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| Avett Brothers @ the Bill Graham Civic Auditorium (Photo: Sean Reiter) |
The Avett Brothers delivered a fun and rollicking performance at the Theater at Bill Graham Civic Auditorium that had their devoted fans standing and singing along throughout the entire near two-hour set. It had been nearly a decade since I last saw the Avetts live in the Bay Area at the temporary America’s Cup Pavilion in San Francisco back in 2013 on a foggy night that felt like a huge cocktail party.
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| Avett Brothers @ the Bill Graham Civic Auditorium (Photo: Sean Reiter) |
Since then, the band’s songs have seemed to get a bit heavier and the music a bit more subdued and it had me wondering going in what the vibe of Thursday’s concert would be like. Their most recent self-titled 2024 album – combined with the score to Broadway’s “Swept Away” musical had seemed to be filled with songs that explored the heavier side of life.
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| Avett Brothers @ the Bill Graham Civic Auditorium (Photo: Sean Reiter) |
However, any worries of a less than joyful celebration were quickly put to rest by the second song when the band broke out their kazoos for a joyous and spirited version of “D Bay Rag” that had the crowd stomping and clapping along. The audience stretched out their vocals next on the beloved “Live and Die” that saw Scott Avett leaping into the air to slam on the kick drum supporting Seth Avett’s singing “I want to love you and more.”
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| Scott Avett @ the Bill Graham Civic Auditorium (Photo: Sean Reiter) |
“Head Full of Doubt / Road Full of Promise” from 200’s huge “I and Love and You” was delivered in the whisper to a whopper style the Brothers Avett have long perfected. The song built and built to a thunder – drawing the audience into its adrenaline, energy and power before its fall off the cliff finish. The album that changed everything for the band was produced by the legendary Rick Rubin and marked their transition into large theaters and then into arenas and festivals. Rubin has continued to produce their albums – including the latest self-titled release.
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| Scott Avett @ the Bill Graham Civic Auditorium (Photo: Sean Reiter) |
The like-ability and positive energy of the band’s core four cannot be questioned. Along with Scott and Seth Avett, Joe Kwon maintains a constant state of motion that belies someone playing the cello and bassist Bob Crawford seems to never stop smiling. “No Hard Feelings” – a tender ballad about passing out of this world that spotlighted Kwon’s cello as it soared and then collapsed with the final lyric of “I have no enemies…”
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| Seth Avett @ the Bill Graham Civic Auditorium (Photo: Sean Reiter) |
Seth Avett on acoustic guitar and Crawford on the stand-up bass performed a magical cover of Jim Croce’s “Operator (That’s Not the Way It Feels)” as the audience delightfully sang along with the chorus of a classic song now fifty-three years old. A series of stripped-down songs followed with “I Go to My Heart” featuring both Avetts tucked around one microphone and Crawford accompanying as Scott Avett delivered a unique whistling solo.
The same configuration delivered a stripped-down version of “I Wish I Was” with Seth high on the guitar neck and Scott soloing on banjo. “Y’all sound beautiful! Thanks so much for the help,” Scott told the audience.
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| Joe Kwon of Avett Brothers @ the Bill Graham Civic Auditorium (Photo: Sean Reiter) |
The full band rejoined for “Forever Now” as Scott crisscrossed the stage. For a playful “Ain’t No Man”, only bassist Crawford and drummer Mike Marsh manned their instruments while the rest of the band – including fiddler Tania Elizabeth and pianist Bonnie Avett-Rini (sister of the Scott and Seth). “The Clearness Is Gone” saw Bonnie solo on organ with Scott singeing and pausing frequently as he crossed the stage to give the front-row fans a great chance for a frozen cellphone shot as Seth accompanied on tambourine.
The most upbeat song of the new album “Love of a Girl” was delivered as a blast-off song that was by far the fastest paced song of the night. Despite its recent entry to the catalog, the audience raucously supported it with Marsh maintaining a thunderous drum beat and the brothers furiously trading vocals back and forth.
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| Avett Brothers @ the Bill Graham Civic Auditorium (Photo: Sean Reiter) |
Scott performed a solo guitar version of Murder in The City as he looked up in the rafters. “C-Sections and Railway Trestles” (introduced by Seth with the story of his son’s birth) led into a main set close that included four of their biggest hits. “Laundry Room” featured a big bass solo by Crawford, while “Vanity” saw Seth show Queen inspiration with a big Gibson guitar solo a la Brian May and then hit a Freddie Mercury-like falsetto. “Kick Drum Heart” had the audience clapped along with a fast-paced version that saw Bonnie and Kwan banging their heads as Seth soloed on guitar.
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| Seth Avett & Joe Kwon of Avett Brothers @ the Bill Graham Civic Auditorium (Photo: Sean Reiter) |
The new album’s “Cheap Coffee” followed and was topped by a terrific version of “I and Love and You” that started with both brothers on piano side-by-side and served as the highlight of the night for many. For the three-song encore, the Avetts chose to go with the title song from their musical “Swept Away (Sentimental Version)” before closing with “The Traveling Song’ and “Life.”
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| Charles Wesley Godwin @ the Bill Graham Civic Auditorium (Photo: Sean Reiter) |
Earlier in the night, opening act Charles Wesley Godwin and his band delivered an impressive 40-minute set that impressed the late arriving audience. He and his band delivered a set that was reminiscent of Zac Brown Band, Chris Stapleton and (for a blast from the past) Charlie Daniels. The West Virginian’s blend of Americana, rock and country-folk wowed the crowd.
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| Charles Wesley Godwin @ the Bill Graham Civic Auditorium (Photo: Sean Reiter) |
Songs like “Cue Country Roads” (a song spotlighting the playing of the John Denver classic by the University of West Virginia), “Temporary Town” and “It’s The Little Things” provided an energetic start to the set. Among other highlights, Scott Avett joined Godwin for “Hammer Down” and the band closed with a cover of John Denver’s “Country Roads” that was introed with a tease of Grateful Dead’s “China Cat Sunflower” (all of Godwin’s band wore some sort of tie-dye shirts). It was an impressive outing for both the frontman and his supporting band.
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