Rumors of a three-hour My Morning Jacket set Friday night proved to be completely inaccurate; it was a mere two hours and 45 minutes. And splitting this marathon performance into two full sets, the band wisely chose to front-load the first half of the show with material from their newest release, Evil Urges.

Read into that statement what you will, but I’ll give you a hint about its intention: MMJ was absolutely unstoppable throughout the latter half of the show, continuing to build momentum through a series of perfectly sequenced extended-jam classics. Of course, they were perfectly on top of their game the entire evening and from the opening chords of “Evil Urges” could barely conceal their joy and excitement at selling out a venue as prestigious as Radio City.

In this sense it was a coronation of sorts, the culmination of having seen them obliterate Webster Hall at the beginning of the Z tour before working up to Roseland Ballroom by the end of it and now having graduated to Radio City. The next time they roll through town will be nothing short of a victory lap, as they’ve been handed the keys to the biggest castle in Gotham - Madison Square Garden - for New Year’s Eve.

Add to all this the straight-faced testimony of a teenage fan who had seen them at Bonnaroo the week before and swore to me that they had controlled an oncoming storm front through their jam session on “Lay Low” there (and I thought only Macca could control the weather) and you’ve got the stuff of legend, plain and simple. There’s just one really minor issue: the timing doesn’t feel entirely right. Freshly minted New York City royalty, Bonnaroo storm-herders….such lofty career achievements should come upon the precipice of a band’s masterpiece album, and had this all gone down when Z was released, it would have made more sense. But there’s just not that much to get excited about on Evil Urges, and all the adoration and accolades being thrown their way should be in recognition of everything that preceded and led to Evil Urges rather than the newest album itself.

There were certainly a few bright spots from the new material on Friday, particularly the closer from the first set “Touch Me I’m Gong To Scream Part 2″. Experiencing the muscular heft of this dynamic epic being performed live was remarkable, and it also gives hope to the potential direction they might take on the next album….you know, the album that all the critics will hail as a “return to form” and that Jim James will later confess to feeling “reborn” about and away from the “dark time that was Evil Urges“? Am I getting too far ahead of myself? Sorry about that.

Other than “Touch Me Part 2″ though - and perhaps “Thank You Too” which I love in spite of (because of?) the AM Radio vibe - the night’s highlight reel consisted entirely of the band’s pre-Urges material. Z standouts “Wordless Chorus” and “Dondante” smoldered and were taken to another level by the spare but effective pulsating Close Encounters-light show that accompanied them, while older tracks like “Run Thru” and “One Big Holiday” just keep getting better.

All in all, the show was amazing, and at this point I’m pretty sure there’s no venue in the world My Morning Jacket couldn’t handle playing and winning over. As it stands, Radio City seemed a bit cramped for them by the end of the night, with Jim James incessantly pacing along the side balconies with wireless guitar in hand like a caged animal looking for an escape route. But who knows, if that hippie kid is to be believed, it could have just been a weather dance.

*above photo credits: found HERE

Setlist:
Evil Urges
Off The Record
Gideon
I’m Amazed
Highly Suspicious
What A Wonderful Man
Touch Me I’m Going to Scream Pt. 1
Sec’ Walkin’
Golden
Thank You Too
The Way He Sings
Two Halves
Phone
Aluminum Park
Remnants
Steam Engine
Smokin’ From Shootin’
Touch Me I’m Going to Scream Pt. 2

2nd Set
Bermuda Highway
Librarian
Wordless Chorus
It Beats 4 U
Dondante
The Bear
Lay Low
Run Thru
Anytime
One Big Holiday