My Morning Jacket's One Big Holiday at Hard Rock Hotel, Riviera Maya, Mexico - 1/26-1/30/14

My Morning Jacket’s One Big Holiday at the new Hard Rock Hotel in Riviera Maya, Mexico was THE most uniquely fabulous & amazing concert-going experience of my life!!! And I like to think that’s saying a lot because I have been to a LOT of concerts & festivals! MMJ’s three 2 ½+ hour performances on Sunday, Monday & Wednesday were my 13th through 15th MMJ shows ever & I'm already so stoked for #16 & beyond! 
  

I went to Mexico thinking I was a diehard My Morning Jacket fan but it turns out I'm currently only SOMEWHAT diehard (although I think attending OBH definitely kicks me up a few notches! Lol!). Every single person who attended OBH was super friendly & approachable. All you’d have to do is catch eyes with someone as you passed one another on a path around the resort & somehow you’d start chatting with that person about where you both were from & raving about how fantastic the resort/shows/MMJ/fans were. I think my roomies & I met at least 1/2 the people at the resort & I'm certain we made some new lifelong friends. 

Getting to combine a tropical/beachy/fruity drinks/waterslide/poolside/sunny Mexican resort vacation experience with some of the best My Morning Jacket (& Flaming Lips!) shows I've ever seen was PURE HEAVEN & the all-inclusive everything feature was pretty unbelievable. Also, I must note that MMJ’s Tuesday night dance party (DJed exclusively by MMJ’s drummer, Patrick Hallahan) was THE most fun & wild dance party pretty much ever! It was only scheduled to last from 1-2:30pm but, at 4am, the party was STILL going strong! One of my favorite moments of the trip was dancing like an idiot with all my (new & old) friends to classic tracks to which we all knew the words by artists like Outkast, Snoop Dogg, Harry Belafonte (shake, shake, shake, senora…work the body line!), Beyonce, Sublime, Talking Heads, etc.

I loved every single second of my MMJ’s One Big Holiday experience & I'm already saving up for next year! I can't stop daydreaming about My Morning Jacket’s One Big Holiday! Take me back, POR FAVOR!

MY MORNING JACKET covering Bruce Springsteen’s Hungry Heart on Night 1 – 1/26/14


Preservation Hall Jazz Band Performing Corina, Corina on Night 2 – 1/27/14


MY MORNING JACKET Performing Off The Record on Night 2 – 1/27/14


Mariachi El Bronx on Night 3 – 1/28/14


Flaming Lips Performing W.A.N.D. on Night 3 – 1/28/14


Flaming Lips Performing She Don't Use Jelly on Night 3 – 1/28/14


Jim James Performing Those Gambler's Blues w/Preservation Hall Jazz Band on Night 4 – 1/29/14


MY MORNING JACKET rockin’ the f*ck out on Night 4 – 1/29/14


My Morning Jacket Performing Wordless Chorus on Night 4 – 1/29/14


My Morning Jacket & Wayne Coyne Covering George Harrison’s Isn't It A Pity on Night 4 – 1/29/14 – When I chatted with Wayne Coyne on the beach earlier that day (prior to taking 1 of my now most cherished photos!), I asked if I’d see him at the final show that night & he said he was pretty sure he was going to cover Isn't It A Pity with MMJ. I then proceeded to tell everyone who would listen about the treat we were in for & felt proud to have been given the inside scoop by Wayne himself J J