The first time I saw the Avett Brothers live three years ago at the St. Louis Pageant, I instantly fell in love with them and their impeccable harmonies, genius lyrics, wide variety of styles and massive musical talent.
By the second time I saw them in Springfield in March, easily my favorite band by then, I was further awed by their capabilities as musicians and endless energy on stage. The band’s sound is impossible to squeeze into one genre, ranging from folk and bluegrass to rock. The only similarities found in the songs is their earnest love and passion for performing.
As the expression goes, the third time’s the charm. The Avett Brothers performed a perfectly arranged 29-song set list Sept. 29 at the Fabulous Fox Theater, featuring hits from every album excluding their unpolished 2002 Carolina Jubilee.
The Avett Brothers consist of North Carolina’s singing brothers Scott Avett, who primarily plays banjo and Seth Avett, primarily guitarist, both taking turns on the piano, bassist Bob Crawford, cellist Joe Kwon and drummer Jacob Edwards.
The brothers ran onto the stage fashionably late with the crowd-pleasing “Die Die Die” off their 2007 record Emotionalism, immediately transitioning to the popular “Head Full of Doubt / Road Full of Promise.” These openers brought the crowd to their feet and kept them there throughout the night.
After 10 energy-filled songs, the rest of the band cleared the stage for Scott and Seth to play the tear-jerking “Murder in the City” and “Souls Like the Wheels,” where the brothers had the chance to show off their clear, unprocessed voices.
When Kwon, Edwards and Crawford made their way back to the stage, they lifted the crowd back up with their rendition of the upbeat instrumental “Old Joe Clark,” inspiring square dancing and cowboy boot tapping amongst the 5,060 flannel-wearing fans.
Following two hours of nonstop enthusiasm, the quintet played their hit “I And Love And You,” waved to the crowd, ran off the stage and feigned the end of the show. After two minutes of unbroken screaming the boys returned to their bases to perform their encore, playing “Talk on Indolence”, “Shady Grove” and “Alabama Gals.”
Responding to shouted requests throughout the entire evening, the brothers strayed away from their original setlist to end with “November Blue,” a fan favorite from their 2002 album Country Was. The live version excluded the jaunty piano part and required a much slower tempo. “November Blue” seemed to tie together the entire concert and bring closure to the night, as fans sang along, swayed and held hands.
They left the stage permanently this time, with Seth responding to the never-ending cheers, “Thanks for being so nice to us y’all.” As if we would have been anything but.
When the concert ended, The Avett Brothers impressed everyone with their country boy charm off stage, taking the time to meet, talk to and take pictures with fans waiting for them outside.
The newest Avett Brothers album, The Carpenter, is now available on iTunes.
