Does Anybody Even Read These Things?

Where do I begin? I should have started three years ago, when I landed my gig at MTV and started attending concerts weekly. I’d love to say that MTV influenced my live music interest, but it was more so being around coworkers and friends that wanted to see the shows with me in The Vibrant City That Is New York—where there is literally a great band playing somewhere every single night.

About two years ago I started working with MTVU, our college channel (the closest you're going to get to the old MTV--deal with it), that really sparked my interest in the latest “indie” bands. Add a deep-rooted love of classic rock, a new love of electronic music, a touch of Rolling Stone & Spin magazines, the booming festival circuit and like-minded, smart music companions added to the boot; and you’ve got the recipe for Eve Frederick. And yes, I have the nickname at work, “Concert Eve!”

As much as I would like to go over all of the amazing experiences I’ve had with music over the last three years, or I could even say since my first concert (it was Oasis), I’ve decided to start with my fourth show of my FAVORITE band (and I can say that with conviction), My Morning Jacket (MMJ).

Accompanied by two people who are very much on my music wave length, Kizz and Todd, we ventured to Phili to see MMJ on Sept. 5^th at a great venue, the Festival Pier. No two-at-a-time beer limit? Free Pizza? Clean bathrooms? A spot directly in front of Jim James? A light drizzle and fireworks over the water? The show was captivating, moving, heart wrenching, magical, and frankly just turned me on. As Kate Chinen from The New York Times states, “My Morning Jacket has spent the better part of a decade making soaring, reverberant Southern rock with a psychedelic undertow: music to get lost in, body and soul." Here's a great link where you can download some of their live shows. If you want to re-live any of my experiences, check out the Greek Theatre, Festival Pier, Radio City, or Lollapalooza shows. For an MMJ virgin, I would recommend the album Z or the live Okonokos. Oh and by the way, Jim James is the lead singer. In my opinion he's the male equivalent of Mariah Carey. His voice is, in simple terms, beautiful. He was in the midst of falling in love as he was writing their most recent album, Evil Urges, and man can you tell this guy was in love! His delivery is so powerful; you can be drawn in so closely to the love he felt as the words drift out of his mouth. The lyrics "I want to thank you for thinking of me" in the track "Thank You" are so endearing--to thank someone just for loving you? And his screaming! It's the most beautiful scream you've ever heard! The audience is right there along with him, truly with their body and souls.

‘Till the next show…

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