CONCERT REVIEW | Avett Bros. at HOB, North Myrtle Beach, Dec. 13
Folk-rock/Americana band The Avett Brothers returned to the House of Blues in North Myrtle Beach on Saturday night to host the Legendary Giveback 3 – a charity event with proceeds going to charities – Kids First of the Carolinas, Lowcountry Food Bank and St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital.
The show was also live-streamed by Yahoo, but it would’ve been hard to stream the exchanged energy between The Avett Brothers and their eclectic crowd.
The band has been expanding its sound and lineup since its inception in 2001. The once threesome of multi-instrumentalists, playing folk and Americana, is now a touring band of seven, playing genre-bending roots music.
Their set began with Scott Avett strapping on his banjo and Seth Avett strumming his guitar and swaying into “Down with the Shine.” Right away, the crowd joins in, singing along to every word. The synergy continues, only louder, as they burst into the bluegrass stomper, “Traveling Song,” from one of their earlier albums, “A Carolina Jubilee.”
During the first notes of “Live and Die,” Seth Avett slings his guitar to the side and directs the crowd to sing the first verse of the song on their own. He acts out the lyrics as they do. They dip into the ballad, “Laundry Room,” before raging into “I Killed Sally's Lover” – a rapid-fire bluegrass stomper that makes cellist Joe Kwon and fiddle player Tania Elizabeth bang their heads.
During the fan favorite, “Paranoia in Bb Major,” the brothers and bassist Bob Crawford play alone. The harmonies soar until the falsettos blend into a beautiful silliness in the end. During the course of the night, the band will pluck songs from almost all of its eight studio albums and a few EPs, too. The songs move like waves with crests and toughs.
The brothers meandered through a southern whimsical romanticism with “Part from Me,” from their newest album “Magpie and the Dandelion,” and dive back to 2007’s “Will You Return?”
During a small breather, Seth Avett announces the band is from Concord, N.C. and that they have a special connection with Myrtle Beach. He tells a story about Scott Avett getting his ear pierced at Barefoot Landing. But Scott Avett interrupts to correct him, “I think it was down at the Pavilion.”
They give us an unreleased track, “Rejects in the Attic,” from the album they’ve been working on. The song has the same reckless Americana and loner-lyric aesthetic that’s set the band apart through the years.
Then, they unravel a roll of crowd favorites – the infectious “Shame” and the bouncy “I Never Knew You.” Scott Avett takes to the piano for “Head Full of Doubt/Road Full of Promise,” an epic affair, full of time changes and movement. Scott Avett stays on the piano for “Kick Drum Heart,” which has everyone clapping along with the band. Kwon plays rock cello. Seth Avett sits on the edge of the stage and goes into a fluid guitar solo. Finally, the band piles into a heap on the stage.
They slow things down as Scott Avett plays the acoustic ballad, “Murder in the City.” This has been a standard of their setlist for the last six years, and the lyrics have evolved to accommodate his life changing.
The brothers’ dad Jim Avett joins his sons and Crawford on stage for the traditional gospel, “In the Garden.” Scott Avett plays acoustic, as the four trade verses and sweetly harmonize the chorus. It’s a nice moment that continues as they perform another unreleased song “Fisher Road” with just Scott Avettn on acoustic guitar and one microphone between the brothers.
The entire band returns for “The Prettiest Thing,” a David Childers cover that smacks of drunken romance. “Left on Laura, Left on Lisa” starts off sweet, but by the end, they’re stomping out the story. On “The Perfect Space,” the piano and strings slice through the big song as it moves from the simplicity of just piano and vocals to a soaring opus.
The band gets a little playful as Seth Avett switches to upright bass. Crawford switches to violin and Elizabeth takes over acoustic guitar. They go on a bit of a history lesson with the traditional, “The Girl I Left Behind Me,” and the Charlie Poole cover, “It's Movin' Day.”
But everyone retakes their positions to turn traditional folk and Americana on its head with “Talk on Indolence.” The band throws around tambourines, plays their acoustic instruments like percussion, pulling sing-alongs from the crowd.
They end the set with a new classic, “Morning Song.” The brothers pat each other on the back. They take signs from the crowd to paste on Scott Avett’s piano. He hugs one of the signs and shows it off to his bandmates.
The crowd roars and stomps for more. The brothers oblige. For the encore, they unleash a rousing rendition of “Slight Figure of Speech.” Scott Avett kicks the kick drum that he keeps by his microphone. Seth Avett stomps the high-hat that he keeps by his. Mike Marsh beats out a drum solo, and the rest of the band lies down on the stage to give him the spotlight.
The show is fittingly topped off with “If It's the Beaches.” Piano player Paul DeFiglia comes out to play an upright bass like a cello. Kwon joins him. Crawford and Elizabeth both play violin. It’s a full string section with Seth Avett playing classical guitar. Scott Avett’s voice is full of charm and earnestness. It’s a fitting end for the brothers’ return – a couple of guys from Concord that worked hard, got lucky and just want to give something back.
This story was originally published December 15, 2014 at 10:29 AM with the headline "CONCERT REVIEW | Avett Bros. at HOB, North Myrtle Beach, Dec. 13."