Chasman
12-04-2005, 09:58 PM
From the Salt Lake Tribune 12-4-05
This concert was worth every Nickel
By Dan Nailen
The Salt Lake Tribune
PARK CITY - Nickel Creek is one of those bands that when you look at the trio's instruments - mandolin, violin and acoustic guitar - you think you know what you're going to get.
Nickel Creek is a great band because that can't be further from the truth.
Mandolin ace Chris Thile, violinist Sara Watkins and guitarist Sean Watkins certainly do provide the mellow folk and traditional bluegrass their instruments would seem to dictate. But the trio of 20-something Californians also spent parts of their excellent, sold-out Friday night concert in Park City delivering covers of Radiohead ( Nice Dream ), The Band ( Up in Cripple Creek ) and Randy Newman ( Short People ), not to mention a wickedly fun, and funny, version of Britney Spears' Toxic.
Nickel Creek has played in Utah several times since its self-titled debut album arrived in 2000, performing at venues ranging from bars like the Zephyr Club to outdoor amphitheaters like Red Butte Garden. Never has the group been any more self-assured and expressive on stage than at Friday's show.
The musicians themselves, abetted by a stand-up bass player, were typically animated. Thile strutted the stage all night in a slick suit, pounding out rhythms with his feet and blasting through insanely intricate mandolin parts with both fire and finesse. The Watkins siblings are more subdued, but both took turns chatting up the crowd and ripping out repeated tasty solos.
All three members of Nickel Creek share lead vocals, and all excelled on the microphone Friday. Sara Watkins' swinging
'20s-era soundalike Anthony was one of the show's highlights, as was Sean Watkins' take on Somebody More Like You ; both songs come from Nickel Creek's latest album, Why Should the Fire Die? Thile shined on show opener When in Rome, the poppy Jealous of the Moon and old favorite The Lighthouse's Tale.
After 19 songs of their own music, Nickel Creek called dozens of audience members on stage for an impromptu encore set of holiday carols. By the time the band motored through Let It Snow, Away in a Manger, Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer and Silent Night, Nickel Creek had delivered two solid hours of top-notch music and light-hearted fun. You can't say that about most concerts.
This concert was worth every Nickel
By Dan Nailen
The Salt Lake Tribune
PARK CITY - Nickel Creek is one of those bands that when you look at the trio's instruments - mandolin, violin and acoustic guitar - you think you know what you're going to get.
Nickel Creek is a great band because that can't be further from the truth.
Mandolin ace Chris Thile, violinist Sara Watkins and guitarist Sean Watkins certainly do provide the mellow folk and traditional bluegrass their instruments would seem to dictate. But the trio of 20-something Californians also spent parts of their excellent, sold-out Friday night concert in Park City delivering covers of Radiohead ( Nice Dream ), The Band ( Up in Cripple Creek ) and Randy Newman ( Short People ), not to mention a wickedly fun, and funny, version of Britney Spears' Toxic.
Nickel Creek has played in Utah several times since its self-titled debut album arrived in 2000, performing at venues ranging from bars like the Zephyr Club to outdoor amphitheaters like Red Butte Garden. Never has the group been any more self-assured and expressive on stage than at Friday's show.
The musicians themselves, abetted by a stand-up bass player, were typically animated. Thile strutted the stage all night in a slick suit, pounding out rhythms with his feet and blasting through insanely intricate mandolin parts with both fire and finesse. The Watkins siblings are more subdued, but both took turns chatting up the crowd and ripping out repeated tasty solos.
All three members of Nickel Creek share lead vocals, and all excelled on the microphone Friday. Sara Watkins' swinging
'20s-era soundalike Anthony was one of the show's highlights, as was Sean Watkins' take on Somebody More Like You ; both songs come from Nickel Creek's latest album, Why Should the Fire Die? Thile shined on show opener When in Rome, the poppy Jealous of the Moon and old favorite The Lighthouse's Tale.
After 19 songs of their own music, Nickel Creek called dozens of audience members on stage for an impromptu encore set of holiday carols. By the time the band motored through Let It Snow, Away in a Manger, Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer and Silent Night, Nickel Creek had delivered two solid hours of top-notch music and light-hearted fun. You can't say that about most concerts.