June 3, 2011

The Avett Brothers @ State Theatre – June 2

Please welcome back Eric Wyman, a longtime friend of Hidden Track, to share his thoughts on last night’s Avett Brothers show…

The Avett Brothers have arrived in New England. Sure their most recent record I & Love & You was lauded by critics and the public. Sure they appeared on national television performing at the Grammys with Bob Dylan. Sure they’re now a highly billed act on the festival circuit. But being a band with southern roots and a similar fan base, I knew they had arrived in New England when the first song found the entire crowd singing.

Previous shows in New England have been fine, but on this night there was an increased energy from the crowd. Not as if they were there to check out a band they heard was good, or because they went with some friends, but rather because they were fans themselves.

The brothers really know how to compose a setlist that rides the peaks and valleys of their musical energy to the fullest. On this night they started with a four song throwdown of high energy songs – And It Spread, Paranoia in b Flat, the bluegrass standard Blue Ridge Mountain Blues and Colorshow. The latter found the entire crowd completely engaged, screaming the callbacks to the band at full force while cellist Joe Kwon changed a string broken string on the fly. Compare this with the combo of Swept Away and When I Drink and you have both ends of the North Carolina band’s spectrum. When I Drink found the brothers, alone on stage, under a single spotlight, sharing a microphone, an environment evoking one of their greatest strengths as an acoustic duo.

Set: And It Spread, Paranoia, Blue Ridge Mt Blues, Colorshow, Swept Away, When I Drink, Tin Man, January Wedding, Shame, Go to Sleep, Sally’s Lover, Ballad of Love and Hate, The Fall, Murder in the city, HFOD, Talk on Indolence, Kick Drum Heart, InLnU

Encore: Laundry Room, Down in the Valley (Scott and Seth)

[via AvettBrothers.com Forum]

READ ON for more of Eric’s take on The Avett Brothers…

After spending half of the night creating another two playlists, I abandoned them in the wee hours in lieu of riding the week-long wave that has been the opening on Phish’s 2011 Summer Tour (in which you can read my review here, along with ample other HT links/news).

So, allow me  to present to you a playlist of some choice cuts from Phish’s past, in allowing yourself to get amped for the next set of shows in the Midwest this weekend. First up, we have a scorching Funky Bitch from a venue that holds so much in the Phish lore: The Worcester Centrum. Jumping right ahead to arguably the greatest version of Bathtub Gin from the Great Went in ’97, we reach an early peak with this one that makes my head, heart and soul explode into a zillion pieces of colorful confetti. Following this up with another festival cut, Torn and Frayed from Festival 8, this is another song that I feel gets props, but not the full love it deserves: and might be my favorite song off of the Stones cover album from Halloween ’09.

Jumping on to one of the versions of Sneakin’ Sally Through the Alley that 3.0 has run with, and my once-upon a time favorite tune, The Lizards, I feel we are off to a good mid-set vibe. Dipping twice into the magic of the Great Went, I return for another soaring tune in Harry Hood, in which the band jammed under the stars, sans lights and the birth of glowstick wars as we know them were created. (Don’t throw them at the band!)

READ ON for more on this week’s mix…