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Photo: April Corbin

Joe Kwon performs with The Avett Brothers

The Details

The Avett Brothers

Silverton, September 2

As I raced past the Silverton’s slot machines and buffet line to watch The Avett Brothers play the first Vegas gig of their 10-year existence, I couldn’t help wonder how much setting influences experience. The first time I saw the band was at Coachella, where, under clear sky and sun, the folksy rock trio’s introspective songs of travel and love registered loud and clear. That perfect marriage of atmosphere and music blew me away. Would it do the same on a nondescript Thursday night in Vegas?

Simply put, yes. Brothers Scott and Seth Avett seamlessly split lead vocal duties, delivering every harmony and subtle intonation with near-perfect clarity. Cellist Joe Kwon (not officially the third member—that’s upright bass player Bob Crawford—but a constant accompanier) almost stole the show three songs in during “Salina,” he sounded so on point.

More miraculous, perhaps: The band sounded that good while exuding the kind of bouncy energy usually reserved for harder bands. Though some in the small audience stood disinterested between requisite favorites like “January Wedding” and closer “I and Love and You,” the band’s almost tangible passion and talent kept most captivated through a 90-minute set and two-song encore. We could have been anywhere.