Trampled by Turtles and The Avett Brothers at Alpine Valley Music Theatre Sunday, Aug. 18
Despite early complications, Trampled by Turtles and The Avett Brothers deliver ‘dependable’ performances
As I was taking notes for this show, I included the word “dependable.” This was my third Trampled by Turtles show and my second time seeing The Avett Brothers. I wrote down the word dependable during the Turtles opening set.
Specifically, I wrote “TBT is dependable if not overwhelming.” The band’s songs are well crafted and executed well live. They are a band that I prefer live compared to their recordings. TBT, hailing from Duluth, Minnesota, display that famous Midwestern work ethic — they show up, they do their job without spectacle and they let their skills speak for themselves. And through four songs, this is exactly what TBT delivered. And then things went wrong.
Midway through the band’s sixth song, “The Middle” from 2018’s Life is Good on the Open Road, the music stopped. Technically, the music continued. The crowd simply could not hear it. While the band was still hearing their performance through their monitors, the audio was not being sent to the amphitheater. It took the band a bit before they realized what was happening. After a few seconds, the audio returned, but only for the briefest of moments before stopping again. Then, just as suddenly as it quit, it was back. Meanwhile, the band continued to play and wrapped up the song. “Hey, are we on now?” asked lead vocalist Dave Simonett. The response: a thunderous applause from the crowd.
And so they continued into “Codeine,” a standard from 2005’s Blue Sky and the Devil. Just as they began the third verse, the audio conked out again. Some members of the audience attempted to continue by singing along, but it soon became obvious something had to be done to rectify the situation.
The band huddled for more than five minutes while stagehands ran around frantically attempting to discover and fix the problem. With no solution in sight, TBT opted to improvise by attempting to lead the crowd in a completely unplugged version of The Band’s “The Weight.” That worked, sort of. A quick-thinking member of The Avett Brothers improved the situation by providing a pair of mics running through that band’s audio system.
“All our stuff is broken,” said Simonett. “So we’re just gonna play a few songs like this.”
They followed “The Weight” with another Americana staple — Bob Dylan’s “Don’t Think Twice, It’s Alright” and then “Whiskey” from their 2004 album Songs from a Ghost Town. At this point, cellist Eamonn McLain jumped into the pit with a pair of High Noons and attempted to get “the wave” rippling through the crowd.
Defeated, the boys threw in the towel, seemingly calling it a night. Only to return 10 minutes later. Now, with full audio, TBT broke into the 2012 ballad “Alone.” The crowd responded fervently and the band itself seemed rejuvenated and ready to give the audience what they paid for.
“We really want to thank the Avett brothers for sending us back out here to play a few more songs for you,” said Simonett.
They closed out their set with Warren Zevon’s “Keep Me in Your Heart,” “Truck,” “Midnight on the Interstate” and “Wait So Long.” https://trampledbyturtles.com
In between sets, I counted 18 disco balls hanging from the rigging above the stage. I wondered what was in store from the brothers Avett and company. After all, The Avett Brothers music is the antithesis of the polished overdubbed electronica one would typically associate with disco. Maybe oxymoronic was the point. When the Brothers do play a dance tune, it’s a good old-fashioned, barn-burning hoedown.
They included a couple of those hoedowners in their set — a cover of Doc Watson’s “Black Mountain Rag” as well as the traditional “Old Joe Clark” — along with the more contemporary punk-tinged single from the new album, “Love of a Girl.”
The early part of the Avett’s set found Scott and Seth energetic and taking turns working the crowd. The pair paced back and forth at the front of the stage, interacting with the audience to standards like “Pretty Girl from Michigan” and “Head Full of Doubt/Road Full of Promise” as well as new tracks such as “Never Apart,” “Orion’s Belt” and “Forever Now,” before everyone but Scott left the stage for a solo, acoustic rendition of “Murder in the City” — which ended in an audience sing-a-long. Seth and bassist Bob Crawford then returned to join Scott for 2016’s “I Wish I Was.”
What happened next was completely unexpected, as Scott introduced some characters created by Jim Henson’s Creature Shop — muppets he simply referred to as “The Avetts.” There was Scott, something that resembled a cross between ZZ Top’s Billy Gibbons and a bison, complete with horns popping through its fedora; there was Seth, looking a bit like a green Gonzo but with a pink and purple striped beak; and there was Bob, a bass-playing monster with something like a red rooster’s comb atop its head.
The three creature Avetts “performed” “Hard Worker” along with their real-life counterparts. It was an odd, but entertaining gimmick.
Muppets aside, the Avett Brothers performance was a pleasant ride through their two decades of material. In addition to the covers already mentioned, the Alpine Valley encore included a couple of Avett live regulars — Toby Keith’s “As Good As I Once Was” and “The Prettiest Thing,” by David Childers and The Modern Don Juans — before the band closed the night with “No Hard Feelings.” https://www.theavettbrothers.com
A few of things I admire about the Avett Brothers:
- They strike a chord even when they may not strike the right note. Scott and Seth aren’t the greatest vocalists. They can certainly create and carry a tune. Their songs, however, are real and resonate meaning. Frankly, I’d rather have a poor vocalist deliver a true-hearted lyric than the most talented soprano give me drivel on perfect pitch.
- They are versatile. Their performance at Alpine Valley ranged from the frenzied rock of “Love of a Girl” to the acoustic waltz of “I Wish I Was” … and it all worked.
- Like Trampled by Turtles, The Avett Brothers are dependable. I didn’t know what I was going to get from this show, but I knew I was going to get something good if not great. Sunday’s show at Alpine ranged between those good and great zones — a solid, dependable performance. As expected.
Setlists:
Trampled by Turtles
Victory
The Darkness and the Light
Right Back Where We Started
It’s So Hard to Hold On
Bloodshot Eyes
The Middle
Codeine
The Weight (The Band cover)
Don’t Think Twice, It’s All Right (Bob Dylan cover)
Whiskey
Alone
Keep Me in Your Heart (Warren Zevon cover)
Truck
Midnight on the Interstate
Wait So Long
The Avett Brothers
Never Apart (w/ Vocal Prelude)
Bleeding White
Pretty Girl From Michigan
Head Full of Doubt/Road Full of Promise
February Seven
Orion’s Belt
Forever Now
Black Mountain Rag (Doc Watson cover)
Love of a Girl
Murder in the City
I Wish I Was
Hard Worker
November Blue
A Lot of Movin’
Laundry Room
Old Joe Clark (traditional cover)
I and Love and You
We Are Loved
Le reel du pendu / Les bars de la prison
Country Kid
Go to Sleep
Ain’t No Man
Encore:
As Good as I Once Was (Toby Keith cover)
The Prettiest Thing (David Childers & The Modern Don Juans cover)
No Hard Feelings