rrosen0716
12-11-2002, 04:51 PM
Okay-
First things first...I've never posted a concert review on a message board before, but for several reasons, last night's show has motivated me.
This was the second time I've seen Nickel Creek, the first was at the Pageant in St. Louis earlier this year. Both shows were unbelievable, but last night was a special experience.
My wife and I left work early, and hit the road for the two hour drive to Columbia, both a little antsy to be sitting in the car, but you do what you have to. Got to the Bluenote @ 6:45, and then froze our butts off for a half hour (doors opened at 7:15 for 7:30 showtime).
I'm going to start with the negatives, only one of which MAY have been Nickel Creek's fault: the fact that the show started an HOUR late. (I say this with an asterisk though because the band more than made up for it.) As for the Blue Note, this was the first show I've seen in this venue, and it seemed to me that the acoustics are pretty crummy. Sara's voice especially sounded tinny, and the whole performance sounded like it was issuing from a glorified gramophone. (I'm using the show in St. Louis for comparison. From a sound quality standpoint, it was loads better.) Finally, and I promise this is it, the crowd was WAY too chatty. I don't know what the deal with people in Columbia is, but if you want to talk, no, yell at each other all night, GO TO A FRIGGIN BAR. Obviously I'm making a gross generalization about the fans in Columbia because there were plenty others in the crowd, like me, who were also irritated at the 15 or so people on the bottom level, near the bar who would not SHUT UP. But the fact remains, the last time I saw NC, I could concentrate fully on the music...which is what I paid for.
Okay, hopefully you're still with me here, because despite my rant, and this is a testament to the band, this show was amazing. I could try to rattle off the setlist, but I don't think I have room...they played for almost three hours! Everytime a song would end, and I would think, damn, that's gonna be it Chris would shoot a look at Sean or Sara, and they'd launch into another crazy jam session, and that's what I love about these guys...they're a jam band in the truest sense. But at the same time, the musicianship is so technically amazing...it makes my head spin. It's also nice to see Chris and Sara varying their vocals, especially Chris. This night's version of House Carpenter was spectacular. Even without the falsetto, his range is fairly impressive. My favorite performance of the night was one I hadn't heard, but I think is a traditional hymn, that Sara sang lead on...the harmonies were powerful, you could really feel them. As if all of that wasn't enough, they played four songs completely unplugged, one of which was another hymn that Sara sang at the St. Louis show. The other three were an instrumental, Sabra Girl and WYCBD.
I could go on forever, oh wait I have...tough not to, I can't say enough about NC. I just hope that tix will always be twenty bucks, and that I can watch every show from 25 feet away...hey i can dream can't I?
First things first...I've never posted a concert review on a message board before, but for several reasons, last night's show has motivated me.
This was the second time I've seen Nickel Creek, the first was at the Pageant in St. Louis earlier this year. Both shows were unbelievable, but last night was a special experience.
My wife and I left work early, and hit the road for the two hour drive to Columbia, both a little antsy to be sitting in the car, but you do what you have to. Got to the Bluenote @ 6:45, and then froze our butts off for a half hour (doors opened at 7:15 for 7:30 showtime).
I'm going to start with the negatives, only one of which MAY have been Nickel Creek's fault: the fact that the show started an HOUR late. (I say this with an asterisk though because the band more than made up for it.) As for the Blue Note, this was the first show I've seen in this venue, and it seemed to me that the acoustics are pretty crummy. Sara's voice especially sounded tinny, and the whole performance sounded like it was issuing from a glorified gramophone. (I'm using the show in St. Louis for comparison. From a sound quality standpoint, it was loads better.) Finally, and I promise this is it, the crowd was WAY too chatty. I don't know what the deal with people in Columbia is, but if you want to talk, no, yell at each other all night, GO TO A FRIGGIN BAR. Obviously I'm making a gross generalization about the fans in Columbia because there were plenty others in the crowd, like me, who were also irritated at the 15 or so people on the bottom level, near the bar who would not SHUT UP. But the fact remains, the last time I saw NC, I could concentrate fully on the music...which is what I paid for.
Okay, hopefully you're still with me here, because despite my rant, and this is a testament to the band, this show was amazing. I could try to rattle off the setlist, but I don't think I have room...they played for almost three hours! Everytime a song would end, and I would think, damn, that's gonna be it Chris would shoot a look at Sean or Sara, and they'd launch into another crazy jam session, and that's what I love about these guys...they're a jam band in the truest sense. But at the same time, the musicianship is so technically amazing...it makes my head spin. It's also nice to see Chris and Sara varying their vocals, especially Chris. This night's version of House Carpenter was spectacular. Even without the falsetto, his range is fairly impressive. My favorite performance of the night was one I hadn't heard, but I think is a traditional hymn, that Sara sang lead on...the harmonies were powerful, you could really feel them. As if all of that wasn't enough, they played four songs completely unplugged, one of which was another hymn that Sara sang at the St. Louis show. The other three were an instrumental, Sabra Girl and WYCBD.
I could go on forever, oh wait I have...tough not to, I can't say enough about NC. I just hope that tix will always be twenty bucks, and that I can watch every show from 25 feet away...hey i can dream can't I?