A couple of months before my vacation, I noticed The Avett Brothers were touring Europe. Well luck was on my side, they were going to be in Paris while I was in Paris!
My St. Patrick's Day was spent with a few boys from North Carolina and it was awesome.
I've seen them before, in Vancouver with Steve and it was great, but they are more accomplished on stage now and I know their albums better. The boys brought their banjo - thank goodness, and I'd like to make a request to them to include it on all future records, it was the one thing I and Love and You was missing.
The crowd was small - the club's capacity is 250 and it wasn't a sold out show. The guys were awesome. A foot-stomping good show, and the French crowd was surprisingly knowledgeable about the music. They played I Would Be Sad which, let me tell you, will break your heart with every listen.
Seriously.
They were an incredibly gracious bunch, thanking the small crowd every chance they got.
All-in-all, splendid!
Showing posts with label The Avett Brothers. Show all posts
Showing posts with label The Avett Brothers. Show all posts
Thursday, March 25, 2010
Sunday, October 11, 2009
I and Love and You
Normally, I would find this pretentious or something ... a mission statement for an album. But not this time.
From The Avett Brothers album I and Love and You, as written by Seth Avett:
"The words 'I' and 'Love' and 'You' are the watermark of humanity. Strung together, they convey our deepest sense of humility, of power, of truth. It is our most common sentiment, even as the feeling of it is so infinitely uncommon: each to proclaim these three words with his or her own heart and mindset of reason (or lack thereof); a proclamation completely and perfectly new each time it is offered. Uttered daily and nightly by millions, the words are said in an unending array of circumstances: whispered to the newborn in a new mother's arms; shared between best friends on the playground; in the form of symptathy - said by a girl to a boy as the respect continues but the relationship does not. It is said too loudly by parents to embarrassed children in the company of their friends, and by grown children - to their fading parents in hospital beds. The words are thought in the company of the photograph and said in the company of the gravestone. It is how we end our phone calls and letters ... the words at the bottom of the page that trump all those above it, a way to gracefully finish a message, however important or trivial, with the most meaningful gift of all: the communication of love. And yet the words themselves have been the victims of triviality, a ready replacement for lesser salutations among near strangers, burst forth casually as 'love ya'. Truly? To what degree? Why, how much and for how long? These are questions befitting the stature of love, though not the everyday banter of vague acquaintance. The words have also been twisted by the dark nature of deceit; to 'I love you' with a dramatic measure of sythetic emotion; a snare set by those who prey upon fellow humanity, driven to whatever selfish end, to gain access to another's body, or their money, or their opportunity. In this realm, the proclamation is disgraced by one seeking to gain rather than give. In any case, and by whatever inspiration, these words are woven deeply into the fibers of our existence. Our longing to hear them from the right place is maddeningly and simultaneously our finest strength and our most gentle weakness. ...
We are powerful, yet weak, capable yet temporary. Inevitably, an attempt to place honesty within an artistic avenue will follow suit. This is a piece which shows us as we are: products of love surrounded by struggle. ...
Perhaps the inabilty to say these heaviest of words is as much a part of life as the lighthearted candor of those who say them without any difficulty at all. And so it ends with the phrase whispered to and by those of us most defeated and most elated ... I and love and you ..."
PS - the cd is pretty freaking good.
From The Avett Brothers album I and Love and You, as written by Seth Avett:
"The words 'I' and 'Love' and 'You' are the watermark of humanity. Strung together, they convey our deepest sense of humility, of power, of truth. It is our most common sentiment, even as the feeling of it is so infinitely uncommon: each to proclaim these three words with his or her own heart and mindset of reason (or lack thereof); a proclamation completely and perfectly new each time it is offered. Uttered daily and nightly by millions, the words are said in an unending array of circumstances: whispered to the newborn in a new mother's arms; shared between best friends on the playground; in the form of symptathy - said by a girl to a boy as the respect continues but the relationship does not. It is said too loudly by parents to embarrassed children in the company of their friends, and by grown children - to their fading parents in hospital beds. The words are thought in the company of the photograph and said in the company of the gravestone. It is how we end our phone calls and letters ... the words at the bottom of the page that trump all those above it, a way to gracefully finish a message, however important or trivial, with the most meaningful gift of all: the communication of love. And yet the words themselves have been the victims of triviality, a ready replacement for lesser salutations among near strangers, burst forth casually as 'love ya'. Truly? To what degree? Why, how much and for how long? These are questions befitting the stature of love, though not the everyday banter of vague acquaintance. The words have also been twisted by the dark nature of deceit; to 'I love you' with a dramatic measure of sythetic emotion; a snare set by those who prey upon fellow humanity, driven to whatever selfish end, to gain access to another's body, or their money, or their opportunity. In this realm, the proclamation is disgraced by one seeking to gain rather than give. In any case, and by whatever inspiration, these words are woven deeply into the fibers of our existence. Our longing to hear them from the right place is maddeningly and simultaneously our finest strength and our most gentle weakness. ...
We are powerful, yet weak, capable yet temporary. Inevitably, an attempt to place honesty within an artistic avenue will follow suit. This is a piece which shows us as we are: products of love surrounded by struggle. ...
Perhaps the inabilty to say these heaviest of words is as much a part of life as the lighthearted candor of those who say them without any difficulty at all. And so it ends with the phrase whispered to and by those of us most defeated and most elated ... I and love and you ..."
PS - the cd is pretty freaking good.
Sunday, October 04, 2009
Yet another reason
While I was searching for the David Letterman extortion video, I stumbled upon this gem.
The Avett Brothers are a personal fave, and a little alt-country band that isn't say, the biggest band in the world. Steve and I were lucky enough to see them perform last year and they really impressed us. They are incredibly talented, and because Dave is brilliant, he had them on his show in September.
Have I mentioned that I heart Dave? Also, if anyone has a working link to the extortion video, I would love to see it.
The Avett Brothers are a personal fave, and a little alt-country band that isn't say, the biggest band in the world. Steve and I were lucky enough to see them perform last year and they really impressed us. They are incredibly talented, and because Dave is brilliant, he had them on his show in September.
Have I mentioned that I heart Dave? Also, if anyone has a working link to the extortion video, I would love to see it.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)