The Avett Brothers
With their media prominence rising thanks to folks like Oprah, the Avett Brothers are tantalizing close to a full-on breakthrough. From a rather humble, albeit well-supported tenure as Ashville’s favorite musical sons to media darlings is a road that would cause most to stagger. The change has seemingly done little but reinforce the brothers’ introspective songwriting.
Last Thursday night the boys arrived in my hometown and treated the crowd to memorable evening for our little town’s suddenly growing alt-country community. Well-known for some of the most innovative instrumentation, enthusiastic live performances and some of the most original American songwriting in this decade, Seth and Scott Avett entranced those in attendance with 90 minutes of pitch-perfect music.
Joined on stage by bassist Bob Crawford and cellist Joe Kwon, the band rolled through thrashgrass, pop and country taking time to highlight material from their latest EP I and Love and You. At the height of the evening the brothers took the stage for a duet of “Murder in the City.” Stirring in its vulnerability, the song’s performance was a truly moving experience. It’s hard to recall another single performance I’ve witnessed that was quite as genuine. It was as if we all were apart of a private conversation that only those in the room could ever understand.
Remarkably, it was that synergy between performer and audience that I’ll remember. It was as pure as music can be, as intimate as a living room performance. And literally there was an amphitheatre full of kick drum hearts beating in unison by the end of the night’s encores.