Rolling hot from the 2009 release of their latest album, “I and Love and You,” The Avett Brothers are currently touring sold-out venues from coast to coast. The Avett Brothers are on their way to Europe next to share their unique take on folk music with a rock twist and some sparse hints of punk.
On Tuesday March 9th, the band stumbled into the Michigan Theatre in Ann Arbor to play in front of a crowd of salivating fans eager to taste the North Carolina birthed music.
The Avett Brothers feature the family duo Scott and Seth Avett on guitar and banjo, Bob Crawford on upright bass and Joe Kwon on the cello. With dancing, jumping, stage lighting, ripping vocals and raw talent, the band is wildly entertaining live. While some songs such as “Kick Drum heart,” From “I and Love and You,” are rowdy and loud, they dig into their catalog to offer fans heartfelt and honest work live as well, such as “Laundry Room” with lyrics, “Don’t push me out; Just a little longer; Stall your mother; Disregard your father’s words; Close the laundry door; Tiptoe across the floor; Keep your clothes on; I got all that I can take.”
The Avett Brothers have been playing and recording music since 2000, with the release of a self-titled EP. Since then, they have released over a dozen other works and have built a following of dedicated fans. In Ann Arbor, every member of the audience was screaming the lyrics to each song.
At one point during the show, Scott Avett’s guitar refused to work properly, jumping in and out of tune, so the bearded guitarist unclipped his guitar strap, set the instrument down and sang “Murder in the City” totally a capella — sans band. The audience filled the theatre, singing in unison with Scott’s voice: “Always remember, there is nothing worth sharing, like the love that let us share our name.”
The Avett Brothers’ catalog of folk-rock music is painfully honest.Their live renditions were no different, playing the songs that the hardcore fans wanted to hear as they screamed out their requests.
Opening for Avett was a band from Rhode Island known as The Low Anthem. Formed in 2006, Low Anthem has released two albums, “What the Crow Brings” (2007) and “Oh My God Charlie Darwin” (2009).
Their sound is something between traditional Appalachian folk loaded with reverb and rock n’ roll. The four members of the band sing in rich harmonies in songs such as “Charlie Darwin.” Equipped with guitar, clarinet, harpsichord, harmonica and drums, The Low Anthem put on an emotionally driven show.
During the performance of “This God Damn House,” frontman, Ben Knox Miller encouraged the audience to be a part of the sound experience. By way of cellular devices, the audience held their phones together with the person next to them, creating a high pitch sound that sounded as though it was written for The Low Anthem’s song. The whole show by The Low Anthem was chilling and haunting, a positive effect considering their style. Throughout their performance, it was as if the entire band had forgotten that they were playing for an audience and were simply playing for themselves.
Towards the end of the Avett Brothers’ gig, The Low Anthem gave the brothers a custom music box as a thank you gift for allowing them to be a part of the tour — the box played the song, “January Wedding.” After the gift giving, The Avett Brothers went right into to that song while the music box still chimed the melody in the background.
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