Punch Brothers: Live at House of Blues (Video)

[Larry S Sherman]

This may be the best Punch Brothers video I've seen to date. So excited to be seeing them twice later this year.



From the notes:

Published on Apr 29, 2015

March 6, 2015 – FULL SET – Brooklyn-based, Punch Brothers, performed live in front of a sold-out crowd at Boston’s House of Blues. Boston is a town that "lead the way right from the beginning," says Chris Thile. “To step on stage here is to feel like you’re part of a chapter meeting of music lovers—people who love listening to and making music. It’s a vivacious crowd, and they strike that balance….in that golden zone between participating and absorbing.”

The all-star quintet performed a number of tracks from their fourth full-length album, The Phosphorescent Blues (released earlier this year), as well as fan-favorites ("Rye Whiskey”) and outstanding covers (Radiohead’s "Kid A”).

Set list:
My Oh My 2:20
Chris and Gabe talk about The Phosphorescent Blues 7:09
Boll Weevil 10:56
Chris and Gabe talk about the band name Punch Brothers 13:24
Watch 'At Breakdown 16:41
This Girl 21:29
Familiarity 26:30
Rye Whiskey 39:54
Gabe & Chris talk about their first meeting and the band's origins 43:58
Passepied (Debussy) 48:51
Another New World (Josh Ritter) (coming soon to FRB website)
Through the Bottom of the Glass (coming soon to FRB website)
I Blew it Off 52:35
Gabe & Chris talk about technical skill as a means to musical expression 56:48
Flippen 59:21
Movement and Location 1:06:20
The Auld Triangle (Trad) 1:12:21
Julep 1:16:48
Kid A (Radiohead) (WATCH here: http://bit.ly/1AgNf44)
Chris and Gabe talk about Boston 1:23:00
Wayside - Back in Time 1:25:02
Magnet 1:27:47
New York City 1:33:47
Little Lights 1:38:24
Credits 1:46:20

Chris Thile (mandolin)
Gabe Witcher (violin)
Chris Eldridge (guitar)
Paul Kowert (bass)
Noam Pikelny (banjo)

[bobframe]

Love them. Each of them is world class. Thanks for posting this.

[Delaware]

It is great especially the added mandolin solo in New York City

[G7MOF]

Wow!!!

[JeffD]

Hey on "I Blew It Off" I see Chris is playing an octave mandolin, a Flatiron flat top pancake. I am going to guess a pre-Gibson Flatiron.

Score one for flat tops! and score one for pancakes! and score one for octaves.

[Larry S Sherman]

I think he's been playing a Smart mandola in the PB.

Back in the NC days he did use a Flatiron.

Larry

[JeffD]

Well it goes by quick on the video but I thought it said The Flatiron in characteristic script of the pre-Gibson days.

It looks like the Flatiron pancake bouzouki/octave, but its a sunburst.

[sgarrity]

He does indeed use a sunburst Flatiron Octave/zouk. Can't remember the year but I'm pretty sure it's pre-Gibson. He also plays a Smart mandola. He used both at the recent PB concert out here in LA.

[Eric C.]

He plays a Flatiron bouzouki on the current tour

[tkdboyd]

Here is the instrument:
This is the introduction and then the tune is here:https://youtu.be/tsfZ_C4PrkQ?t=53m29s

[Larry S Sherman]

Lawrence Smart said on FB that Chris plays a Smart mandola during Julep.



Larry

[JeffD]

There it is.

I think I may have known about the Smart mandola, actually, now that I think about it.

But a flat top pancake octave/zouk, that is great. Those pre-Gibson Flatiron pancakes are really nice instruments, I had the mandola and I have played the octave and a few of the mandolins - I am always impressed. Not a bluegrass sound, but great sounding great playing instruments. I haven't ever seen a starburst one however.

[Larry S Sherman]

He's been playing that Flatiron for a long time:



Larry

[jefflester]

I think it's kind of funny how often the topic of Thile's larger mandolin instruments comes up. He's been playing the Smart mandola for close to 10 years (a song from Why Should the Fire Die, I forget which one) and the Flatiron OM/zouk for at least 13 years (since Smoothie Song).

