Avett Brothers come to Stage AE

The Avett Brothers’ romping, energetic show pumped up the sold-out crowd Friday at Stage AE,… The Avett Brothers’ romping, energetic show pumped up the sold-out crowd Friday at Stage AE, before rained cooled off their long weekend.

The band kicked off the set with the indie-folk “Go To Sleep” after Nicole Atkins opened the show with her sultry take on ‘60s era rock/folk — the kind that would fit as the Catwoman theme in Adam West’s “Batman.”

It seemed as though the entire crowd knew the words to every song,— and a roaring backup developed for  Seth and Scott Avett’s vocals. The two went through a wide range of tunes, from foot-stomping mountain songs like “I Killed Sally’s Lover” to indie-pop tunes such as “Kick Drum Heart” to folksy melodies like “Shame.” They also premiered a new song, a slow ballad called “The Once and Future Carpenter,” and brought their father, Jim, out to sing some vocals on “Salvation Song.”

The crowd’s energy was palpable, and the Avett Brothers managed to match it, bouncing up and down during the performance. The band interacted well with the crowd: Scott tossed his sweater into the audience and then jumped over to the edge of the stage and high-fived nearby fans. Even while expressing so much energy, the band sounded just as clear and crisp as it does in recordings. Not once did exhaustion creep onto any of the band members’ faces or into their singing.