Nickel Creek Live at the Wiltern, 09/06/03: Only the Curious Have Something to Find Sep 08 '03    Write an essay on this topic. Tweet Popular Products in Music Jersey Boys [Original Broadway Cast Recording] by Original Broadway Cast From $8 Mai by Eri Sugai From $4 The Bottom Line Old grass, new grass, red grass, blue grass... Whatever you call them, you must see them live to fully appreciate their talent. Go. NOW. Date: Saturday, September 6, 2003 Performers: Nickel Creek with Kathleen Edwards Venue: Wiltern Theatre, Los Angeles, California Ticket Price: $25 (Floor Area) OH. MY. GOSH. Two days ago, I witnessed what might be the most amazing live performance I've ever seen. I know that might be a bit of a bold claim - I go to a lot of concerts, after all - but we're not talking about one of the usual pop/rock type bands whose shows I like to attend. We're talking about Nickel Creek, a band that is neither pop nor rock, though certainly very popular, and they rock in a non-rocking sort of way. (You know what I mean.) I'm not sure when it started - I think it was somewhere in the middle of last year - but the group slowly made its way onto my list of "dream concerts" that I would drop everything to attend if they were ever in my area. For some strange reason, the young folk/bluegrass/whatever trio hadn't played a full concert in Southern California in quite a while (at least, not one that I was aware of), despite the fact that they live just outside of San Diego. So I was pretty excited when I found out that they would be performing at the Wiltern Theatre, smack dab in the middle of L.A. It didn't take me too long to round up a few friends, convince my girlfriend that this would be a show she could enjoy despite it not being her kind of music, and score a few tickets that, despite the usual bogus Ticketmaster surcharges, ended up being worth every nickel I paid for them. Being back at the Wiltern for the first time in four years brought back pleasant memories - I had been there in late '99 to see Delirious? and Switchfoot - my first time seeing both bands, and another entry in my list of all-time best concerts. I noticed that they had refurbished the venue since then - the lower level seats had been removed, allowing for free movement between the bar and the various tiers of the floor, so the only seats left were in the mezzanine, where two of our friends ended up - we were the lucky ones with the floor seats, even if that meant we had to stand for the entire show. And what a long show it ended up being! Due to the set starting time of 8 PM, I was relieved to see that there was only one opening act on the bill. I knew nothing whatsoever about Kathleen Edwards and her band, but since the concert was being sponsored by our local country station KZLA, I naively assumed that she was a breaking country artist. I really missed the mark on that guess - turns out she's more of a plugged-in folk-rocker type from Canada. To be honest, I didn't think she was a great fit for Nickel Creek. I found her musical style to be rather plaintive - the same basic chords repeating again and again on an acoustic guitar drowned out by the electric guitar, drum, and bass provided by her band. Her lyrics were tough to make out despite our proximity to the stage, and what I couldn't make out didn't really resonate with me. I don't know - she had a few clever ballads, particularly the song "Hockey Skates", which she introduced with a rather unnecessary story about her making an obscene gesture into the camera at a hockey game, and I had to love the line "Do you wish your nose was longer so you'd have an excuse not to see past it?", but other than that and an unexpected energy level as the songs developed into jam sessions, her music quickly became tiring. The overall mood was too apathetic - either she wanted to go outside and sit in her "Mercury" and get high, or tell a guy over the phone that "I've got no f***ing clue from your point of view and your time zone", or something along those lines. A few of her songs like "Six O'Clock News" showed promise, but I could think of other artists with whom she'd have been more appropriately paired. Finally, right around 9 PM, the moment we had been waiting for finally arrived. After a surprisingly warm intro from the local radio DJ, the band came bounding out onto the stage, with mandolin player Chris Thile showing a particularly high amount of energy. True to my expectations, the youthful spirit that comes across on Nickel Creek's albums was only intensified in their live show. But being young and excited to be playing for us didn't mean they were simply going to give the crowd the easy way out and play all of the hits. They certainly threw me a curveball when the trio (complemented by bass player Mark Schatz, who I thought looked like the doctor from Star Trek: Voyager) chose "Crooked Jack", an amalgamation of two traditional folk songs, as their opening number. The oddly-timed story unfolded as Chris traded off vocals with violin player Sara Watkins. Man, does she get a lot of attention from the crowd - not only did her fiddling set the place on fire, but her vocals were particularly gutsy on this tune, even leaving their edgier recorded songs like "I Should've Known Better" in the dust. The song must have gone on for six minutes or so, and by the time it ended in a lively jig, I could only think, "Man, that's ten bucks right there!" Two or three songs of this caliber would mean that I'd get my money's worth out of this show and then some! The applause only increased as the band shifted into the high-energy guitar-and-fiddle duel "Smoothie Song", which got a little extra spunk from Chris's off kilter soling and a few nice bass licks from Mark (we're talking upright bass, folks). After this, the band took a brief trip into mellower territory with their popular single "Reasons Why", which was played faster and with a little more "sway" to it than the album version. It seemed that no matter what they did, the audience ate it up. Solos were met with enthusiastic screams, overly excited fans could be heard yelling "I LOVE YOU SARA!!!" and so forth in between songs, and a