Wednesday’s opening act was Lera Lynn accompanied by Ben Lewis on acoustic guitar. Lera Lynn is a singer/songwriter from Athens, Ga., with an inviting voice with hints of Alison Krauss and Florence and the Machine. The setting on stage was simplistic; they shared one mic, as if from the radio shows of long ago.
After a short intermission, the members of Punch Brothers took to the stage in suits and vests. The band consists of Chris Thile (mandolin and lead vocals), Gabe Witcher (fiddle/violin), Noam Pikelny (banjo), Chris Eldridge (guitar) and Paul Kowert (bass). They included all the parts of a standard bluegrass band, but at half the age of what you would expect and with a lot more range in styles.
A great example of their musical bandwidth was when they played “Kid A” by Radiohead with all the power the song needed but with different instruments from the original version. The whole band, but Chris especially, was fun to watch; they were quite witty. One of the best quotes was when Chris said, “Concert going and concertizing is thirsty work.”
For the encore, they moved in front of the microphones, saying “it’s a shame to play this building without hearing this building”. They wanted to truly enjoy the acoustics of this amazing room without using monitors to hear themselves; it was jaw dropping how you could hear even Paul’s foot tapping without amplification. I don’t believe this is the last we will see of Punch Brothers, as their popularity is just beginning to explode, due in some part to the song “Dark Days,” which was part of the soundtrack for the 2012 blockbuster “The Hunger Games.”
Overall, the crowd was enthusiastic and excited to be there. I do hope more and more people understand it is OK to stand up and even wear jeans. The Palladium is amazing for all types of events, from black tie classical to jeans and jamming.
