I tried to find a good Thanksgiving song as y’all head out to spend time with your loved ones. One of my favorite lyrics of all time comes from The Avett Brothers:
Always remember there is nothing worth sharing like the love that let us share our name.
Thanks for reading HearYa and for all your support. The comments and emails keep us going. We really appreciate ya. We’ll be back next week with a live session with The Black Angels and many more music recommendations. Happy Thanksgiving!
For anyone that has followed The Avett Brothers over the years, you know how special their shows have become. In 2009-2010, the band matured into one of the best live acts around and Live, Volume 3, with the help of Rick Rubin’s production, fully captures the essence of Avett. It’s more than a concert album or tour diary. This is a coming-of-age story of sorts, about an indie band that has worked for a decade to “make it,” and their return home to the loyal family of fans that have carried them along the way.
Live, Volume 3 is a hometown reunion recorded live in Charlotte, North Carolina on August 8th, 2009. This was one month prior to the release of their major label debut, I and Love and You, but this set featured music that spans their discography. The Avett Brothers open with “Pretty Girl From Matthews” from 2002′s Country Was followed by “Talk of Indolence” from Four Thieves Gone and “Ballad of Love and Hate” from Emotionalism. It’s a chronological progression that catches Seth Avett in the grips of emotion on the latter song, leaving us with a song title, “Ballad of False Start,” before regaining his composure for the full rendition. “I’m so happy right now I can barely stand it,” he says before asking for permission to start over.
Even with it’s false start, “Ballad of Love and Hate” works very well. The lyrics drift over the crowd and pull up the roaring cheers at all the right cues. “Colorshow” follows and it’s a song that has taken on a life of its own since first appearing on Four Thieves Gone, growing in violence and intensity. It’s part country, bluegrass, punk, metal, and the live setting is its natural habitat. It’s glorious and so is the murderous “I Killed Sally’s Lover” with its boot-stomping verses that each start with the lines “Somebody get my shotgun, somebody get my blade…” I’d pay full album price just to get these two songs.
And then theres the new favorites that include “I And Love And You,” “Head Full Of Doubt/Road Full of Promise,” and “The Perfect Space,” a song that features the most keenly felt lyrics on the album:
I want to have pride like my other has.
And not like the kind in the bible that turns you bad.
I want to have friends that I can trust.
That love me for the man I’ve become not the man that I was.
It’s after these lines, when the song ends, that Seth Avett states to the crowd, “I’m starting to wonder why we ever even leave.” The audience roars. Therein lies the beauty of Live Vol. 3. It’s a phenomenal live album from a recording and production standpoint, but The Avett Brothers are so genuine in their fan appreciation that it’s hard not to love them more. If you were first introduced to The Avett Brothers with their latest release, I And Love And You, this album also serves as an avenue to discover past albums and the brilliance of their career thus far.
Bruce Springsteen’s latest album Working On A Dream is unspectacular to say the least, but he and The E Street Band sure do some cool marketing and PR. They’ve got a page on their site called Hangin’ On E Street that features other artists covering their stuff.
Here’s to the best shorties of the 2008! I’m really in love with this batch of albums and we’ve shown lots of love for all of these artists over the year. Joe Pug was the biggest surprise, arriving as a submission in the mail. The songwriting on Nation of Heat just flat out blew me away. I don’t think we can say anything more about The Avett Brothers or Fleet Foxes without breaking some guy codes.
We’re finally ready to give away a few pairs of tickets to the Chicago Bluegrass and Blues Festival at the Congress Theater on November 22nd featuring Ha Ha Tonka, David Grisman and The Avett Brothers (each pair is a $67.50 value). It’s real easy to get ‘em.‚ All you have to do is submit a [...]
Since there are two Avett brothers, I see nothing wrong with posting two videos nearly back to back (See Bella Donna). The video for “Murder In The City” was just released and the tip just arrived in our inbox. These guys are dreamy. Too bad I’m married…and straight. Once again, check them (and us) out [...]
We dropped the ball in getting a review out for The Avett Brothers wonderful EP The Second Gleam. In a musical landscape where I can’t wrap my head around the noise that manages to get critically lauded, it is absolutely fantastic that The Avett Brothers are getting their proper due by playing stunning music time [...]
You may have noticed the little banner ad on our site featuring the Chicago Bluegrass and Blues Festival taking place in Chicago in late November. Wait a second. A music festival in winter? In Chicago? Yes and yes, but the format will be a bit different than most festivals. It’s taking place indoors at the [...]
