The Show Must Go On: My Morning Jacket Performs As Quartet at Kahbang Festival

A true sign of a band’s heart is how they react to adversity. On Saturday night at the Kahbang Festival in Bangor, Maine HT faves My Morning Jacket made lemonade out of lemons, and showed they are true professionals with the heart of a champion, when they treated fans to a rarity-laden acoustic set without drummer Patrick Hallahan, who had an “allergic reaction to eating some shellfish.

[The offending lobster roll via @PatrickHallahan]

The group set the tone immediately with the first Tonight I Want To Celebrate With You of 2011 as the crowd quickly noticed this was no ordinary MMJ performance. Jim James explained Hallahan’s absence and told fans the band wanted to play as a foursome rather than cancel. Hallahan tweeted, “My apologies for not being able to play tonight…first show I’ve ever missed. #mynightmarerealm.” It’s tough not to feel for the guy as he missed his first My Morning Jacket gig since joining the band in 2002.

[JJ Strums While The Bear Looks On – by John Gross]

The bust outs continued throughout the 14-song set, with Bermuda Highway, Look At You and I Will Be There When You Die each making an appearance on a My Morning Jacket stage for the first time in 2011. Hallahan’s drum stool was held down by the band’s mascot, a stuffed bear as his mates went on without him. We’ll be on the look out for audio and video, especially of what’s sure to be an interesting unplugged rendition of Dondante. So kudos to MMJ’s Jim James, Tom Blankenship, Carl Broemel and Bo Koster for not only playing a show most acts would have cancelled, but for making it such a special night for those in attendance. Let’s hope Hallahan recovers in time for tonight’s show in Boston.

[Thanks to Jamie Lairson for the report]

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4 Responses

  1. Hope Patrick is feeling better in time for Boston tonight. That show sounds epic but I’ve been itching to hear “Holding Onto Black Metal”

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