Would you look at that? Some more sports-music-polism (from here on known as Spomulism) synthesis courtesy of FSD. You're welcome.Anyway, Sunday night was one filled with expectation and excitement. After all, the Patriots steam-rolled the Titans, the Jets lost, and Brothers Avett having just dropped one of the best albums of the year, goose-stepped on into town to serenade Boston's swirling mass of college students... Well, at least that is what I determined to be the case based upon crowd composition.
And boy were they excited. There was a serious pulse to the room, as if the audience were one collective organism sharing in the revelry, while I on the other hand, played the role of invasive organism; benign at heart, but still clearly an outsider. Neither drunk, nor giddy, nor young enough, I did the only thing I could do, politely sliding into the least crowded section of the packed house, Stage Left.
The band smiled, playing it grateful and cool. Smiling all while continuously mentioning how happy they were to be in Boston in lieu of the unseasonable weather conditions. However, it appeared that even the band was not immune to the fervor sweeping through the audience. For if the delivery on I and Love and You can be considered to be calm and collected, the performance on stage is best described as passionate albeit strained. And so even the talent can get caught up in the moment. But when scores of young females are screaming "I love you" repeatedly throughout the first half of the show, well then understanding is a little easier to come by.
Scott (banjo, vocals, piano, guitar, drums) seemed to have the most trouble during the course of the evening. On the album his voice is crisp, deep, and bold. But during the live set it was hoarse and distant. While his brother Seth (guitar, vocals, piano, drums) sought the fill the void, lending ebullient harmonies to the chorus, the vocals never really soared throughout the course of the evening. Or maybe it was the two clowns behind me, who made it a point to state the name of every song the band played prior to shouting out the lyrics to the last 6 songs of the set, muffling the band and infuriating myself in the process. And there was a lot of that throughout the course of the evening, but I just happened to be standing in front of the most obnoxious of the lot. Nothing wrong with singing along, but just remember that no one paid to hear you sing, and keep your volumes to a moderate level.
In addition to the brothers, Seth and Scott, are Bob Crawford on the bass and Joe Kwon on cello. Joe quickly became my favorite subject of the evening, bringing an every and playfulness to the cello (celloing?) that I had not known to be possible. And it wasn't that this was a bad show overall. It was certainly entertaining and generally easy to dance to, especially when the one of the brothers shifted back to the drum kit or when the band veered toward the lighter side of bluegrass. And there is nothing more amusing than indie rockers trying to dance to bluegrass. However, the band did not seem the play within themselves. Rather than dictating the pace and measure of the performance, they appeared to be at the whim of their surroundings; a high energy crowd willing to accept anything that would be thrown their way. Instead of rising above, the Avetts got caught within this wave. And I think that was unfortunate for the sake of the performance.
Considering what the Avett Brothers have been able to accomplish in the studio, and based on what people generally say about their live shows, this is a band who could very well be selling out mid-range venues for decades to come. However, based on the audience composition and the band's pretty boy image, one can understand the backlash of many older fans jumping ship and/or many non-fans chalking this act up to mere DMBism. Both cases are the result of lazy self-righteousness, but if the Avetts are unable to remain consistent and true to their vision, in the studio and beyond, then once can foresee a deep pitfall on the horizon. And if it comes to that, then it would just be an incredible waste of talent.
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