Punch Brothers had a packed schedule over the long weekend: they performed at the first annual Delfest in Cumberland, Maryland, on Sunday; The Mauch Opera House in Jim Thorpe, Pennsylvania, on Saturday; and The Birchmere in Alexandria, Virginia, on Friday. The Washington Post says The Blind Leaving the Blind, the centerpiece of the group's Nonesuch debut, Punch, was the "most adventurous number" of a live set "that packed a powerful ... well, punch." The AV Club calls it "a tour-de-force."
Punch Brothers had a packed schedule over the long weekend: they performed at the first annual Delfest in Cumberland, Maryland, on Sunday; The Mauch Opera House in Jim Thorpe, Pennsylvania, on Saturday; and The Birchmere in Alexandria, Virginia, on Friday.
The Washington Post's Catherine P. Lewis writes that The Birchmere show was "a precise, engaging performance that ranged from rowdy originals ("Punch Bowl") to covers of the Beatles ("Baby's in Black") and Norman Blake ("Green Light on the Southern")." Lewis found that the collective talent of the five members of Punch Brothers shone through: "Their experience and skill made the show a clear group effort." She points to the centerpiece of the group's Nonesuch debut, Punch, as the "most adventurous number" of a live set "that packed a powerful ... well, punch." To read the review of Friday's show, visit washingtonpost.com.
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Punch Brothers Chris Thile and Noam Pikelny recently set their iPods to shuffle and shared the results with The Onion's Genevieve Koski for the AV Club's Random Rules column. Koski calls Punch a blend of "bluegrass instrumentation, jazz improvisation, and classical composition," the centerpiece of which, The Blind Leaving the Blind, is "a tour-de-force." Featured on the guys' combined playlists are a number of their own tracks and works by a wide range of artists and composers including Of Montreal, Debussy, My Bloody Valentine, The Del McCoury Band, and Glen Gould performing Bach's Goldberg Variations, the latter "one of my very favorite things in the world," says Chris. To read the complete list and what Chris and Noam have to say about the songs on it, visit avclub.com.
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The Western Mail, out of Wales, in its Punch album review, says these five musicians "incorporate the instrumentation of bluegrass with a much more expansive and ambitious outlook on contemporary classical composition." Concludes reviewer Christopher Rees: "They twist and turn through traditional song and avant-garde tangents to brilliant effect." The review can be found at icwales.icnetwork.co.uk.
