Musings of a Creek Dipper

Every once in a while it is nice to know that there is some popular music out there that isn’t Toby Keith or Shakira. Where you can be part of a crowd listening to talented musicians. And have the band just thrilled to be playing music for a living. Well, tonight I had one of those experiences, catching Nickel Creek in concert.

I made my way this evening to the new and continually improved Uptown Theater. In a much appreciated move, they replaced the incredibly harsh tile floor with carpeting and yes, I’ve reached the point in my life where things like that are very nice amenities. Got there a few minutes to spare and in what seems to be a tradition now, I run into no one from work but am greeted by bartenders I know. But as a general rule, I just say hi to them and let them have their night off. I mean, they have to deal with me while I’m working; there is no way in the world that they should have to deal with me in their free time.

Anyway, when I saw Nickel Creek last year Howie Day opened. This was when Howie was doing a solo bit, which consisted of him looping everything and grinning being moderately less high than he had been in previous performances. This time the opening act was the Ditty Bops. Who were…who were…

Ok, let me put this in perspective. Tonight was my 40th concert of the year, tying the number I saw last year. I’ve seen a lot of bands over the past two years. I’ve seen a Norwegian punk band, I’ve seen one guy loop twelve instruments together to a group of cheering Deadheads who were ten when the Dead played their last show and I’ve seen a band from New Zealand play an entire song while wearing Mary Kate and Ashley Olsen masks. But, the Ditty Bops may have been the most unique act yet.

They sounded like a band from the 1920’s. It was like listening to one of those old female harmony records, like the Andrews Sisters or something like that. Well, the Andrews Sisters if one of them had fluorescent pink hair. And incredibly cute to boot. Plus, the band had somehow combined itself with a circus act at some point. One member of the band was on stilts at one point during the set. It was one of those things where you didn’t know where the music stopped and the performance art began. And I mean that in the best possible way. Seriously, these guys go up there with Superargo as “Best examples that you can still do something new in music.”

By the time Nickel Creek took the stage I really wondered what would happen next. I’ve always had a bit of mixed feelings about the band. I’ve never doubted their skill as musicians; they are easily some of the most talented people out there. It’s just that I tend to shy away from technically perfect music and go more for the pure emotional stuff. That’s why I preach the wonders of the Old Crow Medicine Show; a bunch of guys who play bluegrass the way the Clash would play bluegrass. I’ve never seen Nickel Creek show that side, that emotional rush of not caring what happens next. Until tonight.

The band was simply on. Chris Thile was bounding around the stage while playing mandolin (losing points for wearing a Cubs shirt while gaining some back for mentioning the Jayhawks and making it clear that he was referring to the band and not the school.) Sara Watkins has always been great on fiddle but now seems to have gained more confidence in singing and stage presence. And Sean Watkins still plays a great acoustic guitar without much complaint, given that he has to provide the melody while everyone else gets the solos. He’s probably in the only band where the guitarist gets mentioned last.

What was incredible about the show was just how much fun it was. There was a constant interaction with the audience and it wasn’t forced or rehearsed, just a natural banter with a few thousand people. The most impressive part was how they never take themselves too seriously. They covered Britney Spears’ “Toxic” along with Counting Crows songs. Hell, they played Roger Miller’s “Kansas City Star.” Literally played the song, halfway through the set they said that they were thinking of covering it but figured there was no way they could improve on it so they just played the song over the speakers while the band walked into the crowd and joked and danced with people. You don’t see that every day.

If anything, it is something like that which makes me have a lot of respect and admiration for Nickel Creek. They’ve been called the future of bluegrass music for the past few years, which is an unbelievable amount of pressure to put on a group of kids. A lot of people would like them to play really traditional music but that isn’t who they are, they’ve grown up listening to the same songs on the radio that I have. But they haven’t decided to reinvent themselves and try to do some ambient fusion bluegrass either. They’ve stayed true to their roots but their songs truly are theirs. And in the process they’ve grabbed a fanbase in which I was probably the oldest person standing in front of the stage but I would have been the youngest person sitting in the balcony.

I’ll have to say that tonight was some of the most fun that I’ve had listening to music in a long time. Lots of laughter and all of it in time to some incredible tunes. Not bad for a Tuesday night in Kansas City, don’t ya think?