The Avett Brothers Live @ Cain’s Ballroom

The wife and I had the great pleasure of seeing The Avett Brothers perform live at Cain’s Ballroom this past weekend.  We were both truly blown away.  I would feel cheap giving the concert some sort of grade on how good or bad the concert was.  It’s a such a subjective thing, that is completely relative to the individual attendee.  Not to mention there are many variables outside of the artists control at each and every different show.  But I’m going to give you all several reasons that I think you should attend the next Avett Brothers show that comes to your city.

1. They draw great crowds.  With the exception of one song, the audience was enthusiastically engaged and attentive to what the band was doing on stage.  Which isn’t all that out of the ordinary, but with the band playing 9 songs from their record that hadn’t even been released yet, I felt like that was pretty great.  And this was one of the first shows in a long time that I didn’t have any drunk guys flailing all about right next to me.

2. They bring more energy to the stage than any other band that can fit inside the folk genre.  I’ve seen anyone go crazy and yell and scream while playing the banjo.  I’ve never seen anyone play the cello standing up.  Not only standing up but Kwon was actually jumping around on stage while playing.  And I love that while playing his guitar, Seth has a hi-hat at his feet and Scott has a kick-drum that he plays along with his banjo.  It just creates something really special.

3.  And finally these guys know how to draw you in.  Each song, no matter the tempo, was very personal and intimate.  Numerous times they took that risk and were very vulnerable and would slow things down and just stand up there all alone.  Just a guy, a guitar, and his words.  It’s much easier to hide behind a lot of noise, but these guys didn’t shy away from being real and trying to connect with the crowd.  I love that their words are, more often than not, the primary feature of their songs.  And boy do they have a way with words.

The hard thing about seeing a band you love, is that it is nearly impossible not to leave disappointed.  I could’ve spent the rest of my weekend dwelling on all the songs that I wish they would’ve played.  And even with them playing 20+ songs, there were still several that I would’ve loved to hear.  But what they did was pretty special, and I am just grateful to be a part of it.  Some personal highlights of the night: They got the whole crowd in a sing-a-long at the end of “Go to Sleep” while they jammed for a while. That was pretty great. I loved it how they played “Kick Drum Heart” off of the new record that hadn’t been released yet, but the whole crowd created their own stomping part to the chorus.  And then the greatest moment of the night for me, was when Scott came out for the beginning of the encore by himself and played “Murder in the City.”  I think that is easily the most beautifully written song, lyrically of this past decade.  But what I really loved about the performance was how he changed the last verse of the song to “Let my daughter know I love her, Make sure her mother knows the same, Always remember there is nothing worth sharing like the love that let us share our name.”   It was awesome and almost brought tears to my eyes.   So that glimpse of why I am putting them high up on my list of “artists to see.”

The new album, I and Love and You, came out yesterday on Columbia records.  I love it.  I suggest you go out and get it.

Here is a video of a “Tiny Desk Concert” that they did for NPR a couple of months ago, to give a small glimpse into their live performance.

I also think it’s worth mentioning that Samantha Crain & the Midnight Shivers opened up the night with a pretty stellar performance.  I’ve put their debut album, Songs in the Night, on several times over the past several months and enjoyed it every time. They have a pretty great sound and I was really impressed how together they sounded live, for how young of a band they are.  Crain’s voice was awesome and she had a really great stage presence.  They captured the attention of probably have of the people that were there, which I think is very hard to do as an opener.  I think that Sam Crain is a name that you’ll continue to hear for many years to come.

Album Review: Samantha Crain and the Midnight Shivers “Songs in the Night”

Release Date: April 28, 2009

Label: Ramsuer Records

In the Bloody Interview we did with Samantha Crain her Midnight bandmates jokingly admitted, “we chime in musically to make it accessible to normal people.”  Quickly she responds with a smile, “I bring them a song and they make it good.”  And finally guitarists Stephen Sebastian summarizes the whole discussion by pointing out that “we are the bridge between Samantha and the world.”

Without trying to sound pretentious, after thinking about this exchange I got to wondering, “what inaccessibility?”

Perhaps in the raw and initial stages of the songs off “Songs in the Night”, with just Crain on the guitar singing into a tape player,  the music was discombobulated and the lyrics nonsensical.  Then the Shivers stepped in and completely revolutionized the sound of the album, helping Crain refine the music so she could reconstruct the lyrics.  That would be the only way I could think that would lead them to suggest that she is inaccessible, because what the final product demonstrates is far from it.

Songs in the Night opens with a solo Crain on the guitar singing, “I will give into the dark clouds and/ I will sing with the frog in my throat,” and is shortly thereafter joined by the rest of her band.  What the two (Crain and the Shivers) do together is pure harmony.  Crain brings to the table her book of poetry (penning lyrics like “Oh, ghost of reason/ Oh, fool of love/ From where come your division if not from above?” from the song Long Division, or “The trees were my audience applauding/ The chair, I swear it was a cat for my company/ That piano, its the angels/ Calling me home” from Bananafish Revolution, or “When the lantern dies, chase your shadow all the way north/ Hold down your fort and breath/ Know your maker and tie up your death” from Calm Down), an idea for a melody, and the Shivers fill in the rest with steady rythyms and gently distorted folk guitar.  The unsung hero of this album is bass player Andrew Tanz, providing background vocals that act like the garnish on top of the cake: not necessary, but oh man does it just add that final beautiful touch.

Early this year I declared The Dam Song my early favorite for Best Song of 2009.  But quickly trying to fight its way to the top is another off this album, Get the Fever Out.

“Get the Fever Out” by Samantha Crain and the Midnight Shivers

I think ultimately the decision of “accessibility” lies with the listener.  And if you find thoughtful lyrics, meaniful instrumentation, and an album that flows well “inaccessible”, well, then I am not sure that we will ever make your ears bleed.

The Best Song of 2009?

It’s early and it hasn’t been officially released yet, but this is already at the top of my list:

The Dam Song at Ramseur Records HQ from ramseurrecords on Vimeo

A Bloody Interview with Samantha Crain and the Midnight Shivers

A Bloody Interview with Samantha Crain and the Midnight Shivers from Justin Metcalfe on Vimeo

Samantha Crain & the Midnight Shivers – Get the Fever Out

All songs by Samantha Crain
samanthacrain.com

Find her Daytrotter Session recordings at
daytrotter.com/article/1562/samantha-crain-and-the-midnight-shivers

Special thanks to Ramseur Records
ramseurrecords.net

All video shot and edited by Justin Metcalfe
theysaybuildproductions.com