My notes from last night’s Punch Brothers show at Seattle’s Showbox are all over the map, just as their blistering set of music was. Today, I’m left deciphering random iPhone messages I typed (boy, that autocorrect/spelling function can really get overzealous, can’t it?) and with memories of an incredible set of music. They did not disappoint.

To my ears, the Brothers – Chris Thile, Noam Pikelny, Gabe Witcher, Paul Kowert and Chris Eldridge – are one of the best bands performing today, in any genre. Last night, they took their bluegrass gear to new heights, performing from their album Antifogmatic but also doing covers of Josh Ritter, Jimmie Rodgers, Radiohead and the Strokes… there was even a four-part harmony take on “Paperback Writer.” It was fitting music for a venue more known for indie-rock than bluegrass.

There were of course amazing displays of virtuosity and tens of thousands of lightening-fast notes played. More importantly, these five young guys seemingly break ground with each tune and have a blast doing it. Thile comes across as some amazingly weird hybrid between composer Charles Ives and showman Jerry Lee Lewis; he can write moody chamber music or just ham it up to the crowd. And he does it all on the mandolin.

It’s amazing to think that all this happens, night after night, on some of the rarest gear imaginable: Thile with his Loar mandolin, Eldridge on a ‘39 Martin D-28 and Pikelny on a flathead Gibson TB-7. You could buy a nice house anywhere in America for the value of those three instruments. Ultimately, it’s the bluegrass equivalent of seeing Clapton in his youthful prime, playing through his “Beano” Les Paul, circa 1966. A rare moment where a player at the height of his prowess is utilizing the absolute best gear imaginable. Catch it while you can.