Three shows in six days.  From Innsbrook Pavilion oustide of Richmond to the always delightful intimate setting of the Gravity Lounge, to a perfect summer evening at the Charlottesville Pavilion, it’s been a pretty good week for live music.  I saw the Avett Brothers at Innsbrook for the first time since their Satellite Ballroom appearance in Charlottesville last September.  I caught the always entertaining Scott Miller and his solo acoustic set at Gravity last Friday.  And I definitely kicked off the work week in fine style with Emmylou Harris’s stunning performance at the Pavilion last night.  Like I said, it’s been a pretty good week.

I’ve got a couple more shows on tap for this coming weekend as the Hackensaw Boys help celebrate Gravity Lounge’s Five Year Anniversary on Friday, June 27th and then there’s that little show at the Pavilion on Sunday, June 29th as the Dirty Dozen Brass Band and Modest Mouse come to town.  But before we go putting our cart in front of our horses so to speak, let’s recap the The Music Seen over the past seven days.

[Scott Avett Banjo photo by Hollie]

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I’ll be covering the Emmylou performance at the Pavilion in a seperate post.  Here I’ll be tackling the first two shows from The Avett Brothers and Scott Miller.  Taking things in no particular order, unless you consider chronological an order, I’ll begin with a roadtrip review of the Avett Brothers’ performance at Innsbrook Pavilion, as they opened for Blues Traveler on Wednesday, June 18.

The Avett Brothers/Innsbrook Pavilion/June 18, 2008

It’s been too damn long.  While nine months may sound like a short time to some between seeing live performances from the same band, when it comes to the Avett Brothers that’s an eternity.  These guys have one of the most dedicated fan bases I’ve ever seen.  Even in the face of $4 a gallon gasoline, Avett fans spend a lot of time on the road travelling from city to city and town to town, just for the opportunity to see these guys do what they do best, which is perform.  In the nine months since I last saw the Avetts I have friends who have seen five shows or more over that seemingly short span of time.  So for me it was nice to get back in the groove.

This was my first time seeing a show at Innsbrook and I’m not going to lie, it’s a field in the middle of business park.  In terms of character it barely gets a C.  But they get the bands, and they get the crowds, and it is what it is.  On this night, the Avett Brothers were penciled into the opening slot as Blues Traveler was the evening’s headliner.

Right off the bat, I’ve got to mention the sound problems that plagued the Avetts throughout their brief one-hour set.  From the drums which at times completely drowned out the vocals to Scott Avett’s constant battle with his banjo, there were a lot glitches in the mix.  But as is always the case, these guys take everything that is thrown at them in stride and they always throw it back with class and heart.  That’s what great performers do.

All in all, as I’ve already mentioned, a very short set, but that’s what I expected considering the Avetts were the opening band.  And despite the issues with the sound, there were a number of stand out moments.  A pair of older tunes, “Left on Laura, Left on Lisa” and “Love Like the Movies” were very well done, and the set closing “Salina” from the band’s last album Emotionalism was amazing. 

But in terms of high-water marks, there were two songs from this Innsbrook performance that were head-and-shoulders above the rest and neither one has been released on an album (yet).  The first was the ballad “Murdered in the City, a guaranteed lock to be on the band’s forthcoming album The Second Gleam which is to be released on July 22, and the second was a brand new song that I’ve never heard but can’t wait to hear again.  The working title is “Standing With You” and if it had been the only song I had heard all night, the trip to Innsbrook would have been worth it.

In the end, this performance wasn’t the Avett Brothers at their very best.  Instead, it was the kind of show that made you look forward to the next concert somewhere down the road.  On this night there were flashes of brilliance, almost like watching the lightning from a thunderstorm off in the distance.  With Floyd Fest and September’s Pavilion performance on the horizon, I’m counting the days until the storm finally hits and rains down a flood of sweat and song.

[Avett Brothers photo by Crackerfarm]

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Scott Miller/Gravity Lounge/June 20, 2008

Why Scott Miller isn’t being played on every country radio station in this country remains a mystery to me.  Here’s a guy who writes some of the most intelligent songs about life and about people and place in time.  And if he were just a songwriter, his songs should still be heard.  But Scott Miller is the whole package.  He’s a hell of musician, a fantastic singer, and maybe even more than all of that, when he’s onstage he’s got your attention from the very beginning.  You can it charisma or stage prescence but whatever it is, Scott Miller has it.  Always entertaining and never disappointing, Scott Miller delivered another fantastic show at the Gravity Lounge this past Friday.

Taking the stage following opening performances by local singer/songwriter Bahlmann Abbot and Buddy Mondlock from Nashville, Miller was clearly the artist that most in the audience came to see.  Taking the stage shortly before 9pm, Scott strapped on his guitar, grabbed his harmonica, and began his nearly twenty song set with “Mary” which he recorded with the V-Roys back in the late 90’s.  From there he mixed in a host of songs from past albums including crowd favorites “I Made a Mess of This Town” from Thus Always to Tyrants, “Freedom Is a Stranger” from Citation, and “The Way” from Upside Downside. 

Miller also introduced many in the audience (myself included) to a number of new songs which for now can only be found on a series of homemade CDs that Scott put together himself.  I’m told there are only a limited number of these albums available, and they feature the rough mixes of his yet to be released new material.  A couple of the new songs (”Sin in Indiana” and “People Rule”) highlight Scott Miller’s knack for capturing both his tongue-in-cheek humor as well as his ability to craft a well-written lyric while others are poignant  story songs that seem to be drawn from Miller’s small town roots (”Appalachian Refugee”).

Interspersed between nearly every song were funny stories and sly jokes, some directed at himself and others directed at the world around us.  By the time he reached the show ending ”Say Ho”, the audience was in no mood to call it a night.  Standing, clapping, and screaming  for more, Scott returned to the stage and simply asked the audience what they wanted to hear.  Through all the shouts from the crowd he managed to make out a few specific requests, and finished up by playing a trio of songs from his early days as a solo artists:  the Civil War battle tale “The Rain”, the beautiful ballad “Lie I Believe” and his signature last song “Is There Room on the Cross for Me”.

If you missed this performance you’re next opportunity to see Scott live somewhat close to home arrives in September as he performs at the Rhythm and Roots Festival in Bristol with his The Commonwealth.  But I think if you’re really patient, we haven’t seen the last of Scott Miller in Charlottesville.  He’ll be back and I, for one, will definitely be there.

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