SAN FRANCISCO — A day after performing at Hardly Strictly Bluegrass, My Morning Jacket opened a seven-night Fillmore residency Saturday with special guest Molly Tuttle, Bay Area tributes and a set that stretched comfortably across the band’s catalog.
Each night of the residency takes its theme from a different color of the rainbow, with fans encouraged to dress accordingly. Saturday’s was red, and the band followed suit when it took the stage.
Tuttle, the Peninsula-raised singer-songwriter, joined My Morning Jacket immediately for the Grateful Dead’s “Sugaree,” giving the residency an early Bay Area connection. She and frontman Jim James traded verses before the song opened into a loose jam, the guitars gradually growing more distorted as it reached its end.
“In Its Infancy (The Waterfall),” from 2015 album The Waterfall, shifted into Southern rock, with James and Carl Broemel trading sharp guitar lines over Bo Koster’s keyboards and the rhythm section of bassist Tom Blankenship and drummer Patrick Hallahan. Psychedelic imagery filled the three video screens behind them as James’ high register carried the repeated refrain of “again.”
“Least Expected,” from 2021’s My Morning Jacket, began with keyboards and drums before expanding into another jam. Midway through, the band slipped into Bob Marley’s “One Love,” with James singing, “let’s get together and feel already, one love,” before returning to the song.
“What a wonderful bunch! It’s an honor and privilege to be in this beautiful institution,” James finally said. “So tickled to be with you.”
One of the night’s strongest performances came with “Steam Engine,” from 2003’s It Still Moves.
The song built patiently from James’ reverb-heavy vocals into layered guitars, saxophone from Broemel and a steadily intensifying rhythm section. By its later passages, the crowd had taken over the refrain of “Take your money and your drugs/ Take your money and your drugs,” before the band stretched the song into a swirling jam capped by Hallahan’s drum solo.
The two-part “Touch Me I’m Going to Scream,” from 2008’s Evil Urges, showed another side of the band’s range.
The first part leaned into melodic guitar and James’ vocal performance before the second opened with spacey tones from his Omnichord OM-100. From there, the arrangement shifted into an upbeat electronic and disco groove as James moved across the stage singing the chorus with the crowd.
Tuttle returned for another Bay Area nod with Sly and the Family Stone’s “Everyday People.” She handled the verses while James played his Gibson Flying V, with bright imagery filling the screens behind them.
The set moved freely through the My Morning Jacket catalog, including the call-and-response of “Holdin’ On to Black Metal,” funky “Die for It,” anthemic “Master Plan” and upbeat “Mahgeetah.”
The band also reached into for “Everyday Magic,” one of the night’s lighter moments, with James dropping into a gentler register over its playful pop-rock arrangement.
The encore began acoustically with “Hillside Song,” giving James’ folkier delivery room to breathe.
Tuttle then returned for a third and final appearance.
“Thank you for having me!” she told the crowd before joining James for Dolly Parton’s “Eagle When She Flies.”
They alternated verses, Tuttle singing with a softer touch while James pushed his vocal higher and more dramatically, before coming together on the chorus.
“It fucking soared through the heart,” James said afterward. “Makes you realize how lucky to have her in the world.”
The full band returned for “Off the Record,” its surf-rock opening riff giving way to a looping reggae rhythm before another extended jam pulled in wah-wah guitar and heavier riffs.
My Morning Jacket saved one of its most expansive performances for the end.
“Dancefloors” became a showcase for the entire band, moving through clipped guitar figures, percussive accents, shifting pitch effects, wailing leads and Koster’s piano while the Fillmore’s disco ball spun overhead.
Distortion eventually swallowed the arrangement and brought the first night of the residency to a close.