeniable string of second half songs including “Love Love Love”, “Wordless Chorus” and “Touch Me I’m Going to Scream, Pt. 2. “which caused part of the audience to wander onto the concrete floor on the hill.

If ever there was a way to make the soaring aahs of “Wordless Chorus” even cooler, My Morning Jacket figured out how to do it in the form of strobe lights and a disco ball, and took full advantage of it to resolve the reservations of the crowd and dance towards the end of the set.

When the band showed up for the encore, they returned with the smooth “Run It” and wild coolness of “Victory Dance” (completely wrapped in one of his signature cloaks with James) before ending the night with the roaring riffing of “One Big Holiday “ended.”