September 20, 2019 –

From the opening chords of the plaintive “Vanity”, to the final hum of the beautifully bleak “No Hard Feelings”, The Avett Brothers held what amounted to a chapel service at Huntington Bank Pavilion in Chicago on Friday night. Keeping the crowd a-sway with favorites old and new, along with a few brand new tunes the fans didn’t quite know the words to yet.

From old stripped down acoustic numbers such as “Distraction #4” and “Murder in the City” to the new piano ballad single “Bang Bang”– a darkly satirical piece about violence in popular culture and how it spills into real life – the Avetts delivered their special brand of neu-folk earnestness.

Duluth natives Trampled by Turtles started off the evening with a fantastic opening set that rounded out the banjo and fiddle quotas for the night.

The Avett Brothers’ 9th album, CLOSER THAN TOGETHER, is arriving on October 6th and this tour stop was a chance to introduce a number of new songs. Seth introduced the sweetly rollicking “C-Section and Railway Trestles” with a story about how the songwriting poured out of him after the birth of his song with actress Jennifer Carpenter.

The first single off of the new album, “High Steppin’”, had people dancing as well as responding in a strong affirmative when Scott Avett got to the spoken word portion of the song and asked the audience if we felt there was still Hope for the world yet. And from the enthusiastic response, it’s hard to believe otherwise.





















Setlist:

Vanity

Satan Pulls the Strings

Morning Song

Laundry Room

Talk on Indolence

Tell the Truth

Trouble Letting Go

February Seven

Bang Bang

Untitled #4

C-Sections and Railway Trestles

Distraction #74

Will You Return?

At the Beach

High Steppin’

Down With the Shine

Head Full of Doubt/Road Full of Promise

Ain’t No Man

Encore:

Murder in the City

Kick Drum Heart

Geraldine

No Hard Feelings

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