When My Morning Jacket hit the stage at around quarter-to-ten, fizzy-haired front man Jim James bounces around sporting a cape and a seriously jovial attitude. These Louisville, Kentucky country rock-turned robot rock/pop psych boys were in fine form tonight and put on one of the more grandiose rock n’ roll performances that Billboard has seen in quite some time. Smacking off the set with Evil Urges, James and band – bassist ‘Two-Tone’ Tommy Blankenship, wild-man drummer Patrick Hallahan, guitarist, pedal steel master, saxophonist and vocalist Carl Broemel and Bo Koster on keyboards – engineered an out-of-this-world sound that had me wide-eyed and salivating for the entirety of the gig.

Jim James is a weird cat. Inspired by The Muppet Show, he admits to channeling the characters personalities and their voices. Aside from the cape situation and consistent towel-wearing-on-head antics he demonstrated throughout the show, when he spoke, he spoke in riddles. Clearly affected by a range of psychedelic drugs, or maybe it’s the effects of his recent fall off stage at the University of Iowa gig last October, where the man sustained traumatic torso and potential head injuries. Whatever the case, James didn’t need to say anything tonight, for it was the music that did all the talking. Second song up was Off The Record from the bands remarkable Z record (actually the song he was playing when he took the tumble in Iowa), and the tune is incredible, James in full flight with his Gibson Flying V axe.

The band pull out the hits from 2003s It Still Moves record with Golden and Easy Morning Rebel sparking the trend before James offers his thoughts on Melbourne town. ‘I was walkin’ around the city and it looks like this giant melted leggo, I love the colours and the kids spray painting the cathedrals… like Gods inner thigh… it was amazing.’ he nervously laughs. WTF? Nice. Thanks Jimbo. Mahgeetah and Dancefloors follow James’ trippy speech then Dondante from Z has the great man howling to the moon. This is epic material, performed like a band possessed. A band at the height of their musical powers, thanks to hanging around the guru of grunge rock, Neil Young for a while most probably.

We hear Gideon, then Sec Walkin and Librarian from Evil Urges. The band is in rare form. When the epic Run Thru is presented, James loses his shit during the guitar breaks moving over to the rhythm corner and dueling guitars with Broemel to create atmospheric wonderment. When Broemel is passed the saxaphone, he gives the already belting tune new meaning, and when Hallahan’s mid break drum roll kicks in, things start getting mighty tribal; visceral in fact when fused with the swirling effects and guitars.

There’s some wonderful segues going on tonight. None more so than when Run Thru continues to intertwine between songs, James and co weaving the songs magical appeal through other material with some seriously intuitive musicianship. The band wig out aided by some metallic drumming force and a wall of guitars, to show off their talents as one of the better rock bands on the scene today. There’s jungle beats, pop, a little hip-hop and rock all boiling away in the one eclectic, magical melting pot of psychedelic love tonight and it’s ridiculously impressive.

James offers some more tender moments on the acoustic then amps it up with Wordless Chorus and the much criticised Highly Suspicious taken from Evil Urges that is pure robot rock. In epic fashion, the band give it the royal treatment with James channeling Prince with a whole lot of hollering and falsetto blast. Anytime from Z is offered as the penultimate tune then the finale of One Big Holiday hits us when that old familiar killer intro riff and bass drop in. The percussive explosion and the guitar wig-out light up the room and it’s exhilarating to say the least. Rock songs don’t get any better than this, and rock bands don’t get any more grand or emotive and dedicated to their art form than My Morning Jacket.

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