You never miss the water till your Lazy Saturday runs dry.

(Editor’s Note: The man in the photograph above is named only “cattle millionaire with new Cadillac.”  How’s that for a comment of the bloated nature of our national character?  A symbol of our wasteful and fattening dietary habits resting behind a symbol of our crippling dependence on oil and the opulence of twentieth century capitalism, all tied together by the white dude in a cowboy hat that owns all of it.  If you had to sum up where we went wrong as a nation, you could do worse than white dudes, Cadillacs and cattle.  If you drive a luxury automobile, eat meat, wear cowboy hats or are a white oppressor, drop us a line in the comments!  In other news, we’re a bit more focused than usual in today’s Lazy Saturday, focusing on two artists who consistently deliver killer live material.  Enjoy.)

For my thirtieth birthday last year, Mrs. Citizen dug deep into the coffers and took us to Louisville to see My Morning Jacket.  Keep in mind that Mrs. Citizen isn’t a huge fan of live shows in general (she’s not fond of the casual touching with strangers that always occurs at those things) or a huge fan of My Morning Jacket in particular (she thinks that Jim James’ voice is a little creepy and she’s not about extended jams in any context) and you’re getting close to understanding that I married a saint.  We had a sweet weekend in Louisville, eating some good food, taking a few strolls and hitting the Louisville Slugger museum.  The show itself was off the charts good, giving full endorsement to the notion that if you can see a good band in their hometown, you should.  Dudes laid down three solid hours of music, including a snippet of “Cobra” and an absolutely scorching version of “Dondante.”  I’ve been lucky enough to catch MMJ three other times and they always exceed expectations live.

I’m thinking about the Jacket this weekend because of the preponderance of covers albums on the market these days.  Seems like you can’t throw a rock without hitting an indie rocker pushing a record composed solely of covers of obscure country music that nobody’s ever heard before.  While I’m on the record as firmly endorsing several of these albums, there’s a part of me that yearns for the more populist covers approach taken by a band like My Morning Jacket.  MMJ sprinkle their live sets with brilliantly chosen covers that, more often than not, are immediately identifiable.  When we caught Dan Auerbach a while back, he played a cover that 90% of the audience had never heard before (the other 10% were nodding sagely and lying to their girlfriends).  Those Matt Krefting, Condo Fucks and Headless Heroes albums are jammed with songs that nobody but music majors have ever listened to.  (I’m over-simplifying of course, but you see my point.  Sure, several of the songs on those albums were big, but if you knew who Vashti Bunyan was six months ago you’re a better person than me.)  I love it when bands, essentially, say, “We’re like you!  We love the same records that you do!  We have the same taste!  We’re not better than you!”  MMJ pulls this move all the time, with “Tyrone” being maybe the best example of their willingness to acknowledge that goofiness and levity can reside next to killer tunes.  As a listener, there are times when I want the bands I love to show me the way to obscure tunes that informed their sound.  Sometimes I just want the bands I love to give me a hug and play a Stones song.

We’ve got two killer covers from the Jacket’s 2006 Bonnaroo performance.  “Loving Cup” kind of makes me chuckle because half the audience probably thought that Phish wrote that one in the first place.  “It Makes No Difference” is a great song from an underrated album from The Band (Northern Lights, Southern Cross), that the boys were playing throughout 2006.  I caught them opening up for Pearl Jam in Cleveland and they opened with it, with Eddie Vedder adding vocals.  It was a class move from Eddie, as everybody with a computer knew that he was singing the first song of the openers’ set for the whole tour and, as such, showed up on time, and the song itself was absolutely beautiful.  This version doesn’t have Vedder’s pipes behind it, but it’s still solid.  (And, again, if it makes me uncool to love Pearl Jam, I don’t give a shit.  No Code is one of the best albums of the nineties and I’ll fight you if you disagree.)

“Loving Cup > Easy Morning Rebel” – My Morning Jacket – Bonnaroo, 2006

“It Makes No Difference” – My Morning Jacket – Bonnaroo, 2006

The last two tracks today come from a band that I’ve been meaning to get into a post for a good long while.  I don’t think I have to say a lot about Medeski, Martin & Wood other than they’re one of the best live acts on the planet.  I saw them open for Morphine in 1996 and haven’t missed a show in the greater Ohio area since.  The things that John Medeski does to a keyboard constantly leave my jaw on the floor.  I’ve seen Chris Wood play that bass like a congo drum and I’ve seen Billy Martin play drum solos that would make anybody this side of Elvin Jones blush.  If you’re not hip, let these tunes wash over you, then buy Combustication immediately.  Thank me later.

“Coconut Boogaloo” – Medeski, Martin & Wood – Los Angeles, 2001

“Sugarcraft” – Medski, Martin & Wood – New York, 1998