Still buzzing from My Morning Jacket's show at Roseland last week, we declared MMJ the Best Live Band On Earth and put out a call for challengers. Two potential contenders have emerged from the pile: My Chemical Romance (nominated by the formidable homie Boykins) and Animal Collective.
We have been continuously amazed / impressed / psyched out of our minds about how many fans have been willing to go down the AC rabbit hole and delve into their effects-laden live trips. Sold out shows at Webster Hall aren't really that deep - New York is the band's home turf and a city full of weirdos, so of course they can get a big draw in NYC. But AC has consistently played for huge crowds not only across North America, but around the world - for our F33 cover story, we caught up with them in the north of France in a packed and sweaty converted ship, for instance, to say nothing of tours across the rest of Europe, Down Under, etc etc etc. While it seems doubtful that a band as weird as AC could have the Future Stadium Potential Quotient that My Morning Jacket has been flexing throughout 2006, listening to the live track from AC's hard-to-get-but-it's-out-there-somewhere People EP reminded us of the many heavy times we've had with the band around the world.
As far as the Bromance goes, only two FADER staffers have seen them live, but Boykins has probably been to as many shows as we have this year, and The Boykins Opinion is not to be taken lightly. Next time the band comes to town, we promise to go do a little research. In the meantime, if you think you saw a Best Live Band On Earth contender in 2006, hit us up at info@thefader.com.