A few weeks ago, some truly unlikely collaborators got together to release an album. The Avett Brothers, Scott and Seth Avett’s long-running and massively successful neo-bluegrass group, joined forces with the Faith No More/Mr. Bungle frontman Mike Patton to make the LP AVTT/PTTN. It’s a seemingly random pairing, but they clearly had mutual respect and worked to find common ground. On Tuesday night, the Avetts and Patton took their AVTT/PTTN songs to the stage for the first time.
Last night’s Avett Brothers/Mike Patton performance wasn’t a full set. Instead, they made their debut public appearance at a Grammy Museum event at New York’s Sheen Center. Together with the Avetts’ band, they said that the four songs that they performed — “Dark Night Of My Soul,” “Heaven’s Breath,” “Eternal Love,” and “Received” — were the only four that they learned how to play.
The performance followed a conversation that was supposed to be moderated by Eric André, but André got sick and couldn’t do it, so album producer Dana Nielsen stepped in. “When I do certain projects, I ask for as much direction as possible,” Patton said during the talk. “And Scott said, ‘do whatever the fuck you want.’ But the challenge in it for me was to be really respectful, very, very careful to not disturb the purity of it.”
Patton wore a suit with some little pigtails, and he stood off in the corner of the stage, surrounded by a bank of electronics. He also had a gong that he hit one time. Other than the vaguely prog-metal “Heaven’s Breath,” the songs weren’t too far from what the Avett Brothers might do on their own, with a little extra weirdness from Patton thrown in. You can watch the full set below.
Last night the Avett Brothers and Mike Patton’s project AVTT/PTTN made its live debut at an event in NYC presented by the Grammy Museum. Scott and Seth Avett’s long-running neo-bluegrass group and the Faith No More/Mr. Bungle frontman performed songs from their great new collaborative LP ‘AVTT/PTTN,’ which is out now via via Thirty Tigers, Ramseur Records, and Ipecac Recordings. “When I do certain projects, I ask for as much direction as possible,” Patton said in a talk before the performance. “And Scott said, ‘do whatever the fuck you want.’ But the challenge in it for me was to be really respectful, very, very careful to not disturb the purity of it.” They did “Dark Night Of My Soul,” “Heaven’s Breath,” “Eternal Love,” and “Received,” which they said were the only four that they’ve learned how to play. You can catch AVTT/PTTN’s TV debut on ‘’Fallon’ tonight. #AVTTPTTN #AvettBrothers #MikePatton
Get well soon, Eric!
AVTT/PTTN is out now on Thirty Tigers/Ramseur Records/Ipecac Recordings and the band will make its TV debut on Fallon tonight.
