dang double posts.
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I'd rather wake up in the middle of nowhere than in any city on earth.

On the night of Saturday, May 23, 2009 in Portland, Oregon a blistering and fever-pitch wave of emotion swept over fifteen-hundred people as The Avett Brothers overtook the stage at the historic Crystal Ballroom. A powerful wave, that for two hours, ebbed and flowed, pulsing between tender sentiment and raw, emotional fervor. A wave that, at times, left the crowd slack-jawed and teary-eyed, and in other moments pulsed with a surge of energy that surely could be felt in the bar two floors below.

By the end of the first song, “Paranoia in B(b) Major”, Scott Avett had jumped up and down on his kick-drum, sent two banjos off-stage for re-stringing, and had fallen to his knees on the floor. Meanwhile, brother and guitarist Seth Avett unleashed an explosive physical intensity of his own, and his harmonious vocals were particularly savory, perhaps in part to the infectious smile he seemed unable to contain.

After such an amazing kick-off, it became obvious that this show was going to be a hell of a ride. The 24 songs that followed included crowd favorites “Colorshow” and “When I Drink” plus the rare and shiny gems of “Pretty Girl from Feltre”, “The Fall”, and the uber-rare “40 East” introduced by Scott Avett: “We haven’t done this one for awhile... We’re gonna ask this fine gentleman on the bass, Mr. Bob Crawford, to sing one for us.”

Additionally, a brand-new, never-before-played pearl, “Perfect Space”, made its debut. The profound “Perfect Space” left men and women alike wiping tears from their eyes with one hand and clutching their hearts with the other. Scott Avett sat at the keyboard and sang “I wanna have friends / that I can trust / that love me for the man I've become /not the man that I was / And I wanna have friends / that will let me be / all alone when being alone is all that I need” and while those words alone resonate, if you can conjure up the most enticing melody you can think of, and combine it with Scott Avett’s gut-wrenching vocals, then you might just be able to catch a glimmer of the power of this new song.

Near the end of the night Scott Avett declared “Man, this room is ALIVE y’all!” as the crowd clapped in unison. Then the band jumped into a rousing “Will You Return” followed by the first encore (an unreleased/untitled song) after which the crowd could not - would not - leave well enough alone. And neither could the band because they returned to the stage for a second encore beginning with an in-your-face “Talk on Indolence”, as fast and ferocious as you’ve ever heard, culminating when Seth Avett melted onto the floor beneath his guitar.

Changing gears effortlessly, their final gift of the evening was “I and Love and You”, the title track from their forthcoming LP. During those last moments, love became nothing short of a living, breathing entity. And in the last seconds, Scott Avett careened from behind the drums and up to his mic in front and stood there, arm raised, fingering 1 (I) and 2 (Love) and 3 (You) calling to the crowd “Everybody, come on!”. The crowd raised their arms in return and with the final, closing notes, the night died a beautiful and heartfelt death, and there was not a single other thing that existed in the universe besides love.

Attendees, myself included, concur that Saturday’s performance was potentially the musical highlight of a lifetime. This was my 19th Avett show since June 2007; each one somehow more significant than the last, and this face-melting show at the Crystal Ballroom that Saturday was the grand and epic finale to my 7-show-in-10-day tour.

Following Saturday’s show at the Crystal Ballroom, the gentleman to my left stated “Now I’m going to have to rethink everything.” Having been moved beyond words myself, this statement seemed to best summarize the impact of the experience. Since that night, I may have found my voice again but all these words still seem inadequate.

full review here:
http://www.thevelvetrut.net/2009/06/avett-brothers7-shows-in-10-days-wes...

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I'd rather wake up in the middle of nowhere than in any city on earth.