More About the Avetts
Going to Madison on Wednesday to see the Avetts for the 5th time this year. Counting the minutes…
When I was in the thick of my interest in Springsteen I felt mighty sorry for myself for not having been there in ’78 when Bruce was putting on the shows that inspired Jon Landau to call him the future of rock n roll. I’ve been telling people recently though that I no longer have those regrets. I have no doubt that what the Avetts are doing now is no less passionate, awe-inspiring, or legendary than what Bruce did back then. In fact, if I were given the choice of seeing the Avetts of the last few years or Bruce in his heyday I wouldn’t skip a beat in choosing the Avetts. For real. Their live show absolutely blows away any of the hundreds of other acts I’ve seen (including Soul Asylum in the early 90’s) and, at the very least, rivals the videos I’ve seen of those ’78 Springsteen shows.
My 17 year old self would be shocked and appalled, I’m sure. And this reinforces my point… OF COURSE I was obsessed with Springsteen at 17…I was se-ven-teen!! It’s obligatory to be obsessed with a band at that age. But, to be a 41 year old woman and be as obsessed as I was when I was 17 kind of speaks for itself. True, I’ve never lost my passion for music, but this level of obsession is not something I’ve experienced in that many years. I feel very much like the middle-aged woman in the movie who falls in love and says, “I didn’t know I was still capable of feeling this way.” Happily, I’m not a former Dynasty star in a Lifetime movie. I’m just a girl so in love with a band that she’s forgotten that she’s not supposed to have musical crushes anymore…
From the Starlite Room 