AVTT/PTTN offers something different, unusual

Who'd a thunk it? The pairing of The Avett Brothers, a long-running Americana band with country, folk and gospel among its influences, with Mike Patton of rock bands Faith No More and Mr. Bungle fame pretty much goes to the heart of the question.

After first connecting in 2019 when Scott Avett said he liked Patton's work, the two recorded together and put out a nine-song release as AVTT/PTTN. They never even met until after the recording was finished. And now they are touring together under that same moniker.

If you were expecting a typical Avetts show, that didn't. happen, and one suspects the same would be true for Patton. What fans did receive was a shifting, genre bouncing on a dime show that worked – for the most part.

Scott and Seth Avett and Patton all shared lead vocals throughout, sometimes within the same song. Patton was the more aggressive vocalist and not as pleasant to the ears as the Avetts (Patton "Merry Go Bye Bye"). No surprise given his rock background, but he seemed just as comfortable in the country and folk-flavored songs as well.

The Avetts would offer some of their typical fare ("Laundry Room," "Murder in the City" and the slightly funky "Ain't No Man" in particular), but to their credit, this wasn't a show filled with their best-known songs. There was. No "Head Full of Doubt," Kick Drum Heart" or "I and Love and You."

So, if one wanted the Avetts to stay in their lane, well, that didn't always happen and shouldn't've been a surprise. When AVTT/PTTN rocked out on "Vanity Fair," they quickly shifted gears big time to Roger Miller's hobo gem "King of the Road" with both Avetts and Patton taking lead vocals in a low-key reading. When Seth Avett said, "Let's change channels" prior to the song, eh was not joking.

On the rap song, "It's Natural" with Seth Avett taking the vocals, it was so far afield that it felt like he was a dabbler, albeit a skilled one. But it was so far afield from the typica Avetts sound that it might have been better to stick with what you got you there. Well, at least, Scott played away on banjo on a number of songs, and there was a lot of fiddle as well.

Maybe it was too many tempo and genre shifts, but the concert started to lag about two-thirds of the way through. The rock songs just weren't engaging enough and going in a totally different direction, their decision to perform The Commodores hit "Easy" was a real headscratcher. Maybe the crowd got into it for one of the lighter musical moments of the two-hour show, but it remained an odd choice.

From there, AVTT/PTTN righted the ship starting with the Avett's song "Satan Pulls the Strings" and keeping it more in the Avetts' musical realm. They went more traditional country with their cover of Dean Martin's "My Rifle, My Pony and Me" before ending the regular set with "Received" from AVTT/PTTN.

The four-song encore showed a bunch of different sides. First off, long-time Avetts cellist Joe Kwon took over lead vocals with Patton and the brothers seated for the traditional "Frog Went A-Courting." Kwon showed he was more than a cellist.

AVTT/PTTN scored more points with another cover, "Cigarettes, Whiskey and Wild, Wild Women," courtesy of Sons of the Pioneers. Again, this was a traditional country song and in line with the Avetts' style.

Following the more rocking "Retrovertigo," a Mr. Bungle song, the entire ensemble gathered around in the front of the stage to bring it down a bunch of notches for Christian hymn, "It Is Well With My Soul" with Seth Avett on piano. Avett related the backdrop to the song that the Avetts were with Patton in North Carolina and learned that their father Jim, a musician in his own right, was playing at a church nearby. Off they went, although this wasn't exactly in Patton's wheelhouse. But here and elsewhere, they joined together to make good music.

Music, of course, can make for "I would never have thought" moments like the Avett Brothers and Patton gathering together.. It may not have always worked in concert, but give them credit for trying something different and unusual.