Nickel Creek takes over Sauder Concert Hall Friday night
The Grammy-winning string ensemble Nickel Creek, which just over a month ago announced that it would be breaking up for an indefinite amount of time after this tour, performed to a sold-out crowd on Friday in Sauder Concert Hall.
The Performing Arts Series Committee seems to have snagged the group just in time. This is the fifth year that they attempted to put the group—made up of mandolinist Chris Thile, violinist Sara Watkins and guitarist Sean Watkins—in the lineup.
According to Brian Mast [production manager] the holdup had to do with the group’s reluctance to commit by the date that the college wanted to have their schedule set.
Opening for Nickel Creek was country-rock soloist Tift Merritt. “I’ve never been to Goshen, Ohio,” Merritt announced after her first song.
The crowd only laughed at the mistake, and Merritt’s repeatedly proclaimed embarrassment. Soon they were clapping along to a song she sang, accompanied only by her own tambourine playing. Her light humor between pieces was well received, especially when she realized there were people seated behind her in the choral terrace. She said, “Nobody told me there were people behind me! If I’d have known that I would have worn different jeans!”
Nickel Creek finally took the stage an hour into the concert, greeting the audience with “When in Rome,” the lively opening track to their latest CD, “Why Should the Fire Die?” The group was joined by bass player Mark Schatz.
They segued into a detailed instrumental piece called “Ode to a Butterfly.” Thile set the tone for the evening, showcasing impressive string instrumental capabilities sprinkled with bits of humor. When the group finished the song, Thile dramatically announced that it was, “the most effeminate title applied to a fiddle tune by man.”
The music itself often kept the crowd amused. One particularly amusing piece was a song poking fun at short people a self-deprecating move for the Watkins siblings. The song’s lyrics that included “You gotta pick ‘em up just to say hello” and “short people got no reason to live/ I don’t want no short people round here.”
What got the crowd laughing the most, however, was a rousing rendition of Britney Spears’ “Toxic,” complete with computer generated sound effects and creative physical interpretations of the lyrics. The group’s intent, as Thile announced before the song began, was to “slay [the audience] with the very finest in pop culture.”
When his comment was received with laughter, Thile comically reprimanded the crowd by saying, “This is very serious, and you should be scared.”
Although the group will be separating after this tour—which ended on Saturday with a performance in Kentucky—it has other projects going on now. Two of the band members, Thile and Sean, will put out their own albums. Many of the songs performed were from those individual endeavors.
Other highlights included tap dancing by Schatz and Thile and a slow ballad that effectively ended the show after a standing ovation. Audience members joined in the vocals on the encore, “When You Come Back Home.”
Both Nickel Creek and Merritt took time to appreciate the facility where they played. “This room is one of the most amazing places I’ve ever sung. So thank you for that.”, Merritt said.
To listen to Nickel Creek’s interpretation of “Toxic” or for more information about the group, visit www.myspace.com/nickelcreek.
