bedgerton
08-11-2004, 06:26 PM
http://www.chicagotribune.com/features/chi-0408100354aug11,1,2571672.story
Musicians and fans get a Mutual kick
By Michael Parrish
Special to the Tribune
Published August 11, 2004
Cross-genre and multi-generational collaborations are hardly rare in popular music, but one of the most extreme of these artistic juxtapositions is the Mutual Admiration Society, which played to a packed house at the Metro on Monday night.
The genesis of this ad-hoc group occurred when twentysomething acoustic popsters Nickel Creek agreed to back former Toad the Wet Sprocket singer-songwriter Glen Phillips on a recording project, also titled Mutual Admiration Society. For what is being billed as their only tour, the group was rounded out by percussionist Pete Thomas (a longtime member of Elvis Costello's Attractions) and Led Zeppelin bassist John Paul Jones.
The 90-minute set offered ample evidence of the mutual artistic energy the artists are generating by playing together. Phillips' airy, plaintive ballads were fleshed out by the delicate instrumental and vocal contributions of Nickel Creek, which brought a subtlety to Phillips' tunes that was often overpowered by Toad the Wet Sprocket's electric charge. In turn, the Nickel Creek trio seemed to be energized by the expanded band format, particularly mandolin whiz Chris Thile, who seemed to have the time of his life jumping around the stage, coaxing fiery solos out of his tiny instrument.
For most of the show, Jones and Thomas played with great restraint. Phillips, speaking for himself and Nickel Creek, wryly noted: This is the hardest the four of us have ever rocked, and for [Jones and Thomas] it's like sleeping.
Although the rhythm section played tastefully on the quiet numbers, they clearly relished the opportunity to take the energy up a notch. They turned Thile's cover of the Beatles' Taxman into a nervous, jerky shuffle, and, on one of the new tunes, Somewhere Out There, provided an exercise in dynamics between the quiet verses and the thundering chorus.
Midway through the show, the ensemble divided into smaller subsets for a few numbers. Fiddler Sara Watkins switched to mandolin and recruited Phillips, Thile and Jones to sing barber shop-style harmonies on her whimsical Anthony. Guitarist Sean Watkins paired up with Jones, now on mandolin, to perform an instrumental version of the Zeppelin standard Going to California. Thile dazzled the crowd by playing some unaccompanied, letter-perfect Bach on his mandolin.
The group performed a large chunk of the new CD. The songs were fleshed out nicely for the live show, and clearly benefited from the contributions of the masterful rhythm section.
The musicians predictably dipped into their catalogs, including Toad the Wet Sprocket's All I Want, and Nickel Creek's Smoothie Song. The first encore began with a 50th birthday tribute to Thomas, leading into a frenetic version of Zeppelin's Gallows Pole.
The Mutual Admiration Society tour may be a one-time affair, but the joy evident in the musicians' work together suggests that it is one that they, and their fans, will remember.
Copyright © 2004, Chicago Tribune
Musicians and fans get a Mutual kick
By Michael Parrish
Special to the Tribune
Published August 11, 2004
Cross-genre and multi-generational collaborations are hardly rare in popular music, but one of the most extreme of these artistic juxtapositions is the Mutual Admiration Society, which played to a packed house at the Metro on Monday night.
The genesis of this ad-hoc group occurred when twentysomething acoustic popsters Nickel Creek agreed to back former Toad the Wet Sprocket singer-songwriter Glen Phillips on a recording project, also titled Mutual Admiration Society. For what is being billed as their only tour, the group was rounded out by percussionist Pete Thomas (a longtime member of Elvis Costello's Attractions) and Led Zeppelin bassist John Paul Jones.
The 90-minute set offered ample evidence of the mutual artistic energy the artists are generating by playing together. Phillips' airy, plaintive ballads were fleshed out by the delicate instrumental and vocal contributions of Nickel Creek, which brought a subtlety to Phillips' tunes that was often overpowered by Toad the Wet Sprocket's electric charge. In turn, the Nickel Creek trio seemed to be energized by the expanded band format, particularly mandolin whiz Chris Thile, who seemed to have the time of his life jumping around the stage, coaxing fiery solos out of his tiny instrument.
For most of the show, Jones and Thomas played with great restraint. Phillips, speaking for himself and Nickel Creek, wryly noted: This is the hardest the four of us have ever rocked, and for [Jones and Thomas] it's like sleeping.
Although the rhythm section played tastefully on the quiet numbers, they clearly relished the opportunity to take the energy up a notch. They turned Thile's cover of the Beatles' Taxman into a nervous, jerky shuffle, and, on one of the new tunes, Somewhere Out There, provided an exercise in dynamics between the quiet verses and the thundering chorus.
Midway through the show, the ensemble divided into smaller subsets for a few numbers. Fiddler Sara Watkins switched to mandolin and recruited Phillips, Thile and Jones to sing barber shop-style harmonies on her whimsical Anthony. Guitarist Sean Watkins paired up with Jones, now on mandolin, to perform an instrumental version of the Zeppelin standard Going to California. Thile dazzled the crowd by playing some unaccompanied, letter-perfect Bach on his mandolin.
The group performed a large chunk of the new CD. The songs were fleshed out nicely for the live show, and clearly benefited from the contributions of the masterful rhythm section.
The musicians predictably dipped into their catalogs, including Toad the Wet Sprocket's All I Want, and Nickel Creek's Smoothie Song. The first encore began with a 50th birthday tribute to Thomas, leading into a frenetic version of Zeppelin's Gallows Pole.
The Mutual Admiration Society tour may be a one-time affair, but the joy evident in the musicians' work together suggests that it is one that they, and their fans, will remember.
Copyright © 2004, Chicago Tribune