My Morning Jacket [ tickets ] blazed onto the Avalon stage on Saturday night (5/9) and delivered a pulsating, 90-minute set that left no doubt the group is among modern rock's better live acts.

Possessing an infectious energy and carefree, wandering spirit, the group was undeniably likeable delivering loud guitars, masses of six-string heroism and sing-along sweetness.

Opening with the guitar-heavy "One Big Holiday," from the band's most recent release, "It Still Moves," My Morning Jacket followed the lead of pirate look-alike, lead singer/songwriter Jim James through a satisfying night of modern alt-country rock.

Rooted in their native Louisville, KY, My Morning Jacket's sound is a cross between '60s roots-rock folk and today's more trippy American bands like The Flaming Lips and Galaxie 500.

Despite their ability to lay down some honey-sweet roots rock, MMJ showed no signs of taking themselves too seriously. The five-piece band shared its stage with a jack-o-lantern and an inflatable little marshmallow boy. Singer Jim James, meanwhile, wore a dark blue smoking jacket with a colorful plastic parrot permanently perched upon his left shoulder throughout the show. As he sang, James was a rock-and-roll Cousin It, his wavy, long, brown hair concealing his face as he wailed into the microphone.

On album, My Morning Jacket sounds cool and distant, as walls of reverb and echo lather every note and syllable with a thick, tinny film. Live, though James' vocals are similarly affected, he sounds more powerful and more in your face. On "Master Plan," the singer offered frighteningly gorgeous vocals, while thick, lusty, walls of Les Paul guitar glued together the rhythm. Some bands just sound better live.

Throughout the set, the Avalon audience showed its unabashed love for the group. And James and his band didn't hide their gratitude. "Thank you from the bottom of our cold, black hearts," the singer announced wryly from behind his curtain of hair.

Then James strapped on a sunburst Gibson acoustic for the gorgeous honky-tonk highway ballad, "Golden." The song, a clear favorite, drove the audience to wild applause after each verse. In his deep, even baritone, James sang, "People always told me, that bars are dark and lonely and talk is often cheap and filled with air." This time, at least, the Avalon bar was all quiet save for a few fans singing along.

Closing with album-opener and summer block-party anthem, "Mahgeetah," both the band and the fans on the floor relished in the simple pleasure of a great rock song. Here, too, the Southern band's song sounded more powerful than its album version. The guitar breaks in particular sound wimpy on disc; but onstage Saturday they were hard and seemed ready for some far off stadium tour. Consequently, the tune was a true barn burner packed with enough aural zeal to convert an atheist.

With James on an electric guitar, the MMJ rhythm section worked a tight bounce into the song's wide-open arrangement. The performance closed with James standing at the lip of the Avalon stage offering out his guitar--like the two tablets on Mt. Sinai, a rock-'n'-roll Moses. Redemption never sounded so good.