Image via Wikipedia

Calling out a city, or telling the audience how happy one is to be in their fine metropolis — that’s pretty much a given for any band. You see it at varying levels of sincerity — some actually seem to be pretty excited to be visiting, others are, well, just trying to be nice.

The Avett Brothers, by all evidence, belonged to the first camp.

Playing their first show since the new year, the Avetts seemed to throw everything they had into their performance at the Sunset Cove Amphitheater, west of Boca Raton.

And they had a perfect night to play — after rain all day, the clouds gave way to a moonlit sky and cool breezes. Singer/guitarist Seth Avett remarked how he could stay down in South Florida and play all the time.

The brothers and their bandmates had a ton of energy, and plowed through a two-hour, 27-song set that crossed over their full career, though most of the songs came from their last two studio albums, Emotionalism and I and Love and You.

Still, there were clearly those in the crowd who’ve been Avett fans since the start, as the excitement around the song “At the Beach” from the 2004 LP Mignonette showed.

That said, “Head Full of Doubt/Road Full of Promise”, the song the group played at the 2011 Grammy Awards, had a huge reaction.

Even a newer song, “The Once and Future Carpenter”, was well received. “Carpenter” is a likely candidate for the Avetts’ upcoming LP, which like I and Love and You was recorded with producer Rick Rubin. (And yet, despite the band calling “Carpenter” a new song, a voice from the crowd shouted back, “It’s not new to us!” Clearly she’d seen the guys play a few times recently.)

Oddly, the high-energy show seemed to reach an interesting peak at one of its quietest moments, when Seth and Scott Avett were left alone on stage to sing the traditional hymn “Just a Closer Walk With Thee”. It showcased the close harmony the brothers have.

Though the group was missing its third long-time member — bassist Bob Crawford is taking a temporary leave of absence due to the illness of his daughter — another musician was heavily highlighted. Joe Kwon, the Avett Brothers’ cellist, was absolutely remarkable throughout the show, giving interesting life to some passages.

Even at the end of the show, the Avetts showed no signs of slowing down, performing such well-loved songs as “Shame” and “I and Love and You” — the crowd sang along with the latter to great affect. After their final song of the encore, “Talk of Indolence”, Seth and Scott reached out to the fans, shaking hands, with broad smiles on their faces.

Seth Avett meant what he said, when he noted that South Florida is a friendly place for his band.