The Avett Brothers were just on Conan and they sang the
most beautiful rendition of “Murder in the City” I have ever heard. I almost missed it, going with my standard
2-hour block of Fraiser reruns on the Hallmark Channel (they bleep out every
cuss word but ‘damn’—no joke), but remembered at 11:44PM, flipping over to TBS
just in time to catch the last bit of Conan’s interview with some chick on that
new version of Dallas (the only reason it’s doing well is because the people
who watched the original Dallas are mostly still alive and have no American
Idol to watch in the summer). When Conan
introduced the band, he was holding a vinyl version of the EP, Gleam II, one of the Avetts’ older
albums, which I’m listening to on repeat right now (when I say repeat, what I
mean is that when it finishes I just hit play again because I don’t know how to
turn on repeat on Windows Media Player).
I love that album, but was a little confused. I was expecting something off their new
yet-to-be-released album (can’t wait!) or at least I And Love And You. The
album is more or more less just Scott and Seth too. Conan said they were going to play “Murder in
the City”. I was excited, but
confused. Almost always this song is
played by either just the two brothers or by Scott himself. This though, this was the whole band. Scott, Seth, Bob, Joe, and the new drummer
guy, Jacob on trombone. What came out
was probably one of the most beautiful songs I have ever heard.
It was all acoustic—Scott and Seth hunkered around a
resonator mic in the middle of the stage with other mics strategically placed
to pick up all the instruments. Joe Kwon
was on the far left with his cello, beside him Bob Crawford and his upright
bass, and in the back right corner was Jacob Edwards, not on a drum kit but
blowing on a trombone. I wasn’t sure how
they would adapt the song to the full band, but they did extremely well—well enough
to the point where I almost wish they did it this way every time. Joe’s cello work was immaculate and almost
the driving effort behind the song—it basically left me speechless. The surprising addition of the trombone was a
nice subtle touch. The only thing I
thought that could improve was the vocals—I didn’t think Scott had quite the same
power behind his voice as usual, though this could be because of the extra
instruments and also because I’ve seen so many videos of him singing it solo,
where there is much emphasis on his voice.
Also, I noticed Scott’s hair seemed much fluffier and dull rather than
greasy and shiny, which I felt was unusual.
The first time I ever actually listed to “Murder in the
City”, as in actually paid attention to the lyrics and the music and everything,
I teared up a little. I think had my mom
not been sitting beside me, I probably would have during their performance on
Conan. I’m not ashamed to admit
that. It is a very powerful song and not
the first song to make me feel that way.
I was driving through town and it came on shuffle. I had to listen to it a second time just to
make sure I actually heard what I heard.
I had to make sure I played it for my best friend, my little brother. He loved it, and it became one of his
favourites. I don’t know how many times
we’ve listened to that song. We might
not be blood-related and not have the same last name, but that song still means
a lot to us. I think it’s a song that
everyone should listen to at least once in their lives. This is the kind of song that changes peoples’
lives. When you’ve written a song like
that, that’s when you can retire. But
the Avett Brothers aren’t retiring anytime soon—they’re just going to write
more songs like that.
When we went to the Avett Brothers’ show a couple weeks
back we were really hoping to hear “Murder in the City”, but they didn’t play
it. Every time the condenser mic came
out, we got excited in anticipation. But
the song never came. Obviously, we were
pretty bummed. A couple days later, Joe
tweeted the set list, which included “Murder in the City”. I had to tweet back informing him that they
didn’t play it. He surprised me when he
replied and said there are always alterations every night. I tweeted back and told him it was
unfortunate it had to be that song because the meaning it holds for my best
friend and me. He didn’t tweet back,
though I didn’t really expect him to. I
know it’s crazy, but I’d like to think they sang that song for us. It was an odd choice for a late night TV show—a
slower song, or “dreary” as my mom described it—with bold, emotional
lyrics. And like I said, not a song
intended for the entire band. But for
whatever reason, it was what they chose.
It’s because they knew that’s what I needed to hear. I send my best friend a text telling him to
turn on TBS and I hope he got it and was able to turn on TBS and hear it too
because I think he needed to hear that song too—to remind us both of some
things of which we need reminding.
Though we’re not actually related, we’re still brothers, and that’s a
bond that is never broken. Family is
always there, no matter what, and no one and no force can change that. Brotherhood is forever, whether by blood,
marriage, fraternity. Don’t ever forget
that. Sometimes there are bumps in the
road, but everything will settle in the end.
In time, all will be well. If you
have a brother, find him and give him a hug.
Same for your sister, your mother, you father, your son or daughter. You never know how long you’re going to have
them. Hug them and don’t let them go. Last summer when the Avett Brothers were in
Columbus we wanted to go and found tickets on Craigslist from a lady in
Springfield whose brother had passed away recently. I had said in the ad I wanted to take my
little brother to his first concert. Her
email was brief, but it almost had me in tears.
She knows what this song is about; she was knows what I’m saying here. It’s inevitable that you’ll have some kind of
argument with a family member—most likely a sibling—throughout your life. But in the end, it’s all petty. Don’t ever let anything tarnish a
relationship that is meant to be unbreakable.
