BY JACK W. HILL
ARKANSAS DEMOCRAT-GAZETTE
CONWAY
Nickel Creek brought a roaring end Sunday night to the first
Arkansas Acoustic Festival, held in a hall with sweet acoustic
design, Reynolds Performance Hall at the University of Central
Arkansas. The youthful quartet, for whom the word ³bluegrass²
seems a tad insufficient, played close to two hours and their energy
level was a marvel to behold, thanks mainly to wiry mandolinist
Chris Thile, who calls to mind the talent of guitarist Eric Clapton
as much as that of mandolin legend Bill Monroe. Thile was matched in
talent by violinist (the word ³fiddle² does not appear on the
bandıs self-titled debut CD) Sara Watkins, who sawed up a storm, no
matter what she called her instrument, while Thile bobbed and
weaved, playing at breakneck speed while stretching to milk just the
desired note from an instrument that looked much too small for him.
Both sang nicely, too, and the group threw in some instrumentals,
all of which made for a tasteful, well-rounded show. Watkinsı
brother, guitarist Sean Watkins, was not as jaw-dropping in his
instrumental talents, although his vocals on a couple of songs were
quite unusual - and something the group should exploit further.
Derek Jones played stand-up bass and got several chances to show off
his stuff with bass solos, something of a rarity compared with other
instrumental workouts in concerts.
The packed house was wildly enthusiastic for the band and seemed to
know many of the songs. Some older bluegrass fans, perhaps not used
to such volume at the shows they attend, bailed out early. Not so
with most of the crowd, who hung on the bandıs eclectic choices,
ranging from ³Reasons Why² to ³The Lighthouseıs Tale,² ³ From
their yet-to-be-released second CD, the band previewed several
songs, with ³Seven Wonders² an especially adventurous choice,
replete with sweet harmonies, and ³Green and Gray,² a Beatlesque
delight. Not about to be taken too seriously, they even threw in an
oddly humorous song about a decomposing whale.
Reveling in the last show before a rare three-day break, the
foursome returned for their encore and honored the whole acoustic
festival concept by truly performing unplugged, on the edge of the
stage, making it easy for the fans to sing along to ³When You Come
Back Down,² one of the best-known Nickel Creek love songs. With no
microphones, it was hard to be sure of what was said to introduce
the final song, but it might have been an ancient Irish hymn that
closed the show and sent fans - and organizers - home happy.
Opening acts were the two winners of the first Arkansas Acoustic
Showdown, held Saturday night, who won cash prizes and the chance to
openSunday nightıs concert. The solo performer, Brian Driscoll,
presented five songs, one of which was an instrumental. His
shimmering ³Whisper My Name,² one of the two songs that helped him
win out over nine other entrants, was his finest selection.
The Kat Hood Trio, winner in the group category over five other
bands or duos, also got a five-song set, which featured some of the
songs on Hoodıs debut CD, The Comfort Zone, including the memorable
title song and the humorous ³(She Just Might Be) The Man for You.²
Hoodıs lead guitarist, Chuck Gilbert, provided plenty of deft riffs
to underline Hoodıs songwriting and vocal prowess.
NICKEL CREEK, DANU REFRESHING OFFERINGS
BY JIM HARRIS
APRIL 26, 2002
The description we'd heard of Nickel Creek as "bluegrass"
or the popular modern tag "newgrass" sold short what this
terrific trio and their traveling bassist brought to the stage
Sunday in Conway. Besides bluegrass and country underpinnings, we
heard touches of jazz, Celtic, folk and acoustic rock in an amazing,
nearly two-hour performance at the University of Central Arkansas's
Reynolds Performance Hall.
We were fortunate to catch two refreshing, headlining acts last
week. Danu, a contingent of Irish lads playing Celtic and rocking
Juanita's Cantina Ballroom on Thursday night for the newly formed
Arkansas Celtic Music Society. The place was nearly filled to
capacity, with a listener-style setup of chairs all around, and a
good sign for the Celtic music fans of this area. Dr. Mark Pippenger
and his new group plan on bringing several top acts, including the
acclaimed Altan, to Juanita's later this year.
That show was also significant in that it was the first concert for
10-week-old Scott Harris, who handled himself admirably in the
boisterous surroundings even if his daddy didn't at times. Nap time
only intervened for about half the second set, while a couple of
Pippenger's guests at the reserved table, Megan and Lee Ann, gave
Scott plenty of attention the rest of the show. It was just loud
enough that no one was going to hear a baby's cry, but soft enough
to not push this baby to crying. He seemed to like it a lot, in
fact. Maybe it was the lights.
The greatest challenge for a Celtic band is trying not to sound the
same on every song, and Danu managed to pull that off. We also would
have thought that not having stellar pipe player Dannchadh Gough on
this U.S. tour (he's become a new daddy, too) would be like the Los
Angeles Lakers playing without Kobe Bryant, but Gough wasn't missed
until it was pointed out he was absent. At the end of the two hours
of music, the entire crowd bounced to its feet in a rousing ovation.
Vocalist Ciaran O Gealbhain was as brilliant as advertised.
Nickel Creek's show in Conway culminated the successful first run of
the Arkansas Acoustic Festival, complete with a showcase contest on
Saturday night.
Kat Hood, one of our favorites in the area acoustic, coffeeshop
circuit, brought in a trio that walked away with the best group
award and one of two opening spots before Nickel Creek on Sunday.
With Kat on acoustic guitar and displaying her vocals that remind us
of Mary Chapin Carpenter or Roseanne Cash, the crowd Sunday
responded strongly to her five-song set, beginning with the catchy
"Comfort Zone" off her recent CD of the same name. Chuck
Gilbert displayed some chops on acoustic guitar, and the showcase
officials apparently let Eric Nolen slide with his electric bass
that he played well.
The solo winner and the first act on Sunday was Little Rock's Brian
Driscoll, who no one whom I talk with in the cafe circuit had heard
of before. Driscoll had a delivery not unlike James Taylor or David
Wilcox while skillfully handling the acoustic guitar (open tuning
and the like) in a mix of instrumentals and songs with thoughtful
lyrics.
The crowd for Sunday's concert ranged from college kids to adults
who probably grew up on Peter, Paul and Mary, and in some ways
Nickel Creek was reminiscent of that legendary trio. The harmony
vocals on another song seemed to hearken to the Mamas and the Papas
style. Their stage presence, however, was something else - akin more
to what you see from the modern rock acts like the Dave Matthews
Band or trendy alternative players like Bella Fleck. There was none
of that stand-around-the-mike like it's the Grand Ole Opry.
But there was also no mistaking the bluegrass infusion on many of
the instrumental numbers, beginning with the opening "Ode to
the Butterfly," which also kicks off their recent
Grammy-nominated album (produced by bluegrass sensation Alison
Krauss of "O Brother, Where Art Thou?" soundtrack fame).
"The Fox" was another up-tempo ditty.
I can't recall seeing a better mandolin player than Chris Thile, and
he was complemented perfectly by the brother-sister tandem of Sean
(acoustic guitar) and Sara Watkins (violin), with versatile bassist
Derek Jones in the background but ever-present in the music. (Thile's
father, Scott Thile, served as the group's bassist for years.
Although they are all in their early to mid-20s, the San Diego-based
Nickel Creek kids have been playing for more than a decade
together).
In a night with many highlights, the topper came when Nickel Creek
hung around for what was basically a third encore, setting up on the
front stage to the audience's right and away from their mikes for a
pure acoustic treatment of one of Sara Watkins' favorite hymns and
then the moving "When You Come Back Down" off the CD. It
seemed like most of the packed house was singing along.
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