Chasman
12-07-2005, 09:47 AM
Tuesday, December 6, 2005
Nickel Creek shows off its versatility and virtuosity
By BILL WHITE
SPECIAL TO THE POST-INTELLIGENCER
Five years ago, Nickel Creek was a bluegrass trio from San Diego with a promising first album produced by Alison Krauss. Today, it is whatever kind of a band it wants to be.
Its Sunday night concert at the Paramount Theatre ran the gamut from mountain breakdowns, alternative rock and torch ballads to covers by Randy Newman, Britney Spears and Radiohead.
With bassist Mark Schatz rounding out the group, they opened with the single When in Rome, from their third and newest release, Why Should the Fire Die? Although Chris Thile's mandolin and vocals were the focus of the song, siblings Sara and Sean Watkins held their own against his rock-star charisma.
Sara took the vocals on Reasons Why, from the group's self-titled debut, and tore up the house when she broke out the ukulele for Anthony, a Hawaiian-flavored ballad that found the rest of the band in a semicircle behind her looking like island buskers.
Sean took center stage with his bitter breakup tune, Somebody More Like You, to which he gave a humorous introduction that suggested the song was written for three different girls. He also sang This Side, the title song from Nickel Creek's second release.
The instrumentals, showcasing Sara's prowess on the violin and Sean's incredible command of the acoustic guitar as well as Thile's mandolin, were charged with melodic and rhythmic fury. One of the most entertaining was a piece that varied tempos to simulate the fluctuating moods of a coffee drinker.
Nickel Creek's versatility and virtuosity, both in songwriting and instrumental skills, are unmatched among today's popular groups. Their growing fan base is evidence that people don't need to have music marketed to them in neatly defined packages.
The band does not simply have crossover appeal, but blends styles within individual songs. Helena, which closed the show, began with an exquisite violin and bowed bass passage that would not have been out of place in The Kronos Quartet's repertoire, and built to a Radiohead-like climax when drummer Kevin O'Donnell, who had accompanied Andrew Bird's opening set, was added to the mix.
Then, in a delightful turnaround, the band returned to encore with Christmas music, inviting the crowd to get out of their seats and sing in the aisles.
Nickel Creek shows off its versatility and virtuosity
By BILL WHITE
SPECIAL TO THE POST-INTELLIGENCER
Five years ago, Nickel Creek was a bluegrass trio from San Diego with a promising first album produced by Alison Krauss. Today, it is whatever kind of a band it wants to be.
Its Sunday night concert at the Paramount Theatre ran the gamut from mountain breakdowns, alternative rock and torch ballads to covers by Randy Newman, Britney Spears and Radiohead.
With bassist Mark Schatz rounding out the group, they opened with the single When in Rome, from their third and newest release, Why Should the Fire Die? Although Chris Thile's mandolin and vocals were the focus of the song, siblings Sara and Sean Watkins held their own against his rock-star charisma.
Sara took the vocals on Reasons Why, from the group's self-titled debut, and tore up the house when she broke out the ukulele for Anthony, a Hawaiian-flavored ballad that found the rest of the band in a semicircle behind her looking like island buskers.
Sean took center stage with his bitter breakup tune, Somebody More Like You, to which he gave a humorous introduction that suggested the song was written for three different girls. He also sang This Side, the title song from Nickel Creek's second release.
The instrumentals, showcasing Sara's prowess on the violin and Sean's incredible command of the acoustic guitar as well as Thile's mandolin, were charged with melodic and rhythmic fury. One of the most entertaining was a piece that varied tempos to simulate the fluctuating moods of a coffee drinker.
Nickel Creek's versatility and virtuosity, both in songwriting and instrumental skills, are unmatched among today's popular groups. Their growing fan base is evidence that people don't need to have music marketed to them in neatly defined packages.
The band does not simply have crossover appeal, but blends styles within individual songs. Helena, which closed the show, began with an exquisite violin and bowed bass passage that would not have been out of place in The Kronos Quartet's repertoire, and built to a Radiohead-like climax when drummer Kevin O'Donnell, who had accompanied Andrew Bird's opening set, was added to the mix.
Then, in a delightful turnaround, the band returned to encore with Christmas music, inviting the crowd to get out of their seats and sing in the aisles.