The band I was looking forward to most at this year’s Summerfest was My Morning Jacket. Coming off the heels of one of my favorite albums of 2005, I had high expectations. I wondered how this unique band’s recorded music (which sounds elaborately produced) would come off live. I was not disappointed. The show started off with the opening drones of “Wordless Chorus.” When the lead singer got to the line “We are the innovators, they are the imitators” I thought, you can say that again.

There were a lot of psychedelic aspects to My Morning Jacket’s show. Including the way songs can meld from being somber and dreamlike to Allman Brothers style jams, and the vocal styles of the lead singer. The simple but very effective light show was the perfect compliment, flowing along and accenting the band’s performance.

My favorite song of the night was “Gideon.” It started off with a gentle, waving guitar hook and the lead singer’s warm tenor. The song crescendoed until the band was playing with all of their might and the singer almost shouting out the lyrics with an angered intensity. It then faded back to the original gentle notes of the guitar and dissolved away. I don’t know if the crowd was just astounded by the song, or unsure of its conclusion, but for a brief moment after it was done we just stood there, almost stunned, before applauding.

The set list at Summerfest focused on the band?s latest release, especially at the start of the show when they played the first four songs from the CD, in order. “Lay Low” from that album was another highlight, ending in an improvisational jam that showcased the excellent musicianship of the band.

By the time they were done with the encore, My Morning Jacket ended up playing for two hours. In those two hours, there wasn’t one bad moment. I imagine it’ll be a while before I see as good a show as I did last night.