So... last Thursday was Nickel Creek's final show of the Farewell (For Now) tour at the Ryman. And while I'll admit that I haven't been to a real concert in longer than I can remember, this one is still the best concert I have ever seen. It was fun, and raucous (yes, guy in the back, we know you think Sarah is hot; we got the message after the 4th time you yelled it), and joyous and just plain fun. I got to hear the Lighthouse's Tale and got to watch Chris Thile look like he was having seizures while doing amazing things on mandolins.
And someone recorded parts of it. Rex Hammock, another prolific Nashville blogger, was also at the show and recorded two songs and put the clips on the web.
And he did one of the final songs of the encore, Why Should the Fire Die?
And while I was looking at this, I found someone who put the whole concert on YouTube, mpupik. Including the cover of the Jackson 5's I Want You Back.
AND Bela Fleck playing with them on The Lighthouse's Tale.
Just amazing stuff and the next time Sheryl and I get a chance to see them, you can bet we will.
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8 comments:
There's no accounting for taste in music.
Yes, their originals are awesome. But "I Want You Back" may have eclipsed "Toxic" as my favorite NC cover. So fun to watch - the crowd was totally into it. Sigh. I love good shows at the Ryman.
One of my favorite groups to listen to. I love the way Thile tears up the mandolin. He's really good. He ranks up there with Adam Steffey in my book!
Phil, you wrote: "Just amazing stuff and the next time Sheryl and I get a chance to see them, you can bet we will."
The reason the concert was so significant (and so covered on YouTube) is that it is likely the LAST concert of Nickel Creek -- at least, the young Nickel Creek. They may get together for reunion shows and appearances, but that concert marked the end of an era.
As for Chris Thile's mandolin play, as much as I like Adam Steffey, Sam Bush, etc., etc., I believe any of them would tell you that Thile is on a trajectory that will change the instrument. (Bush produced Thile's first album -- when Thile was 12.) It's not that he's competing with those greats -- he's a student of their's and he's standing on their shoulders. Indeed, he's a tribute to them. But he's already doing things with the instrument that they marvel at.
A few months ago, I saw Thile and his new band (the Punch Brothers) playing at the Station Inn and looked around the room to see who was in the audience and was amazed to see folks like Ricky Skaggs, Butch Baldasari and Mark O'Connor, standing around the back of the room taking it all in -- as fans.
Well, I wasn't talking about next time like it was a year from now, but I can only assume with a tour title like "Farewell (for now)" that they'll be back at some point.
Except for the first commentor "anonymous" I think we all hope it won't be their LAST concert. I just think the "for now" may be a long, long time...so you (and I) were very lucky to have seen them in such a great concert.
s-i-g-h... great night!
I agree with JT about "I want you back".
Thanks for all the links.
ps- Thanks Rex Hammock!
I totally agree with you, Rex. It's great to see such young talent take hold of what the earlier generation has done and advance it a bit further. The music keeps getting better.
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