Dear MMJ: More Surprises, Less Jamming Please

I hate to compare shows, but My Morning Jacket forced my hand Friday.

As they noodled past the two and a half hour market at Nashville's Riverfront Park, I understood how deeply Jim James and Co. spoiled me with their show for the ages at Bonnaroo.

Anyone who broke out covers of Bobby Womack’s “Across 110^th Street” and the Velvet Underground’s “Oh! Sweet Nuthin’” in the same set would.

Seventy miles from Manchester, their long versions of songs frequently turned into the oblivious party guest unable to recognize it’s time to leave.

Now, I had no expectation they would repeat Bonnaroo – those are special circumstances for many bands, and Kirk Hammett doesn’t just show up for a few songs everyday (nor did I have interest in sitting through a downpour). But that set displayed the band’s live boldness.

Don’t think of it as a disappointment - for the first two hours, MMJ had me at almost every turn.

Expertly mixing in tracks from across their oeuvre, they never faltered, even when James appeared onstage in a cape for a few songs.

They had to compete with a Titans preseason game across the Cumberland, along with the General Jackson, coal barges and evening river traffic. Fireworks from the game gave James the dry-witted moment of the night: “We paid a lot of money for them. I hope you enjoy them.”

When they stuck to that script – “Librarian,” “Touch Me I’m Going to Scream Pt. 1” and “Off the Record” – the results were amazing. Few bands put out a tighter effort.

When the songs meandered into sparse, atmospheric jams looking back at the 10-minute mark, they lost their adventurous edges to a repetition unbecoming of a crack live band.

Concerts that push the three-hour mark always run the risk of monotony if the musicians fail to tread carefully. Jamming can take inspired turns, but it's a tough line to walk.

MMJ never courted that territory in June, but as 11 p.m. neared, those extended versions bumped up against their limits, and the quirky covers were sorely missed. I ducked out at that point, more than satisfied with what I heard earlier.

Some of the dull moments can be chalked up to the kinks that often plague the first show on a tour.

Songwise, I heard everything I expected to hear, mostly executed without hitches.

But a little taste of MMJ’s unexpected side would have been welcomed.