Many bands struggle with balancing a variety of seemingly disparate musical styles, there is the understandable fear of not presenting a coherent identity. Kudos to The Avett Brothers for being successful in pulling from a range of styles, from bluegrass to cowpunk with many stops in between.
That range was in full effect at The Rady Shell.
The band is in tight form; they have been running steadily with live gigs since springtime. They have a slew of dates on calendars, all the way to Thanksgiving. The San Diego crowd saw the band in good form, well-oiled with precision musicianship.
Led by the eponymous siblings Scott (banjo, lead vocals, guitar, piano, kick-drum) and Seth (guitar, lead vocals, piano, hi-hat), the band also includes Bob Crawford (bass, violin, backing vocals) and Joe Kwon (cello, backing vocals). Crawford has been with the brothers the longest. On the road are three more players: Mike Marsh (drums), Tania Elizabeth (fiddle) and Bonnie Avett-Rini (piano).
The generous set list of over two dozen songs at The Rady Shell pulled from their many recordings and displayed their versatility across genres.
Fairly early in the set the band delivered a tasty Doc Watson instrumental (“Black Mountain Rag”), noting that he also hailed from North Carolina. After thereby presenting their traditional music bona fides, they leapt across generations for the cow punk “Love of a Girl.” The shouty lyrics, slashing chords and loopy refrain confirmed the audience was in for an eclectic evening. Sure enough the next song slowed the pace and was offered as an homage to their hometown of Asheville, which they noted was suffering in the wake of the hurricane. The heartbreak in the brothers’ harmonies was heartfelt.
Older generations of fans weaned on albums by Ozark Mountain Daredevils and Pure Prairie League find much to like with Avett Brothers. Although the latter offer a bit more hayseed and banjo than the ambitious and sadly overlooked Poco, Avett Brothers carve an authentic path. Although it should be noted that none of those earlier bands featured a cello. Kwon’s unique ergonomic approach to the instrument meant he never sat with it between his knees, rather the cello was strapped around his neck, affording him mobility to range across the stage.
Seth’s guitar solo during the rave of “Kick Drum Heart” was at risk of going off kilter, but it eventually bumped into the guardrails and impressively droned into “Cheap Coffee.”
Seth’s vocal is a higher tenor voice than brother Scott and together the resulting harmonies are very satisfying. But Seth consistently lets his guitar do lots of impressive sonic excursions.
One of the evening’s many highlights was “I And Love And You.” The maturity in the lyrics of that song and the show closer belies the brothers’ youthful energy.
“Ain’t No Man” was the energetic clap-along that ended the main set, but of course the band had more in the pocket for the encore. The final trio of songs led with Toby Keith’s twangy and clever “As Good as I Once Was.” With smiles all around, “The Prettiest Thing” was another cover, but slowed things down for the traditional show closing “No Hard Feelings.”
A great venue, a band in great form…a great combination.
(photos by Brad Auerbach)
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