BR549 & The Avett Bros. @ Birchmere

The Avett Brothers
BR549
The Birchmere, Alexandria, Va.
January 24, 2006

Though it's being called the Dogs & Thieves Tour, a poster for BR549 and The Avett Brothers' stop at The Birchmere on Tuesday night could well have billed it as the Spit, Sweat & Elbow Grease Tour.

The Avetts are a rising force in the new school of old-time music, infusing the genre with an earnest exuberance akin to The Clash's dabbling in rockabilly and reggae on "London Calling" or Nirvana's interpretations of Lead Belly tunes. As for headliner BR549, they have put in a decade of hard work that speaks for itself. They've played dirt-floor dives and they've played arenas, but you don't get to the big rooms unless you know how to get the tip jar filled.

Because they know how to keep the customer satisfied, BR549 stepped into something like a hitter's park in baseball; when they took the stage and saw the dance floor before them, it must have looked the way a fat one down the middle looks to Barry Bonds in the ninth inning. Game over. The band's latest lineup � Mark Miller (bass/vocals), Shaw Wilson (drums), multi-instrumentalist Don Herron and Chuck Mead (guitar/vocals) � plugged in and tore into the lively "Dear John," which was recorded by Hank Williams.

As the lyrics to that rockabily-flavored tune say, "that's all she wrote."

Energetic performances have long been a BR549 hallmark, and the band definitely played to that strength with a tasteful, twangy blend of rhythm and lead guitar from Mead and the manic pace of Herron, who at times switched from steel guitar to fiddle to electric mandolin (or some permutation thereof) within the same song. They served up plenty of the up-tempo stuff, including "No Train to Memphis," "Out of Habit," "Little Ramona (Gone Hillbilly Nuts)" and "Cherokee Boogie."

BR549 is on the road in support of their new CD "Dog Days," and the newer material stood out because of its varied approaches. "Bottom of Priority" was pretty standard fare (not that there's anything wrong with that), but "Poison" was driven by Herron's bouncing clawhammer banjo. "You're the Queen" featured a vocal turn from Miller. "Lower Broad St. Blues," a shuffle lamenting the changes on Nashville's Lower Broadway by a band that cut its teeth in the neighborhood, was accented by jazzy chord work from Mead and pretty Gypsy fiddle from Herron.

They may have used a few different colors from the pallette, but the show was far from arty. The faithful were treated to characteristic humor in the form of "Me 'N' Opie (Down by the Duck Pond)," a tale of sex, drugs and Mayberry that has long been a fan favorite.

And, as always, the BR549 displayed discerning taste in covers. Among the selections were Dave Edmunds' "A-1 on the Jukebox," from "Dog Days"; Bob Wills' "My Window Faces South" and (by request) Webb Pierce's "There Stands the Glass."

Another cover choice served as an example of BR549's stage presence and grace under pressure, if such a thing exists in hillbilly music. During Charlie Daniels' "Uneasy Rider," a tale of a hippie's untimely breakdown in Mississippi, Mead had to pull off the road, too, as he forgot the words. His bandmates never missed a beat. Miller and Shaw held down the bottom, while Herron even threw in some neat train effects on the steel for good measure. Mead assured the patrons that he knew the words, and after another aborted attempt he proved it, barreling through the rest of the song and even ad-libbing lyrical embellishments along the way. What might have derailed a less experienced band was simply played off for fun.

The opening act, The Avett Brothers, had their share of speed bumps, too, and while they didn't handle them quite as well, they still showed that their hearts are in the right place. Like the headliners, Bob Crawford (bass), Seth Avett (guitar/vocals) and Scott Avett (banjo/vocals) pour all of themselves into their performance, with mostly good results.

It's hard to keep score of youthful zeal, but counting broken strings could be a good start. On Tuesday, it was four (three guitar, one banjo) in the Avetts' 12-song set. It's even more impressive considering that the setlist was actually a little ballad-heavy, but when they turned it on they went all out.

When Seth Avett said "The tuners up here, they're just for show," he was only half joking. At times they seemed like they were on the verge of crashing and burning only to avert disaster. On "Talk of Indolence," a cut from the Avetts' new album, "Four Thieves Gone: The Robbinsville Sessions," that will be released on Feb. 7, Seth let out several Kurt Cobain-like shrieks and actually carried them off in the old-time context. The only potential downside is the fine line between drama and parody in the Age of the Ironic Trucker Hat. If the trio can continue to convince the traditional music fans that they're sincere, the Avett Brothers are well on their way to a serious fan base.

They already appear to have a formidable number of followers. At the end of their set closer, "Salvation Song," they put down their instruments and led the crowd in a clap- and sing-along. There was no shortage of people who knew the words.

Likewise, when BR549 brought the Avetts back out at the end of the show for an all-out jam on Bob Wills' "Stay All Night," the dance floor was packed, feet were moving and hands were clapping.

Two generations of fans were left wanting more.

Setlists

Avett Brothers
1. Swept Away
2. Wanted Man
3. Left on Laura, Left on Lisa
4. Three S's
5. Pretty Girl From Chile
6. Pretend Love
7. Nothing Short of Thankful
8. The New Love Song
9. Talk of Indolence
10. Pretty Girl at the Airport
11. Denouncing November Blue
12. Salvation Song

BR549
1. Dear John
2. No Train to Memphis
3. Bettie Bettie
4. Waitin' for the Axe
5. The Shape I'm In
6. When I Come Home
7. Lower Broad St. Blues
8. Bottom of Priority
9. Uneasy Rider
10. My Window Faces the South
11. Cajun Persuasion
12. Out of Habit
13. Tell Me Mama
14. You Are the Queen (Mark Miller vocals)
15. A-1 on the Jukebox
16. Poison
17. Me 'N' Opie (Down by the Duck Pond)
18. Tryin' to Say (Mark Miller vocals)
19. Cherokee Boogie
20. Little Ramona (Gone Hillbilly Nuts)
21. 18 Wheels and a Crowbar
22. Way Too Late
Encore
23. There Stands the Glass
24. One Long Saturday Night
25. Stay All Night (w/The Avett Brothers)