good portion of the faster numbers got us all clapping along furiously, blissfully filling in for the group's lack of conventional percussion (drums are some of my favorite instruments, but they would only have gotten in the way here). When they launched into an extended jam version of "The Fox", I seriously wished I had a clue how to square dance, because if that wasn't one of those "Grab your gal and swing her 'round" moments, I don't know what was. For over two hours, the band continued to dazzle the excited crowd with everything from your classic twangy bluegrass-type stuff that us city folk supposedly aren't supposed to like, to a number of unique-sounding new tunes that found the group pushing the envelope regarding what could be done with their instruments. When fingers weren't flying across strings at insane speeds, one of the group's three members could be found crooning cryptic and sometimes amusing lyrics about life in the spotlight, ironic musings on relationships… basically the group's best subject matter. (Aside from old folk tunes about death, of course.) One of the most amazing things about the band was their ability to keep us intrigued and entertained with a long list of unfamiliar songs that came right in the middle of their set. With most bands, this would be an extreme test of patience, but the majority of the fans there seemed to be hanging on every single note, remaining completely quiet during most songs unless a solo or a particularly "cool" moment during a song was driving them to cheer for the band. A lot of bands can't get away with playing too many new tunes, largely because vocals tend to get buried in the mix at most rock concerts, so you can't make out any lyrics. Nickel Creek's vocals came through loud and clear, and this didn't compromise the instruments one bit - we were able to relish every note of every deftly played solo. Even during the slow songs, Chris and Sean had an interesting way of meandering through unexpected melodies and chord changes to create a latticework over which Sara would paint in colorful strokes with her bow and strings. If I had to pick one word that could adequately sum up the display of musicianship, that word would have to be DROOL. 'Cause that's what I felt like doing as I watched them. Seeing Nickel Creek live definitely gives you a good idea of each individual band member's personality, and what they each have to contribute to the group's songs. Sara may not write any of that band's material, and her smile and sweet voice may seem at times to be a counterpoint to her furious violin playing, but they also add a delicate touch to what might otherwise be an extremely moody, all-male band. Chris seems to be the more "alternative" leaning member of the band (and what instrument could be more alternative than the mandolin?), writing a lot of the group's "weirder" songs and infusing even the darkest songs with a certain boyish charm. Sean tends to be the quietest member, singing lead on the occasional song (the group even accompanied him on "Ferdinand the Bull", a tune from his solo record Let It Fall), but he also gives the group a bit of a jazzy, improvisational kick on some of the slower numbers. With the exception of the off-kilter instrumental "Itzinay", most of the new material was rather downbeat, which did make it a little challenging to fully appreciate as the band worked through about five or six new tunes in a row. But there were a lot of clever song ideas and little musical ideas sprinkled throughout, whether it was the whimsical plea of "Elliot", a song that Chris dedicated to all of us who had friends that were "on crack… literally", or the defiant "screw what the record label wants" message of "Lucky", which ended in an abrupt dissonance that sounded like someone had broken a string (and Chris's sarcastic comments about how this song definitely didn't spell dollar signs for their label were hilarious!), or the dark, shifting chords beneath Sean's composition "I'm Sorry", or the wry humor of "Honest Men Make the Best Liars". Fans were clearly salivating over this new stuff. The strangest surprise came near the end of "She Can't Complain", an extremely jaded song about cheating on an ex-girlfriend that Sara made sure to assure us wasn't written about anyone in the band! Mark and Sara slowly drew their bows back and forth in unison during most of this song, creating a sleepy, two-chord dirge for Chris and Sean to play off of, and just as it seemed to be winding down, Chris literally made my heart jump when he suddenly broke into a sped-up version of the chorus. That's gotta be the closest a bluegrass band has ever come to scaring someone… in a good way, of course. I should make it clear that this wealth of new material didn't outshine the group's existing songs in any way. The band seemed to know the audience's favorites from both albums, and the long set gave them time to play generous portions of their self-titled disc and This Side. The rhythmically complex tunes "Green and Gray" and "Beauty and the Mess" seemed tailor-made for a concert setting, since they're both about the façade that performers put on when playing in front of a crowd. Though the setlist was incredibly unpredictable, it was almost uncanny that "Beauty and the Mess" popped into my head just as I was thinking it would be nice to hear it (this happened right after the newer single "This Side"). The band seemed to have a little trouble with that one, actually, slowing down a bit to get through the "All they get of you is what they get out of the show" line during the chorus, which is a bit of a murky area in terms of its rhythm, but I was still quite amazed by their ability to sing three different parts at once while playing their instruments during that song. Equally impressive was their extended version of "In the House of Tom Bombadil", which has a rhythm that is dang near impossible to keep up with when you're listening, to say nothing of what it must be like trying to play it to an audience that insists on clapping along as if it were a traditional 4/4 song. Chris has some hilarious remarks about that tune, saying that the character Tom