Review: Punch Brothers @ Cat's Cradle, Nov. 7

By Josh Stillman

Though Punch Brothers are very much a musician’s band, their show on Sunday night at Cat’s Cradle in Carrboro was all about the audience.  Chris Thile and company charmed the crowd with some engaging interplay, just a little flattery, and of course, incredible music.  Covering the majority of their new album Antifogmatic before a packed house, the band lit up the stage with the fiery “Don’t Need No” and “Rye Whiskey”; silenced the listeners with tender ballads “Missy” and “Me and Us”; and lifted spirits with the buoyant folk of “Next to the Trash” and “Alex.”  Most of the songs varied little from the album cuts, but in this case that’s not at all a bad thing.  Punch Brothers play with a level of gusto and mechanical precision that yields a stunning live experience—their performances were essentially flawless, each one a marvel of musical wizardry.  The members traded masterful solos as though they were trying to outdo one another every time.  Yet in addition to this they imbued their songs with a passion rarely found in such artistic, technical ensembles.  Thile especially embraced the emotions inherent in the music, writhing and rocking across the stage as though to emphasize each note with the whole of his being.

Of course, Antifogmatic wasn’t the only item on the set list.  The other songs they performed literally ran the musical gamut, demonstrating why Punch Brothers have become such a unique and sought-after live act.  From “Punch Bowl,” a cut from their first album Punch, to an irresistibly upbeat cover of The Band’s “Ophelia,” to a lovely version of “You Are My Flower” by the Carter Family—played here as a duet between bassist Paul Kowert and fiddler Gabe Witcher—the Brothers exhibited a far-reaching respect for the folk and bluegrass traditions in which they are rooted.  They also paid homage to some of their more contemporary influences, covering The Strokes’ “Heart in a Cage” and Radiohead’s “Morning Bell.”  And in what was perhaps the night’s most bizarre moment, they launched into a hilarious cover of “Icarus Smicarus,” a heavy, profane number originally recorded in 2004 by noise rock band Mclusky.  Such unpredictability is what makes Punch Brothers the endearing group that they are.  For in spite of the frequently somber subject matter and the complex, orchestral arrangements of their original pieces, it was obvious that the group were having a blast.  In fact by the end, once they finished their second encore, it was hard to tell who had had more fun—the band or the audience.  And in a show, you couldn’t ask for much more than that.