I haven’t been to the Minnesota Zoo for years, but booked tickets when I saw the Avett Brothers were appearing in concert at the amphitheater. It was a beautiful night for an outdoor concert, warm with a light breeze, the moon a bright crescent in a night sky filled with rapidly passing clouds. Margie and I went with two very dear friends, Wes Hill, soon to leave for England to study for a doctorate in theology at Durham University, and Anita Gorder, an artist living in the Mole End apartment at Toad Hall who has joyously filled our lives with beauty, laughter, and a lovely sense of community.

I have often been told the Avett Brothers give one of the best live concerts available. I haven’t been to enough concerts to render a judgment except to say this one was close to perfect. Their vibrant energy, their transparent delight in playing for us, and the beauty of the music simply swept us into delight.

For just one chance to find

Love was someone that you loved to find

For just the sense to try

To walk ahead and leave the pain behind

If the days aren’t easy and the nights are rough

When they ask you what you’re thinking of

Say love, say for me love

Say love, say for me love

Your heart says not again

What kind of mess have you got me in

But when the feelings there

It can lift you up and take you anywhere

But the gravel beneath you and the limbs above

If anybody asks you where your coming from

Say love, say for me love

Say love, say for me love

Say yes we live uncertainty

And disappointments have to be

And everyday we might be facing more

And yes we live in desperate times

But fading words and shaking rhymes

There’s only one thing here worth hoping for

With Lucifer beneath you and God above

If either one of them asks you what your living of

Say love, say for me love

Say love, say for me love

Say love, say for me love

[“Living of Love”]

I know this photo is blurred, and my camera asked if it should delete it because of that when I snapped it. I said No, save it. People who want to see a photo of the Avett Brothers can find one on their web site. This photo captures the energy of the concert perfectly.

None of us had heard of the opening act, Samantha Crain and the Midnight Shivers, but they were good. Anita and Wes bought t-shirts. On the drive home we listened to Emotionalism.

We came for salvation

We came for family

We came for all that’s good that’s how we’ll walk away

We came to break the bad

We came to cheer the sad

We came to leave behind the world a better way

[“Salvation Song”]

The Avett Brothers fulfilled that promise for us last Saturday. Their concert filled my heart to overflowing with happiness, and I am grateful.