Avett Recycle

I'd write something new, but really, this about sums it up. And I'm lazy. And it's also kind of nice to have written and documented proof that you were keen on the next big thing before they were big. The nasty elitist in me rears its head.

Chech the technique, doubting Thomaseseses.



11/2005

On Thursday night, at The Patio of all places, I kept thinking of Harold Bloom.

The Patio is not the sort of venue where high-fallutin’ Ivy League professors/critics usually come to mind, much less when a alt.country bluegrass act is going to appear. But, while waiting for The Avett Brothers to come to the stage, Bloom’s theory of “The Anxiety of Influence” kept running through my brain.

I won’t bore you with the details of the theory, but in a nutshell it says that no matter what an artist does, the artists that came before them will perpetually influence them. Whether they embrace their forebears or reject them, improve on what came before or tear it down, every artist is influenced by their predecessors. It is only the great ones that can overcome this anxiety to make a real mark on their genre and create something authentic, new and vital. Nov. 17th at The Patio showcased a group in the Avett Brothers that have wrestled with that anxiety and come out on right side of the fray to bring some compelling and sometimes transcendent music to the table.

...

The headliners, The Avett Brothers, made an impressive splash at this summer’s Midwest Music Summit, stomping a big hole in the Monkey’s Tale. The jostling Patio audience this night had, by 11:00 PM, quaffed a few and was clearly hankering for a dose of these feller’s brand of bluegrass-roots sound. A bona fide string band, the group is made of guitarist Seth Avett, his brother and banjo player Scott Avett, and upright bassist Bob Crawford. Spare percussion comes in the form of a small high hat and mini kick-drum, each stomped in time by Seth and Scott. The brothers shared vocals in equal parts, showing off spectacular harmonies that are just as round and unforced onstage as they are on record.

While they have an obvious reverence for their country and bluegrass ancestors, this band is not afraid to throw in a glass-breaking heavy-metal scream, like the call and response shrieks in “Nothing Short of Thankful.” Most of the material this night came from the band’s latest LP, “Mignonette.” Though the image of bucolic charmers with Carolinian accents might be one’s first impression of the singers, it belies the artistic and academic pedigree evidenced in their mock post-modern titled series of songs, “Pretty Girl…,” found throughout their studio and live records.

Each of the Avetts possess an accomplished grasp of their instrument, but the performance never devolved into banjo noodling or self-indulgent solos, just loud foot-stomping crowd-pleasers. In songs like “At the Beach”, they showed a command of Mediterranean rhythms and pop lyrics, punctuated by a Motown “Bah Ba Bah Bop” chorus, yet free of the derivative feeling of a Jack Johnson song. Other highlights were “Love Like the Movies,” “Signs” (a song written and first recorded by their father, thirty years ago), and “Matrimony,” a mournful tune of love gone wrong which will appear on their upcoming album, “Four Thieves Gone.”

The song most emblematic of the band’s sound and aesthetic, however, was “Swept Away.” Imagine the Carter Family and Jay Farrar singing a Willie Nelson lyric and you kind of get the feel for the song. This is a song so timeless and tuneful that it sounds like it could’ve been written 60 years ago and will still hold up as a true Americana 60 years in the future. They capped off the show with a bottle busting rendition of their “Traveling Song,” a number with the theme of “ramblin’ and moving on” that has found its way into every great blues, folk and bluegrass artist’s catalog since Mr. Johnson went down to the crossroads.

There was no encore, perhaps because they wanted to leave us wanting a little bit more in February when they come back to town as openers for BR-549. The band was especially kind to Kit Malone, as well as Rev. Peyton and The Big Damn Band and Otis Gibbs, who were in attendance, thanking them all for their support.

The Avett Brothers could be plunked down in the hills of North Carolina in 1900 and their sound would fit right in. But they have also incorporated bits and pieces of different middle-to-late 20th century influences, which gives a sonic depth and modern presence to their music other “Nügrass” artists don’t necessarily have. The influence of musical ancestors and even recent peers can often crush a band that tries to reach back in time for their inspiration. Not so with The Avetts. They are tremendous live performers whose expanding catalog represents the best in roots music that doesn't pale in the shadow of the large tree above it. Go see them next time they are in town. Just be sure to wear the appropriate footwear for toe tapping and foot stomping -- maybe a pair of your granddaddy’s boots.