Just caught the Avett Brothers show at the Canopy Club here in Champaign-Urbana, and they blew the roof off the joint. I have to say I was somewhat taken aback at the turnout. I'd only recently turned on to them with their new CD, and had tentatively pegged them as a cool bluegrass punk (for want of a better catchphrase) sound, but not one that would pack the house. Having seen them bring the packed house down tonight, I stand corrected. I'm delighted the young 'uns have such an eclectic taste, it gives my old heart hope that "popular music" might be expanding just a wee bit in the years ahead.
So if they're not bluegrass punk, what are they? Hmm. There is a heavy blast of Irish influence mixed in there (a little Breeders/Pogues touch I find welcome), yes they inescapable bluegrass banjo sound, but also unexpectedly compatible Asian cello bits, and even a south of the border barnstormer "Salina" from their new Emotionalism major label release to close the set. Wilco channeled through the Grand Old Opry with a heavy splash of pop bubbling underneath. I like it.
This will be taken by some as the height of insult, but halfway through the set I leaned over to a drinking companion to say, "you know, they're pop enough that I can see them being packaged as another quirky Green Day type of act, and having success at it," to which she heartily agreed. Perhaps the Green Day reference is a bit much; I merely meant as a benchmark for popular success, not style. They're that good. I hope for their sakes they prove that successful, too.
So if they're not bluegrass punk, what are they? Hmm. There is a heavy blast of Irish influence mixed in there (a little Breeders/Pogues touch I find welcome), yes they inescapable bluegrass banjo sound, but also unexpectedly compatible Asian cello bits, and even a south of the border barnstormer "Salina" from their new Emotionalism major label release to close the set. Wilco channeled through the Grand Old Opry with a heavy splash of pop bubbling underneath. I like it.
This will be taken by some as the height of insult, but halfway through the set I leaned over to a drinking companion to say, "you know, they're pop enough that I can see them being packaged as another quirky Green Day type of act, and having success at it," to which she heartily agreed. Perhaps the Green Day reference is a bit much; I merely meant as a benchmark for popular success, not style. They're that good. I hope for their sakes they prove that successful, too.
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