Words by: Kaitlyn Bush Photos By: Marc Millman

If every night could see The Avett Brothers playing a show at The Cap, surely the world would be a better place.

Friday, May 12th, was The Avett's second show of a 3 night run at The Cap. And with the chance to spread out 15 years and 9 albums worth of material over the course of 3 nights, there was no way to really predict what their set would be.

They opened with the loose and upbeat "The Fall," from their 2006 album "Four Thieves Gone: The Robbinsville Sessions." The first cover of the night was Merle Haggard's "Mama Tried," which felt appropriate just coming off of the one year anniversary of his death (and just a few days before Mother's Day, too).

An early set highlight was "Laundry Room" followed by "I Killed Sally's Lover." These two songs are indicative of what The Avetts do best. "Laundry Room" is emotional, picking up energy and intensity as it goes. "I Killed Sally's Lover" is light-hearted and almost comical, performed with such speed and energy that no one could stand still.

This led to Scott, Seth, and bassist Bob Crawford taking to the front of the stage alone for two acoustic songs. While The Avett Brothers have been performing for a while as a full band (Joe Kwon on cello, Tania Elizabeth on violin, Mike Marsh on drums, and Paul Defiglia on keys) it's always nice to see them hark back to their roots as a trio. With Scott on banjo and Seth on acoustic guitar and vocals, they played the new song "C-Sections and a Railway Trestle," a deeply personal, and rather quirky, song about the birth of Seth's son.

The Avett Brothers also covered Dock Boggs' "Country Blues," which was one of the best songs of the night. They slowed the song down and fleshed it out, making it a gritty, slow burn that culminated in an intense banjo/fiddle duet.

"Ain't No Man," the lead single from their latest album "True Sadness," looked to be just as much fun for the band to play as it was for the crowd to experience. The instrumentals consisted only of bass, drums, and keys, with Seth, Scott, Joe, and Tania ditching their instruments for tambourines and foot-stomps.

They even broke out "Pretty Girl from the Airport," all the way back from their 2004 album

"Mignonette." The audible gasps in the crowd were a testament to just how rarely played the song is. The second to last song of the set was the always fun "Slight Figure of Speech," which highlighted Seth's electric guitar and featured a drum solo from Mike Marsh.

Chairs were set up in a straight line in the front of the stage for the four song encore, which consisted entirely of acoustic instruments and covers of traditional folk songs. The set-up made it feel like we were all crowded around their living room, singing along. The Avett Brothers always vary their performances- but they consistently make you feel like family, no matter what they're doing.

The Capitol Theatre Photo Gallery Photos By: Marc Millman [gallery ids="|"]