American folk band captivates crowd in Fresno

The Avett Brothers are a folk rock band based out North Carolina consisting of brothers Scott Avett (lead vocals, banjo, guitar, piano) and Seth Avett (lead vocals, guitar, piano), as well as bassist Bob Crawford and cellist Joe Kwon. Drummer Mike March and Violinist Tania Elizabeth are touring members of the band.

Seth and Scott Avett began creating music together as children and eventually merged their high school and college bands by the late 1990s. They released their first self-titled EP together in 2000 and eventually their first full-length album in 2002. Crawford joined about that time and Kwon followed soon after.

The group produces a diverse folk sound influenced by bluegrass, country, rock and roll, pop and a skosh of punk. When they started with Country Was (2002) and A Carolina Jubilee (2003), their sound was country-bluegrass. As time went on, they infused more pop into their sound. True Sadness (2016) contains a much more pop-filled track. Between the banjo, guitar, piano, cello and stand-up bass, as well as the vast amount of other instruments they play, their sound could be labeled as the American version of Mumford & Sons.

The Avett Brothers performed in Fresno at the William Saroyan Theatre, March 29. The venue filled up slowly with a young, middle-aged crowd, due to the process they use to admit people indoors. As a result, the show started about 30 minutes late.

The atmosphere in the room felt electric, bustling and buzzing like a bee hive. Crowd members were especially interactive when it began. Most in the venue stood for the concert’s entirety while people sang along to every song and several danced too.

Seth and Scott Avett lead the show, as the other instrumentalist backed them up. The duo are amazing entertainers, dancing while playing their frequently changing instruments. I left amazed at their talent and their easily visible passion, which is truly captivating.

Their beautiful, yet sad poetical lyrics remain beautiful and draw you in. Their ability to play several instruments is fascinating to watch. I love how creative they are when performing live as they variate from the studio recordings.

The Avett Brothers are a great, talented band for anyone who loves folk-pop music, but probably are not for everyone. I recommend them to anyone who wants to try something different, especially the albums The Carpenter, I and Love and You and True Sadness, and I recommend their lively concerts to everyone. — Alexander Rurik

However, I thought it interesting how they zoomed through the lengthy setlist, not breaking to talk to the audience until about ten songs in. This was a bummer as I believe the personal touch is what makes a concert unique and special. Regardless, I appreciated the way they played songs from all their albums

Something of note when deciding whether or not to attend a performance at the William Saroyan Theatre is there really is not a bad seat in the house. However, the sound quality has always been iffy. The Avett Brothers concert, unfortunately, was not different. The bass and drums sounded overpowering while you strained your ears to catch the acoustic instruments, especially the guitar and banjo.

Poster for tonight’s show at @SaroyanTheatre is by Neal Williams @epicproblems. pic.twitter.com/aIvloXOee0

— The Avett Brothers (@theavettbros) March 29, 2018

The Avett Brothers are a great, talented band for anyone who loves folk-pop music, but probably are not for everyone. I recommend them to anyone who wants to try something different, especially the albums The Carpenter, I and Love and You and True Sadness, and I recommend their lively concerts to everyone.

The Avett Brothers music is avaibable on iTunes and Spotify.

For more reviews, check out Wicked cast entertains as lead characters shine and ‘Reputation’ showcases the deeper, darker side of pop genius.

Alexander Rurik can be reached via twitter @alexrurik23 and via email.