BOSTON CALLING - FRIDAY WITH THE AVETT BROTHERS + MORE

Boston Calling once again took over City Hall Plaza in the center of the city, but this time the cool crisp fall air had everyone bundled up to enjoy the first day of events which included a fantastic headlining set from The Avett Brothers. The day centered on the mixture of folk and indie rock and let the festival start with a slow burn.

Boston Calling

Gregory Alan Isakov came to the stage to kick the festival off with pretty set of music as the sun began to set. Boston Calling usually uses the first act of the weekend as a warm up for what is to come and doesn’t kick it off with a bang and the trend continued. Not to say that Gregory didn’t do a fantastic job, but it would be nice to see the next installment really start off with a bang. The crowds showed up for Gregory and his band and by set’s end it seemed as though most of the plaza was filled with fans of all ages singing their hearts out for him.

Gregory Alan Isakov

Construction is once again making itself known in the area where the concert takes place. Much of the area to the side of the red stage is blocked off and should prove to push the crowds between the stages closer together than they have been in years past. There always seems to be something going on with the plaza and hopefully all this construction ends in a year or two. It should be interesting to see how the layout of the stages being slightly closer together effects the next couple of days of the festival, but I’m sure like everything the festival seems to do, it will work out great.

Speaking of things the festival does great, the food choices were once again a knock out. With Tasty Burger and Citizen Public readily available for people to try and buy, there was no one on site that would go hungry. Throughout the venue there were also more lights as well as port-o-johns making everything easier at the festival for everyone who was there to enjoy themselves. The little things that the festival does each time to improve itself is always welcoming.

Of Monster And Men took the stage next getting right to business with “Thousand Eyes” and “Empire.” Nanna Bryndís Hilmarsdóttir and Ragnar “Raggi” Þórhallsson shared vocal duties throughout their set and displayed gorgeous harmonies. The rest of the band were absolutely fantastic and made it sound like there was an orchestra behind the two vocalists. Though the band didn’t jump around or move a lot on stage, the energy coming from them was ecstatic. The crowd got extremely loud for the two hit singles “Crystal” and “Little Talks.” With a quick thank you the band launched into “Six Weeks” and then left the stage to make way for The Avett Brothers.

Of Monsters And Men

Boston Calling

Of Monsters And Men

As the band took the stage and dug into “Bring Your Love To Me,” it sounded as if an army had taken over City Hall Plaza in front of the band. For the next two hours, the entire crowd seemed to move as one as the whole crowd danced together to the 21 songs the band played. The Avett Brothers aren’t quite folk because they jump around on stage, but they aren’t quite rock, as many of their songs are too quiet to be considered a rock band. The way the band melds the two genres together is amazing. The harmonies by Scott and Seth were prefect all evening, and watching Joe Kwon on cello is something that cannot be described in words. Tania Elizabeth played her violin with passion all evening as Bob Crawford held down the beat with his bass. Mike Marsh, who plays the drums with great intensity, was rewarded with a drum solo by the band during the encore of “Slight Figure of Speech.” “Murder in the City,” “Satan Pulls the Strings” and “Another is Waiting” were big highlights of the set. As the last notes of “Slight” were hit, Scott through his guitar up as high as he could in utter joy, and thankfully caught it, in celebration of the tremendous set the band just played. The crowds began to leave City Hall Plaza with nothing by smiles on their faces, anxiously waiting to come back for the rest of the weekend.