MIAMI BEACH, Fla. – Music fans got 2 great bands for the price of 1 on Saturday night when Ray LaMontagne performed live at the Fillmore Miami Beach at Jackie Gleason Theater!
The Grammy-winning singer-songwriter is being backed on this tour by the members of My Morning Jacket! Bassist "Two Tone Tommy" Tom Blankenship, drummer Patrick Hallahan, guitarist Carl Broemel and keyboardist Bo Koster provided the meaty backing to LaMontagne's rock-ier tunes. MMJ frontman Jim James actually produced the "Ourobouros" album!
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There was a big crowd on hand Saturday night to see the former shoemaker perform.
There was no opening act. Around 8:30 p.m. LaMontagne came out by himself to a single spotlight and began performing.
The songs from that acoustic start were "Burn", "Jolene", "Like Rock & Roll and Radio" and his 2004 breakthrough hit, "Trouble".
After that acoustic mini-set, he brought out the band and that led to a big surprise for everyone!
As the band begin to perform the fire alarm began going off! No one was certain whether it was part of the show.. until they saw the emergency lights flashing beside them!
People started getting up and heading for the exits until we were all told it was a false alarm. Maybe it was the storm outside, but after about 15 minutes the band came back out and started again.
LaMontagne is touring behind his new album "Ourobouros" and he featured many of those songs at this show.
With a gigantic moon backdrop behind them, LaMontagne and the guys from MMJ tore through new cuts like "The Changing Man", "Hey, No Pressure" and "In My Own Way".
It was a bit of an unusual set up for a rock show; as chairs were placed on the floor all the way up to the stage! There was no "pit area" for fans to get up and dance.
All of the performers were obviously really invested in putting on a great concert. The fans who could be heard calling for their favorite Ray LaMontagne songs all night long did not leave disappointed! LaMontagne and the guys from MMJ really put on a terrific show.