Do It Again Avon

First it must be said that the star of last night’s show at the Avon had to be, the Avon. I don’t know how this whole thing came about, but this must be done again, and often.  The size of the stage is a limiting factor I suppose but it worked just fine for the Low Anthem. There isn’t a bad seat in the house (as to sight-lines anyway, asses and legs are another matter but who cares). Beer was sold in the back and it kind of turned into a groovy happening with your friends. So congratulations and big thanks to the Avon management. Do it again please!

As to the music, I’ve never been one much for reviewing a show. For one thing, I am not a musician (I’m barely a writer) and I couldn’t even name half the instruments on the stage last night (I think they are fabricating some of these things in the garage). In addition to that shortcoming, I can’t keep up with all the sub-subgenres and use those terms correctly, so basically I always just end up saying some version of “these guys are f*#king awesome!”  Having said that — these guys are f*#king awesome! My friends know that this is not at all the music I typically listen to, but I was completely won over last night. For one thing, the haunting ballads are interspersed with some genuine foot-stompers (when Jeff sits down at the drum kit, get ready) so I got my ‘fix’.  And I simply gave into the slow and dreamy pieces where the clarinet, the pump organ and that glassy thing that Jocie strokes with a bow filled the quiet hall with heart-squeezing beauty. As for the finale, Ben unexpectedly hollered up to the projection room to have the old velvet curtain drawn open; and as the three quietly sang along on the stage, we sat in the tattered old Avon and watched an exquisite animated short made for ‘Charlie Darwin’ . . . all together in the dark.

(Brown Bird and Death Vessel opened and were excellent and deserving of a separate post, coming shortly. The Low Anthem now heads out on an extensive national tour. Notify your friends.)