Hollywood Bowl

[zpks]

I've heard that Nickel Creek is appearing at the Hollywood Bowl with the L. A. Philharmonic. If so, that's a big deal and seems there should be more info out there about the concert.

[fiddlincklcrker]

Yeah they are performing there on Sept 3 and 4. If you go to there official website(Nickel Creek's) then you go to schedule and scroll all the way down it tells about it.

[zpks]

It just seems there should be more out there for such a big show.

[fiddlincklcrker]

oh i'm not sure. have you gone to hollywood bowl's website

[Brett]

So how many of you ever so fortunate Californians are going to tonight's or tomorrow's show at the Bowl? We expect details !

Brett:D

[Elizabeth]

Wow, those 2 dates came around ridiculously fast! I remember when they first announced it and it seemed ages away. I hope, like Brett does, that someone will be able to supply us with details of the gigs. I wonder if the orchestra will release it on CD?

[fiddlincklcrker]

I want a review! Anyone who has gone to the last nights show or are going to tonights show let me know! I want to know.

[Larree]

I wish I was going tonight!!!!!

Saw last night's show! Never heard NC before! They are my new favorite band!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[F. Freeloader]

If I wasn't low on cash and if I didn't hate LA, I'd be there!

[Larree]

Yo. Don't be hatin' my city. L.A. totally RULEZ!

I've been to a number of sucky cities that do not even come close to my city, but I don't diss them like that.

Now, apologize!

[Jimmie]

Rollin' down the Imperial Highway
With a big nasty redhead at my side
Santa Ana wind blowin' hot from the north
And we was born to ride

Roll down the window, put down the top
Crank up the Beach Boys, baby
Don't let the music stop
We're gonna ride it till we just can't ride it no more

From the South Bay to the Valley
From the West Side to the East Side
Everybody's very happy
'Cause the sun is shining all the time
Looks like another perfect day

I love L.A.!

(Randy Newman)

[pepeperro]

LA Philharmonic Set:

1. Bernstein: Overture, Candide
2. Ives (arr. Schuman): Variations on America
3. Daugherty: Route 66
4. Copland: Down a Country Lane
5. Copland: Hoe-down from Rodeo

Nickel Creek Set:

1. Scotch and Chocolate
2. The Fox
3. This Side
4. Reasons Why
5. House of Tom Bombadil
6. Trouble
7. Sweet Afton
8. Cuckoo's Nest
9. Should've Known Better *
10. Lighthouse's Tale *
11. Smoothie Song *
12. Jacksmith *
13. Taxman

* With L.A. Philharmonic

I thought Candide was a good orchestral piece. The problem I had with it is that it didn't sound bluegrass at all, which seems to be the theme of the evening. Then as conductor David Amado explained, they are trying to take their cue from NC and perform pieces with influences from different genres. But I wouldn't consider Candide as too jazz-influenced as he put it. Route 66 was my favorite piece of the LA Phil set, because it was closest to NC's style: adventurous and at times improvisational. I loved the crazy violin runs, and the drum and trumpet solos are really similar to those in a jazz quartet. You just can't go wrong closing with Hoedown. It is short, exciting, and familar, and it
also happens to be Bela Fleck's favorite closer. The other two pieces in the LA Phil set were less memorable, though.

After the intermission, Sean, Chris, Sara, and Mark came out dressed for the occassion. Chris and Sean had black suits on, and Mark had more of a jazz bassist's attire, with a gray suit and a hat. Sara was in a nice black dress. I always find her gorgeous, but I don't think anybody can consider her fat tonight, thanks to the dress being black and long. At least from my spot everybody looked small anyways. (What do you expect from a bench seat in a big stadium? Ha ha.)

At the start, I got the impression that Nickel Creek was trying to
deviate from their usual live outings and do a more studio-oriented performance. After all, among the 2000 people in attendance, some of them probably have never heard Nickel Creek. Some people come to the Hollywood Bowl just for the atmosphere and the acoustics. A cleaner, more controlled performance could serve as a better introduction than one with, say, Chris rapping. That is why they performed the studio version
of The Fox at the surprisingly early No. 2 spot without Mediterranean Homesick Blues and the guitar and bass solos.

Reasons Why was my favorite among the NC set, and it truly deserved the cleanup spot. Sara sang with a great jazzy feel, and the guys' picking was exquisite and tasteful for a song of that tempo. By the time the song was over, I bet the 2000 people in the crowd was feeling the same thing as what I felt. It was completely mesmerizing. Cuckoo's Nest was the usual crowd pleaser because of Mark's Irish Dance, and House of Tom
Bombadil was essentially the great version they played on Soundstage.

The LA Phil came back to join them for four songs. I had expected them to play Should've Known Better and Smoothie Song as joint ventures. The former has all the string parts, and the latter had the catchy chorus that lends itself well to the orchestra. On Smoothie Song, however, from the big screen, it just looked really funny with the violins playing some of the same parts of Sara's solo right behind her. It reminded me of Fergie and her clones in that video, or Eminem and his clones or Beyonce and her clones. On the other hand, being a soloist in front of those
highly skilled violinists is a great accomplishment.

But toward the end of the evening, you could see Nickel Creek going back to being themselves and really starting to rock out, especially after LA Phil came back. Chris played with a lot of energy especially, as always. They played the sole encore, Taxman, without the orchestra, when some
people who didn't expect an encore had already started walking out. The relatively short and restrained program is probably to comply with Hollywood Bowl's bus schedule and popular appeal.

Overall, I wouldn't rank this one above a smaller show with exclusively NC, but I am worried about one thing. After tonight, I am afraid that they will get too popular here in LA so that their subsequent shows would all get sold out soon. I mean, word can spread very fast from 2000 thoroughly impressed people.

[transformed]

thanks for the review! i was wondering though, what was Lighthouse's Tale like with the orchestra backing? i imagine that could be pretty amazing. did they do any covers in it, or just the straight song?

[pepeperro]

No problem! By the way, sorry for the margin. I typed it in Notepad last night and pasted it in here. I wanted a long review to be neat and readable.

Lighthouse's Tale was a fine performance. They just played the song straight. I could remember the orchestra playing the interludes and adding texture here and there, especially when they sang about the waves crashing.

I think the whole collaboration thing was a good idea, and a fine experiment that worked. Obviously, Nickel Creek was the attraction of the evening, and if they played a little longer, they would have made people forget that orchestra even played. Since Hollywood Bowl is the home to LA Phil, NC knew how to be decent guests. I am sure it isn't easy for LA Phil to learn so many pieces for the whole summer, let alone these ones outside of their usual genre.

[Larree]

The philharmonic ROCKED! They did an amazing set of music by American composers. Naturally they did some Copeland. But my favorite pieces were the variations on American folk themes by Ives, which sounded like America the Beautiful, My Country Tis of Thee, and The Star Spangled Banner all playing at the same time backwards in minor keys with pure dissonance, and Route 66 by Daugherty.

[pepeperro]

They did rock! Oh, wait, it was classical. But really, I actually agree with you. I just thought that since their program before the intermission was shorter, earlier, and different from their usual repertoire, it did not leave a strong impression as the entree of the evening, in comparison to the crowd's warm reception of NC.

Perhaps that's why I totally forgot about the Ives piece. Yep, it was like the American version of the 1812 Overture, which of course, cited the French and Russian national anthems among other intermingled melodies.

[PrincessNic]

Did anyone ever find pictures for this? I would love to see them all glammed up. because, to quote Cordelia Chase, you know Sean and Chris would look way James Bond in a tux.