Review: Avett Brothers perform intimate show in big space at Intrust Bank Arena

It wasn’t country at Intrust Bank Arena on Thursday night. It wasn’t classic rock, either.

The downtown venue, often criticized for the musical sameness that fills its stage, tried something new on Thursday night. It invited the Avett Brothers, a popular folk-rock band, to stretch out on its stage. The last time the group, led by North Carolina brothers Scott and Seth Avett, was in Wichita in 2012, it sold out the Orpheum in a week, filling the 1,200 seats.

This time, the group drew 3,000 – double its last Wichita crowd, but still a small audience by arena standards. Surprisingly, though, the arena didn’t feel empty.

The seating arrangement also was unusual for the arena. The Avett Brothers crowded fans down in front of the stage on the chairless floor, the way they like it. The upper bowl was empty and curtained off, but the lower bowl was about half full of fans, some of whom stood and danced in their seats during the group’s frequent hootenanny string jams.

The Avett Brothers, who earned many of their fans from touring rather than from radio hits, managed to make the cavernous arena feel intimate. The staging was simple by arena standards: The group played in front of fabric strips in various lengths that changed color with the lights. The touring lineup, which includes the brothers plus an upright bassist, a fiddle player and a dancing cellist (you don’t see that every day), stood on several oriental carpets as they played. There were no video screens.

The band, which also included a sometimes-used drummer and keyboard player, had no warm-up band. The musicians walked casually onto the stage around 7:40 p.m. and immediately launched into an energetic performance “Head Full of Doubt,” from the 2009 album “I and Love and You.”

Banjo player/vocalist Scott Avett wore a plaid shirt, bushy beard and slouchy beanie, and many of his fans donned the uniform, too. Younger brother Seth had long hair but was clean-shaven and casually dressed in a flannel shirt, jeans and Converse high tops.

The casual costumes matched the laid-back feel of the show, the first half of which was filled with high-energy barn burners like “Laundry Room” and “The Traveling Song” and “Die Die Die.”

The brothers’ voices were clear and strong, and the sound board operators optimized their talents, never letting the string instruments overshadow the vocals.

Scott Avett’s voice is particularly good, and he shone on “Morning Song,” one of the group’s more recognizable, slower-paced songs from its most recent album, “Magpie and the Dandelion.” The brothers’ harmonies were as seamless as their playing.

The band also performed “Rejects in the Attic,” a song from its next album – due out this year or next. The song was typical Avett Brothers, with a slow tempo start followed by an explosion of all the strings.

Later in the show, the brothers stood upstage with only upright bassist Bob Crawford and harmonized through “Backwards With Time.” Seth played the guitar, and Scott showed off his skills on the harmonica.

The trio also played a mellow, melancholy song that showcased Seth on the lead vocals called “I Wish I Was,” also slated for inclusion on the new record.

A highlight of the concert came halfway through, when the group performed its hit “Salina,” a Kansas-friendly waltz that starts with the lyrics, “Salina, I’m as nowhere as I can be. Could you add some somewhere to me? Ahh Kansas, I’m kneeling, Ah Kansas, please.”

This story was originally published February 26, 2015 at 9:52 PM with the headline "Review: Avett Brothers perform intimate show in big space at Intrust Bank Arena."