Reviewsic [ri-vyoo-zik] -noun: Music worth talking about

Good hearted Americana Folk filled the room at Chicago’s House of Blues this past Sunday night as Eastern bred bands The Low Anthem and The Avett Brothers crooned for a crowd that surely defied the venues capacity. It was elbow to elbow, over flowing beer to beer, you’re-about-to-get-real-intimate-with-a-stranger-packed , and with good reason- both these bands delivered a performance that is sure to stick with anyone who was listening for a long time.

While The Low Anthem was certainly the lesser known of the two performers, they gave the room a reason to remember their name with their set. Calmly walking onto a stage cramped with a number of instruments, anyone who hadn’t heard the group before was surely wondering, “What could they possibly be doing?” With everything from a stand up bass to a clarinet The Low Anthem played a set with a uniqueness we’re sure the House of Blues hasn’t hosted in a long time.
From their soulful harmonies to their raspy southern belt, the band’s sound was one that we couldn’t have prepared ourselves for.

Though the drunken crowd around us seemed to be one only interested in the cheap thrill of a fast song, we were extremely intrigued by the hauntingly bluesy picture of folk The Low Anthem portrayed. One impressive quality that these Rhode Islanders share with their tour-mates, The Avett Brothers, is their ability as a band to play most everything that they brought on stage with them. Numerous times throughout the set vocals were flip-flopped and members were rearranged to play the various instruments needed for their songs. Though we are big fans of the band’s recent album Oh My God, Charlie Darwin, the full-length simply cannot do this quartet justice when it comes to the real sound they deliver. It’s not just the perfectly controlled, ghostly falsetto, or the raucously raspy folksiness in their faster songs that makes this band such a stand out performance- it’s their sense of focus and legitimate joy that is so apparent in their set that makes it hard to tear your eyes away. Also notable in their live show are the vocal contributions from Jocie Adams, whose perfect husky hymns seemed to be largely lost in Oh My God, Charlie Darwin.

Essentially the sound The Low Anthem gives their audience is exactly the kind that should stop conversation in it’s tracks and make people listen, but unfortunately the boisterous crowd around us seemed far too concerned with the location of the nearest bar and chatting with their friends about buying The Avett Brother’s newest album at Starbucks. By the end of their set the thing we wanted to do most was shake their hands in thanks for what they made and let them know that while those around us were gabbing, we were listening.

Shortly after The Low Anthem took a humble bow and thanked the crowd, The Avett Brothers made their appearance amid scores of screams from the fans that turned out for the show. High energy to say the least, one of our favorite things about watching this band was the professional sound they delivered while still having that almost amateur excitement, as if they hadn’t been playing sold out shows everywhere they’d been the last few weeks. There was a certain unbridled jubilance and extreme humility throughout their entire set as the four jumped and stomped around the stage. What was our other favorite part? That would have to be The Avett Brothers’ ability to fuse the charm of bluegrass and country with some extreme rocking out. Though their newest album does move in the direction of a more Indie/Roots rock sound, these North Carolinian crooners still give a hearty dose of country in their deep vocals, standing bass, and banjo. It was slightly overwhelming to see the huge response they got from the crowd after the somewhat despondent behavior we saw during The Low Anthem-the band couldn’t get more than two measures into a song before the room erupted in whoops and screams.

We think brother one of two, Seth Avett, put it best as he stepped up to play a song solo when he said, “This is one of those nights when your face hurts from smiling.” He then proceeded to daringly finish his rendition of ‘The Ballad of Love and Hate’ A Capella when his guitar stubbornly refused to get in tune- a choice we couldn’t have been more moved by, as goose bumps literally ran from our toes up to our scalp.

Note also has to be made of the cello by Joe Kwon and bass from Bob Crawford, which stood out more in their live sound than they do in recordings, and at some points totally stole the show with just how intricate and jiving they were. The brothers also added to their family act with the inclusion their Chicago cousin, Gina, who rocked out on the drums for a song.
The beautiful feeling of young love that is so common a theme in the songs of The Avett Brothers was never more prevalent than it was hearing them belt out their lyrics and set the pulse of the entire venue to the twang of Scott Avett’s banjo. While earlier in the night we were feeling pretty resentful to the so called fans around us for their blatant disrespect to The Low Anthem, the venue for feeling like a sardine can, by the end of set we couldn’t help but feel elated-the positive vibes off this band were just that strong.

All in all a successful night, we hope that the rest of this tour is just has perfectly played and performed as the show we saw. From the Midwest the bands are splitting as The Avett Brothers head to Europe and Australia for a few dates before returning to the States to play the West, as well as a few festivals, while The Low Anthem go South and play SXSW before heading back toward Chicago in April. For more information on the tours, visit either bands website:

The Avett Brothers
The Low Anthem