"Live At MTV" is a new online series featuring some incredible bands performing live at MTV in New York City. The most recent band to take the MTV . . . what they did at MTV, high above the Times Square traffic and bustle, performing their mesmeric mix of classical, country, pop, jazz and bluegrass.

Thile and his band The Punch Brothers look the part, playing acoustic instruments sans drummer. But listen closer to the group's second album, . . . of different textures and tempos in a time when speed seems to be the theme in bluegrass. Is that something you were thinking about during recording?

In Punch Brothers' founder Chris Thile's view, their first record was "murky" and "ambiguous," but it turns out Brion was just what they needed to . . . through your speakers is so much more difficult with acoustic instruments than things that are already two-dimensional, like an electric guitar."

The word bluegrass weighs heavy on Chris Thile. Thile and his band The Punch Brothers look the part, playing acoustic instruments sans drummer. But . . . going on here. For this band I think this is the way we're going to tackle it now. I really feel like we've hit our stride as a creative entity.

The word bluegrass weighs heavy on Chris Thile. Thile and his band The Punch Brothers look the part, playing acoustic instruments sans drummer. But . . . something different going on here. "We're out there attempting to make new music, not rehashing the past," Thile said in a recent phone interview.

Like most any other close-knit group of young dudes, mandolin virtuoso Chris Thile and his bandmates in the Punch Brothers call each other by . . . with the guys, having a few drinks and jamming. A good band, Thile says, should feel like a group of friends, both to each other and the audience.