Bombadil getting left out of the first Lord of the Rings film pretty much killed their chances of having a song on the soundtrack. (Pity, it would've been a great fit.) Even though Mark Schatz isn't a full-time member of the band, he wasn't about to be outshone by his young musical companions. In addition to some thrilling thump-and-slap work on his humongous bass, he whipped out a banjo for one of the group's instrumental songs (surprisingly, they didn't play "Ode to a Butterfly", which is the only recorded song I've heard them use a banjo on), and as the group got revved up with the traditional "Cuckoo's Nest", the guy changed his shoes, stepped onto a wooden board, and started clogging. At that point, I was just like, "Shut up! Nobody is this ridiculously talented! At least, not four people in the same band!" It almost seemed unfair to pretty much every other band out there, you know? It took the group until past 11 PM to finally wind down, opting to close out their main set with the angular "I Should've Known Better" (during which Chris got some freaky sounds out of his mandolin by scraping the strings with his fingernails) and the unorthodox but huge hit "The Lighthouse's Tale", which must have consumed every last bit of energy the audience had left as they cheered upon recognizing it. (Only Nickel Creek could cheer everyone up by singing a song about a guy who commits suicide after watching his girlfriend drown in the ocean!) The group dragged out the song's coda, and I knew something was afoot, but I wasn't quite prepared for Chris to spit out the words "I am an American aquarium drinker". That's right folks, of all things, in the middle of the group's most heartbreaking song, he does and whips out "I Am Trying to Break Your Heart" by Wilco. He managed to get through part of that song and a chunk of Coldplay's breakout hit "Yellow" without the band having to alter a single chord before returning to the last few lines of "Lighthouse". I'm sure there's some sort of absurd way to make those three songs relate to each other… but I probably don't want to think about it, lest the juxtaposition of lyrics send me into a spiral of depression from which I never recover. And if that wasn't enough, the crowd roared so loud after the youngsters left the stage that they had no choice but to come back out for an encore, which they performed without the help of their mics and monitors. Sure, we all know encores are a planned thing, but the way they did it made it seem rather impromptu. They looked genuinely surprised - instead of self-assured rock-star swagger, their attitudes seemed to be, "You like us! You really like us!" My guess is that their equipment had been turned off and they were ready to call it a day, but they decided to be uber-cool and give L.A. a send-off they'd never forget. I mean, I was tired just watching them for two hours, and there Chris was, still jumping up and down on the stage like a complete freak! The band's closing numbers veered mostly toward the traditional, hearkening back to a simpler time as they all huddled together at the front of the stage and we squeezed in to hear as much as possible (though they projected just fine, as I was informed by one of my friends who was up in the balcony). Sara took the lead on "Brother Wind", and then Chris took over for the humorous "Sunny Tennessee" (not sure if that was the actual title), which seemed to be your typical women-and-whiskey song until he threw us a curveball at the end. Nicely done. Sara spent a good amount of time shushing us all (in her meek and plite way) during that song, since the crowd couldn't help but cheer uproariously for the various soloing and a bit of yodeling from Mr. Thile. At long last, Sara took the reigns again, drawing the faint melody of a recognizable song out of her violin… I couldn't believe it. They were going to send us off with the hymn "Be Thou My Vision". Normally, a transfixed audience would be prone to shush anyone trying to sing along because they wanted to hear all they could of Sara's lovely voice, but as the second and third verses came around, all who knew the song had joined in unison. It was an unexpectedly reverent moment of worship from a group that I knew all along had Christian roots, but that was certainly not expected to pull something like that off in a "mainstream" setting. Nobody gets away with singing hymns and songs about cheatin' and drinkin' and suicide in the same concert. Right? But that's Nickel Creek for you. Ridiculously talented and inventive, with a newfound flair for the ironic, and no matter what they're doing, you can't help but be assured that they're giving it their all. There's something about a band opting for pure instrumental talent and clever songwriting over easy radio hits, and the audience actually going nuts over it, that just seems so right amidst a music industry where so much is fueled by a chase after easy money. I have no idea whether every Nickel Creek show is as lively as this one was - it seems to have been a standout even among some of the group's veteran fans - but in any case, there's nothing to stop me from urging you - whoever you are and whatever kind of music you like - to do what I did, and drop everything the next time this creek comes a-rollin' through your town. Set List (as best I remember it): Crooked Jack Smoothie Song Reasons Why The Fox Itzinay Trouble Sabra Girl In the House of Tom Bombadil Elliot Honest Men Make the Best Liars Lucky I'm Sorry She Can't Complain Ferdinand the Bull Green and Gray Sweet Afton Cuckoo's Nest This Side Beauty and the Mess I Should've Known Better The Lighthouse's Tale/I Am Trying to Break Your Heart/Yellow Encore: Brother Wind Sunny Tennessee Be Thou My Vision My Ratings: Nickel Creek: 5 stars Kathleen Edwards: 3 stars Show Overall: 4.5 stars Band Members: Sara Watkins: Fiddle/violin, vocals Sean Watkins: Acoustic guitar, vocals Chris Thile: Mandolin, vocals Mark Schatz: Upright bass, banjo, clogging (tour only) Websites: http://www.nickelcreek.com http://www.yellowcarmusic.com/markschatz/index.htm http://www.kathleenedwards.com

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