My Morning Jacket - MMJ Live Vol. 2: Chicago 2021 (3LP) - Orange Vinyl

My Morning Jacket’s MMJ Live Vol. 2: Chicago 2021 captures a band in full flight, back on stage after the long quiet, and feeding off a room that knows how to listen. Recorded during the group’s 2021 run at Chicago’s historic Auditorium Theatre and released on ATO Records in October 2022, it feels like a well-worn bootleg that happens to sound huge. You can hear the hall shaping the music, the way those balconies throw Jim James’s voice back like a friendly echo, and the way Patrick Hallahan’s drums bloom in the space. It is a love letter to the power of a room and a night, but it also works as a sharp primer for anyone hunting for My Morning Jacket vinyl that proves why their legend was built on stage.

The lineup is the classic five that fans trust: James on vocals and guitar, Tom Blankenship holding the low end, Carl Broemel switching between searing leads and pedal steel or sax, Bo Koster’s keys painting the air, and Hallahan driving the whole thing with swing and muscle. The group had just put out their self-titled album in 2021, so the set pulls from that moment as well as the long arc of Z, It Still Moves, and beyond. You get that push and pull the band does so well, the patient builds, the sudden pivots from hush to frenzy, the little rhythmic accents that turn a chorus you thought you knew into something elastic and new.

What stands out first is the pace. They settle in, take their time, and let the songs breathe. James still leans into those reverb-drenched vowels that made the early records feel like midnight transmissions, but there’s a clarity to the singing here that suits the bigger, more open arrangements. Broemel’s guitar tone is a story on its own, glassy when he wants it, then ripping when the jam needs a spark. Koster keeps the corners warm with organ and synth flourishes, while Blankenship and Hallahan never lose the thread, even in the long stretches where the band floats and the crowd roars.

If you came to MMJ through the studio records, this is the kind of release that flips the light switch. There is a reason the band’s live shows have long been the conversion point. They stretch without getting lost. They revisit catalog favorites with a sense of play, then slide in newer material that earns its place right away. The grooves are deep, the dynamics are thoughtful, and the climaxes feel earned rather than forced. When the audience locks in, you can hear that lift on the tape, that little rise in energy that only happens with bodies in a room.

The mix brings you close enough to catch the details. Cymbals bloom, bass lines thump, synths shimmer in the gaps, and the crowd sits just behind the band, present but not intrusive. It is the kind of live album you put on to test a new setup, then forget the test because the performance pulls you in. If you collect My Morning Jacket albums on vinyl, the Chicago 2021 set belongs on the same shelf as the studio touchstones, because it documents the thing that ties those eras together, the band’s feel. The MMJ Live series has been a gift on that front, and Vol. 2 proves the concept has legs.

There is also a quiet sense of occasion baked into these recordings. The 2021 tour marked a renewed run after a disrupted stretch, so the gratitude you hear between songs hits differently. Chicago has always treated the band like a hometown secret, and the Auditorium Theatre’s history adds a bit of ceremony. You can almost see the sweep of the arches when the band digs into a slow burn, then drops the hammer and sends the balconies buzzing.

For crate-diggers, this set does the collector thing right. It sounds full, it looks sharp, and it rewards repeat listens. If you are browsing a local shop and spot MMJ Live Vol. 2: Chicago 2021 vinyl, do not overthink it. If you need to buy My Morning Jacket records online, this is an easy add to the cart. It plays like a memory you can re-enter, and it holds up when you turn it loud. And whether you are flipping through bins in a neighborhood spot or scrolling from halfway around the world, even in the vinyl records Australia scene, this is the live statement to reach for when someone asks why this band matters.

In short, MMJ Live Vol. 2 is generous, warm, and alive. It is the sound of five players trusting each other and a crowd answering back. That is the enduring promise of a great live album, and Chicago 2021 delivers it.