The hall was packed and the crowd were yelling as if they were awaiting a boy band, but on stage came an acoustic five-piece with a country/bluegrass lineup of mandolin, banjo, guitar, fiddle and double bass. They looked like quirky college boys, sporting jackets, ties and waistcoats, but made it clear from the opening songs that this would be no conventional concert. With Next To the Trash and You Are they veered rapidly from country influences to edgy acoustic pop that included lyrical passages, tight harmony vocals and a stomping rock chorus line, but then suddenly slowed down and eased into a quiet, jazzy burst of controlled discord, before the melodies kicked in again.
They then moved off to rapid-fire bluegrass banjo work, and tight, rolling country-rock balladry worthy of The Band, whose classic Ophelia would be reworked later in the set.
Based in New York, Punch Brothers are playing a key role in the new American acoustic movement in which unplugged traditional styles are matched against the new and experimental. The band was formed by Chris Thile, formerly with Nickel Creek, who here provided acrobatic, sometimes fragile vocals and virtuoso mandolin work, with intricate changes of direction that were perfectly matched by his colleagues.
These are impressive players with a firm grounding in traditional styles, and they carefully balanced sturdy melodies against the experimental passages. The folk ballad Moonshiner and their own stomping Rye Whiskey were followed by a slinky, edgy treatment of Radiohead's Kid A, featuring gently wailing fiddle and banjo. Then the mood changed again, as they were joined by Marcus Mumford for a finale that included fine unaccompanied four-part harmonies on Dominic Behan's prison song The Auld Triangle, and a stirring country work-out on the American traditional Dink's Tune (Fare Thee Well). It was an exciting, wildly original set.
