Having
built a reputation on their sweaty and raw live marathons, Scott and Seth Avett
are known for lathering their adoring fan base into a manic frenzy. Saturday's
raucous performance at Turner Hall Ballroom was no exception, a blowout that left
attendees extremely satisfied.
The
Avett Brothers’ bombastic blend of rootsy soul, bluegrass and rock has led
reviewers to brand them with terms like "grunge-grass" or
"cowpunk," but an evening with The Avett Brothers, as the Turner Hall
crowd learned, renders all of those semi-creative, genre-splicing labels
utterly meaningless.
Boundless
energy pulsed through the opening song, "Shame," from last year's
stellar Emotionalism. The foursome
violently pounded away at their instruments with the pure joy and aplomb of a
group of teenagers who'd just formed their first band. Kick drums located at
the front of the stage replicated some of the authoritative thump present in
the band's studio work. Standouts "Die, Die, Die" and "Pretty
Girl From Chile" established a fevered intensity, shifting from playful
calypso to frantic trilling as the crowd bounced along, erupting each time
Scott and Seth Avett's desperate twin wails locked into harmony.
“Murdered
in the City," a duet from the forthcoming EP The Second Gleam, and the melancholy ballad "If It's The
Beaches" proved the band equally as adept at delivering lonesome
introspection as they are rhythmic, acoustic stompers. Credit belongs to
cellist Joe Kwon for much of that versatility. He added delicate touches to the
more restrained selections while elsewhere providing a warm, resonant balance
beneath the din of banjo and guitar.
The
rollicking "Go To Sleep" found the audience loudly voicing their
appreciation and continuing the song's "la la la la la la" refrain until
the band do-si-doed back to the stage to complete the song in the encore. A
slow take on the first verse of "Talk On Indolence," with all of the
album version's punk edge smoothed over, bled into the boisterous closer
"Will You Return?" If the final song's title was a question to the
audience about their future intentions, then the response was an unequivocal
yes. Judging by the sheer delight of the crowd—one of the liveliest and most
adoring since Turner Hall opened as a concert venue—these loyal followers will
undoubtedly return for more.
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