[Larry S Sherman]

I was lucky enough to see the Punch Brothers today (amazing show!), so I thought I would share a pic of Thile's Smart mandola, which he used for "Julep".



Larry

[andyplaysdrums]

Larry, thanks for the pic! My wife, son, and I were there yesterday as well! I was recalling this thread when I saw him pull the mandola out. Indeed, what a fantastic performance, and a fantastic day! This was our second Punch Brothers show, the first being last year at UCONN. The different energies of an indoor and outdoor performance were cool to compare.

(funny enough, "Julep" is what's playing on my stereo right now)

[mtm]

I didn't post a few weeks back, but here goes....

PB played Milwaukee's "Summerfest" a few weeks ago ... Summerfest is a major music fest that goes on for a bit less than two weeks and the festival grounds feature a 23,000 seat amphitheater (saw the Stones on opening night, and Neil Young on closing night), all the way down to small tents. There are several sizable stages on the grounds that accommodate 3,000 to 5,000-ish people. One of the evils of such festivals is sound bleed-over from stage to stage ... especially the 'thump thump thump'...

PB was on a fairly large stage (BMO Harris Pavilion) that accommodates about 5,000 seats, and additional standing area. I was 10 rows back dead center, quite nice. I don't think it was full but it was hard to see around the venue from up front. It was a "major league" show for sure, much more impressive than recent PB shows I've been to at much smaller venues.

The opening act on the stage was "Shakey Graves", who I have heard of but knew nothing about. He drew a sizable, enthusiastic crowd and while he was 'ok', I didn't find him compelling and in addition to gear problems on stage, the sound was rather poor (and loud). This was a bit surprising since the venue has a nice line-array PA and I've seen shows there before that were good (DSO a few nights later sounded gorgeous). So I left to walk the grounds and returned for PB.

The crowd actually thinned out a bit up from for PB, which was a bit of a surprise but fine with me. Unfortunately, while the sound got better, it still wasn't what I was hoping for. Another limitation of the festival mode is it allows for only an abbreviated setlist, which is here: http://www.setlist.fm/setlist/punch-...-73c956ed.html. That list is not accurate as they did "The Auld Triangle" too, which is not listed. Still, PB really were outstanding. Thile's vocals are so clear and sharp, I think that's an aspect of his musicality that is under-rated. They also weren't afraid to bring things down, despite the 'thumping' bleed over from a nearby stage. Pikelny introduced "Passepied" as one for those who like 'real' old-timey music, and for those who were able to pay attention**, it was beautifully done; kudos for playing it in a loud festival setting. I was also impressed they would attempt "The Auld Triangle", and even Thile acknowledged it might be difficult to overcome the neighboring stage bleed, but, it was mesmerizing. This version was longer than some of the youtubes I've seen, and they were losing the crowd a bit towards the end**, which prompted Thile to say "hang with us, only a couple more verses". "New York City" simply kicked butt. Even some of the "pop" tunes from the new recording had enough complexity to stand out. The musicianship all around was excellent.

** Older guy rant time: I've come to expect it at most every show I go to these days, and it might not just be the younger people (but it IS a problem), but as soon as things get slow or not a sing-along, the talking starts. LOTS of talking. Tell me again why we worked hard to be up close???? Clearly, Thile sensed it at the end of The Auld Triangle, and had to say something. I try to bite my tongue, but I did mention to a few around me that even though a song isn't fast, it's still worth listening to (especially in the 10th row). At best, I get a blank stare... and they start talking again.

Older guy rant #2: Cell phone pics. People spend more time on their phones taking pics than listening to the music. At a recent Richard Thompson show, it was announced when we were in line, and again before he hit the stage, that Thompson finds the cell phones to be VERY distracting, and that NO CELL PHONE PICS were allowed. Guess what ... people respected his wish, and it was good. That will never work in a big venue, but more artists should try it (I think Ryan Adams does the same).