 "Photo: Cory Jackson")
Whether he knows it or not, Chris Thile of Nickel Creek is doing for the mandolin what John Tesh did for the keytar in the 1980s - making it cool (sort of).
The aura may not be comparable to Hendrix or Zeppelin, but the atmosphere Saturday, July 14 at the Paramount Arts Center in Ashland, Ky. was electric in its own right. With the old theatre's decor and low lighting, the venue could not be more appropriate for a folksy, bluegrassesque, kind of country-like, poprockish band.
Nickel Creek is in the middle of their Farewell (For Now) Tour and will take an indefinite hiatus following its completion.
As a nostalgic opening treat, Glen Phillips, formerly of Toad the Wet Sprocket opened the concert for the acoustic innovators.
He played several new songs a little timidly, hit his stride in the third song and nally regaled the audience with his old hit, "Walk on the Ocean". Cheers erupted immediately as soon as the words "we spotted the ocean" passed his lips.
Nickel Creek filtered member by member onto the stage to join Phillips and played a few songs they'd written together as the band Mutual Admiration Society.
They finished and the stage became empty, lights in the house glared on and people shifted in their seats, sought refreshments at the snack bar or relief in the restroom.
After the short intermission, the lights flickered off again and stragglers rushed to their seats as Nickel Creek took the stage. An excited cheer rumbled through the theatre as Thile plucked the first few notes.
The crowd was younger than one might expect and several groups of parents with their teenage children.
It became apparent that the reason Nickel Creek is so appealing to teenagers, adults and all other demographics is because they're not supposed to be.
The alleged stigma of the genre has become its foremost drawing point and those determined to maintain an eclectic musical taste almost have to appreciate Chris' wild careening and swaying onstage combined with his furious fretwork and exaggerated string muting.
In other words, Nickel Creek is cool because they don't conform to the normal idea of what "cool" is. They don't do drugs, have sex with pornstars or use profanity as a vocalized pause. They don't try too hard. Actually, they don't try at all. So obviously, they're very cool.
This became obvious about half an hour into their concert. Between songs, the members debated their caliber of banter and eventually settled on the topic of Sinead O'Conner, telling a long, convoluted tale, involving multiple "Nothing Compares to You" jokes and ending with Shawn insulting her latest album cover.
"She [O'Conner] didn't like her hair and she didn't like the Pope," Chris said from the stage.
They made jokes about leaving the industry and seem simultaneously glad to be performing, but anxious to relax.
At one point, Chris made a reference to their label, but Sara corrected him by stipulating that its their former label. "Oh yeah," Chris said. " There's not many labels in the market for a band that doesn't make records so we don't have a label right now."
The band continued to play and kicked energy from one to another across the stage like a beach ball in a mosh pit. As expected, Thile stole the show several times with his virtuosity on the mandolin, which particularly shined during the band's instrumental songs, when, free of the microphone, he made use of the full stage, stomping and dancing to further exemplify his skill and passion.
Sean Watkins took his turns at the mic as well, most notably during " This Side" - always a fan favorite and held his own on guitar throughout the show.
Sara Watkins helped the trio come full circle with her crisp notes soaring to the ceiling of the theatre and her vocals weaved intricately into each song. A few awkward attempts at funny banter only endeared her more to crowd and made her somehow more human.
Throughout the show, flashes snapped from smuggled-in cameras and ushers raced to berate the culprit, declarations of Sara (and Chris') beauty were shouted and requests were screamed from fans desperate to hear their favorite song.
Joined once more by Glen Phillips, the band played together before dismissing him again to play their final few songs.
"This is the third time we've played this room and the first time we ever filled it up," Chris said. " Thank you guys."
As the final number wound down, camera ashes bounced off every wall making the stage a blur of white light and the cheers, instruments and vocals blended together in a cacophony of sound that seemed somehow fitting for a farewell.
Two downward strums, a thud on a bass string and the shrill wave of the violin bow across the strings and the concert was over, fans were on their feet and screaming, waving, crying, jumping and dancing goodbye (for now, anyway).
Cory Jackson can be contacted at jackson 132@marshall.edu
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