How do you sum up the first decade of the 21st Century? For The Avett Brothers, this decade has seen them go from a little-known pair of brothers playing small shows to a touring band with a rabid, dedicated fan base to a critically-acclaimed foursome landing a major record deal and national recognition. Could one show somehow encapsulate such a journey? To the delight of everyone in attendance at this show, the answer was a resounding “Yes!” 
2009 was a particularly turbulent year for The Avett Brothers. Having inked a deal with American/Columbia records for an album to be produced by Rick Rubin, expectations were mixed. All over message boards and blogs, the same fears from their core fan base appeared again and again: would Rubin polish their sound to the point where it was no longer the raw, unbridled emotion that we had come to love? Would I and Love and You be to The Avett Brothers what Let it Be was to The Beatles? When the album was released in September of 2009, it seemed that the worst fears of these particular fans had come true; much of the album consisted of understated, mellow songs that featured more piano than banjo, more singing than shouting, more romance than longing. However (and I’m speaking mostly to those who negatively responded to this album), was this progression really so unexpected? Their 2008 EP The Second Gleam was as reserved and melodic as we’d ever heard The Avett Brothers sound, yet this album was very well received by fans. All of this brings us to the present: New Year’s Eve 2009, a show in Asheville (just a two hour drive down I-40 from their hometown of Concord), a crowd of both long-time fans and newcomers, and a sense that no one quite knew what to expect. I’m sure I can speak for everyone present when I say that no one left disappointed.
The show began with a tune from their newest release – “The Perfect Space.” A more apt opening song could not have been selected. The song begins with a beautiful piano melody accompanied by Scott Avett singing lyrics of acceptance and want. As the song builds, the other members begin to join in until the song peaks into a fun, jubilant pop song with a choppy piano riff, fun gang vocal shouting, and an eventual decrescendo back into a reprise of the opening seconds. Setting the tone for the rest of the evening, the band performed the song both beautifully and energetically. The song selection wonderfully spanned most of the history of this veteran group, from “Swept Away” and “Salvation Song” (folky quasi-hymns from their 2004 Mignonette record) to raucous, foot-stomping ditties such as “Talk on Indolence” all the way to ballads from their newest record like the title track “I and Love and You.” The slower, seemingly less concert friendly songs from I and Love and You were performed with such energy and passion that the audience couldn’t help but get caught up in the moment, regardless of where one stood on the debate of “new” Avett versus “old” Avett music. Of course, if you have ever seen this group perform live, you have come to expect nothing less, and this performance seemed to dull if not eliminate the imaginary line drawn between earlier and newer Avett releases.
As the final encore song, The Avett Brothers chose “Colorshow,” the third track from their 2006 effort Four Thieves Gone: The Robbinsville Sessions. Again, little can be said to debate this choice. With lyrics like “Be loud, let your colors show. Try to keep the madness low. I tell them ‘no’ with my hands, make them understand the plan of it: bright and gone!” the band summarizes who they are and what’s they’re truly about, and the sing-along chorus and driving verses made for clear crowd enjoyment and engagement. I was expecting to hear “Kick Drum Heart” at some point in the show (and possibly as their last song), but once again, The Avett Brothers are a band who defy convention and expectation. I was thrilled to bring in the new decade with The Avett Brothers, and they seemed to be just as thrilled to welcome a new year with an appreciative and finally exhausted audience.
Written by Marc G. Gray
