The Avett Brothers 8/19/2010 - "This night's too good we gotta take it slow, you know?"

This morning I woke up at a a friend's house, here in Myrtle Beach, and smiled.

What a great adventure I'm on; a special treat for myself!

My trip up from Florida was nice; uneventful and smooth. I took my time and even stopped once I crossed into South Carolina at a rest stop and had a little picnic. In the words of Broseph, Queen Victoria was "clutch" and got me safely to my destination.

I decided to go directly to the House of Blues and check it out and possibly get my tickets and commemorative lanyard if the box office was open. I got a sweet parking spot and walked in. There were already people in line with their tickets waiting for the doors to open and it was only 4:30; doors were at 7:00. The woman at the window was super friendly and even let me bring in my bath stuff to freshen up after my 8 hour drive.

I was getting pumped!


My friends Steve and Lisa met me at the venue and we exchanged big hugs! They are from Ocala and have lived in Myrtle Beach for a few years now. Steve is planning on checking the boys out with me Saturday night. We went and had a bite to eat and wandered around a few shops nearby before they dropped me back off at the door.

By the time I got in line, it was all the way around the side of the building. I really didn't mind too much because I just wanted to enjoy the music; I wasn't geeking out about getting in the front row. Of course I made a few friends in line and one couple was personal friends with the boys. The lady, a cute curly ginger named Dixie from outside of Raleigh, was telling me about how they performed a few years ago at her sister's birthday party. Her husband was chuckling saying, "Yeah and Adam, their sound guy is taking Dixie's brother-in-law fishin' tomorrow." I smiled.

The line moved rather quickly, I chatted with some more people, one lady complemented my tattoo as our tickets were being scanned, and before I knew it, I was inside. I wandered around for a bit scoping out a perfect spot for me to enjoy the evening. I had only been to the House of Blues in Orlando and the layout was the same inside. I decided on standing against a rail, directly in front of the stage near the back right bar. I stood next to 2 nice women who were fortunate enough to grab stools. One of the ladies was here with her son, who she pointed at down front near the stage, "He's an Avett fanatic and this is his last show before he starts back at college." I thought that was cool of her to come with her son and it turned out the woman next to her was her daughter. At the same time, I turned and recognized the woman from the line who complemented my tat and she said, "Don't think I'm stalking you or anything," and I laughed. She asked if she and her husband could stand next to me and I said sure. They were a nice couple, Carissa and Dave. I had one of Joker's Coventry cards left in my wallet and passed it on to them and told them to drop by our site! (HI guys!) Dave was a huge fan and even stated the "teenage girl" in him may cause him to run down to the front of the stage at some point....I told him to go for it!

Carissa offered to hold down my spot as I went back to pick up the "event t-shirt". The tee totally reminded me of an old 1989 Spring Break air brushed shirt you would find at any beach tourist shop, so much so that when I got to the front of the line, I asked for the shirt just as such and got a huge grin and hearty laugh from the dude working the table.

Then the waiting began. The joint was fillin' up, lots of younger kids, A LOT of plaid shirts, beards and bandannas. The pre-show music included Alice In Chains and Rodrigo Y Gabriela, to which everyone was clapping and stomping their feet. A few more people piled in next to us, including a mother and her 7-year old son who was attending his first Avett show. He had some ear plugs in and I leaned down to ask what his favorite song was and he said Kick Drum Heart.

At 8:00 p.m. the opening act came on stage, Jessica Lea Mayfield, with her band. Carissa and Dave pre-warned me stating they saw her open for the boys at another show recently and that her music made them want to "slit their wrists." I thought their description may have been a tad exaggerated because what I had heard and seen of Ms. Mayfield was that she was a folksy chick just strummin' her guitar. Well, I didn't want to "slit my wrists" per say but I did jot down, "heroin chic", very "indie fabulous" and mellow. Some of it actually reminded me of The Velvet Underground. I enjoyed it but their music brought a super different vibe than the rest of the night. The crowd was stirring about and she even hushed everyone stating, "Y'all are rowdy tonight." She performed one song I knew, For Today, which the crowd recognized as well because The Avetts have covered it.

At last, around 9:00 p.m. my beloveds took the stage!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Immediately, I put my hand to my chest and felt the intense pulsating beat of my heart. A huge grin was plastered on my face and I was leaning forward against the rail as if to stop me from flying up and forward! Everyone went crazy, the energy was so HIGH! The whole building came alive as every single person joined in on a sing-a-long. I did have a fleeting thought that Seth Avett needed to eat a cheeseburger; he looked skinnier than usual. AH! I was in Heaven.

At The Beach
Tin Man

Shame
Head Full of Doubt, Road Full of Promise
Distraction #74
Pretty Girl From Raleigh
January Wedding
The Ballad of Love and Hate
Colorshow
The Fall
Salina
Kick Drum Heart >
Matrimony
Tear Down The House
Die, Die, Die
Rollin' In My Sweet Baby's Arms *
I and Love and You
And It Spread
The Perfect Space

E) Go To Sleep
* A cover of a traditional bluegrass song

The night was pure magic.

All of sudden, I noticed a new figure on stage for Tin Man. Who is this tall, slender dude with a tan cowboy hat sitting at the drums?! I was enamored!!!! Later on in the show, Scott Avett announced Mr. Jacob Edwards as the newest addition to their band, stating he was 26 years old and 5 months ago today marked the first time Jacob had ever smiled! Scott then walked back towards Jacob and came back to the front of the stage and said, "Oh, he's 25 not 26," to which the ladies just whooped and hollered.

Personal highlights included The Ballad of Love and Hate, Colorshow, And It Spread, and Kick Drum Heart segueing into Matrimony. I, of course, enjoyed the banter between the brothers, some dueling of instruments during Pretty Girl From Raleigh, a comment about rockin' so hard, Seth lost his belt and having to slow down the music because they were just havin' too much fun!

Today, my friend is coming in from Charlotte, NC to go to tonight and tomorrow night's show with me. She has never seen them perform and man is she in for a treat. I'm glad I get to share in this experience with her.

In the words of Dr. Pauly, "1 night down; 2 to go."


Comments

Broseph said…
Sounds fun; I'm interested in seeing more pictures. You should try and get back stage too. I was able to meet billy martin @HOB that one time, maybe you can swing something.
mich said…
Awesome recount, thanks for the set list. I had the same exact reaction when I saw Seth, such a sweetheart, but skinnier. We saw Bob at the outlets this morning, but were too shy to say hello! The boys rocked the house. Wish I were going back...
Anonymous said…
@Broseph - Yeah, they were stressing no cameras but I'm definitely bringing mine in for the Saturday night show.
Unknown said…
Great write up. Hope the next two nights go just as well.
Pauly said…
Weeeee. Thanks for sharing!

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