Punch Brothers' US tour took them to the Walton Arts Center in Fayetville, Arkansas, on Saturday, when they played what the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette's Michelle Parks describes as a "lovefest" between the band and its audience.
 
"Though the group is relatively new," says Parks, "the music sounds like they’ve been playing together for years. Their rapport showed in their music, which was tight and perfectly timed. They took meandering side trips, sometimes pushing the music to the edge, but the audience had full confidence that they knew where they were headed."

The review calls The Blind Leaving the Blind, the four-movement centerpiece to the band's Nonesuch debut, Punch, "the most impressive piece of the night ... The entire piece was a rollercoaster ride of soothing, slow moments and breathtakingly fast ones."

Parks reports that Chris's "voice was wonderful" on the piece and calls its fourth movement "spirited and energetic with a hopeful feel."

The program included an eclectic assortment of tunes by a variety of other songwriters as well, from Jimmie Rodgers to Radiohead, leading Parks to conclude: "No matter what music they touched, the Punch Brothers were quite amazing."

Read the full review at nwanews.com.

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The Gospel & Culture Project blog takes a fascinating, in-depth look at Punch and, in particular, The Blind Leaving the Blind, of which writer/musician Bethany Brooks writes:

The work’s technical demands—virtuosic passages, elaborate counterpoint, rhythmic complexity, and harmonic writing that pushes past the bounds of tonality—require players with complete mastery over their instruments ... [The piece] is beautiful as often as it is difficult, full of gorgeous melodies and tone colors.

Brooks credits the band's "dazzling virtuosity and Thile’s skill as a composer" with providing "sufficient reward to coax listeners through an unfamiliar musical landscape." She also sees the vocals on the piece as a key to its accessibility: "Atypical for a work of such scope and complexity, the Punch Brothers sing like folk or pop musicians, with a vocal style as casual as their concert attire."

Referencing the aforementioned songwriters Punch Brothers feature in their live performances, Brooks concludes:

By embracing influences as diverse as Debussy, Radiohead, and Jimmie Rodgers, Thile has made music that shakes fans out of genre-bound identities, challenges attention spans, and undermines pre-conceptions of where great music is to be found. TBLTB can teach listeners new ways to experience music.

Read the extensive article and its exploration of the inspiration behind Chris's writing of The Blind Leaving the Blind, at gospelandculture.org.

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Punch Brothers perform tonight at the Mary Linn Performing Arts Center in Maryville, Missouri. For more upcoming tour dates, visit nonesuch.com/on-tour.