I loved their first two albums and have had no luck at all connecting with their later work. Did they play at least several of the older songs in their set? I have a chance to see them on Sunday at Merlefest and am hoping they dig deep into their catalog rather than focusing on the newer stuff.
Live (analog) vs Digital Home Audio
Last Friday we saw Nickel Creek at the State Theater in Portland Maine. We sat just to the left of the soundboard on the floor. The band played thru a PA system with two Line arrays on either side of the stage. It was a stellar performance by four insane musicians. If you do not know Nickel Creek you have to get all Five of their records starting at the beginning. If you do not like them you do not like music.
I analyze the sound at every concert. I close my eyes and pay attention to each instrument one at a time. These are fiddle, mandolin, Acoustic guitar and double upright bass. My Daughter plays the violin so, I know that instrument best but I am also very familiar with the others. There was a touch of sibilance behind the violin but I have heard a lot worse. Violins are not sibilant in person. As usual the concert was in mono. You could hear each instrument clearly but the fine details were missing in action, things like picks hitting strings, upper bass notes, and rosin rubbing strings. When the instruments were plucked it was frequently hard to tell which instrument it was without visual cues. The low bass thundered. He loved to hit low E and your tummy vibrated correctly. The Theater (sold out) performed very well with minimal echo and Bass interference. Overall not terrible but not great. Still, to see these musicians play and do what they do is a fantastic experience and it has been a while since I have heard a crowd as appreciative.
All my Nickel Creek albums are in high res digital files. The recordings are first class with each instrument occupying it's own space and of correct size. Every little detail missing above is present in spades. There is no sibilance behind the violin or voices which are easy to separate. The interaction between the instruments is thrilling sort of like listening to a well performed string quartet. The bass is near perfect from top to bottom, each note clearly delineated. As an audio experience I think it is pretty clear that the HiFi is superior. Hopefully they will release a concert video.
It is hard to replicate acoustic instruments in larger venues. Instruments that are naturally amplified like electric guitar are much easier. I saw Little feat in a very similar venue and the audio experience was fantastic. I remember seeing Return to Forever also in a similar venue and I was totally blown away. Their PA was stereo! Stanley Clark's basses were playing through a single twenty foot high stack of 15" woofer cabinets. My own system was not nearly as good at the time. Acoustic instruments sound better in small venues with little or no amplification. Unfortunately, bands like Nickel Creek ( if there is one) quickly outgrow small venues where they are bound to sound better. However seeing them do what they do is an extremely worthwhile experience.
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I LOVE Nickel Creek! Their first eponymous album, "Nickel Creek" (from 2000) is one of my reference discs which I used to audition speakers. It is superbly recorded, imo, and was produced by the great Alison Krauss. Chris Thile, their child prodigy mandolinist, has gone on to collaborate with many other amazing musicians, including Yo-Yo Ma! I would love to see them play live, but as you describe mijostyn, anything but a really small intimate venue where a PA system isn't needed, won't reveal the acoustic nuances as the studio recordings do. From Wikipedia: Nickel Creek (formerly known as the Nickel Creek Band) is an American bluegrass band consisting of Chris Thile (mandolin), and siblings Sara Watkins (fiddle) and Sean Watkins (guitar). Formed in 1989 in Southern California, they released six albums between 1993 and 2006. The band broke out in 2000 with a platinum-selling self-titled album produced by Alison Krauss, earning a number of Grammy and CMA nominations. Their fourth album “This Side” won a 2003 Grammy Award for Best Contemporary Folk Album. Following a fifth studio album and a compilation album, the band announced an indefinite hiatus at the conclusion of their 2007 Farewell (For Now) Tour.[1] Following numerous solo projects from the band members, Nickel Creek reformed in 2014 with announcement of a new album and subsequent tour.[2]
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@waltersalas Yes they played a cross section of their work. @gosta I tend to like "sort of " groups. I'll give them a spin. @patrickdowns I am particularly fond of The Punch Brothers. We watched a streamed concert not long ago and it was dynamite. |
@gosta I listened to a few Rhymden cuts. They are most definitely fusion. A medium created by Frank Zappa in the 60s. It took off in the mid 70s with bands like Return to Forever and the Mahavishnu Orchestra which if you are fond of Rhymden I highly recommend. Start with RTF's Romantic Warrior and MO's Inner Mounting Flame. |
@mijostyn Rymden is space in swedish/norwegian so why not call it space-jazz :) FYI Both the bassist Dan Berglund and the drummer Magnus Ostrom formed the famous jazz trio E.S.T. led by the late pianist Esbjorn Svensson. If you like a fusion with a symphony orchestra I can recommend E.S.T. Symphony. Sorry if this took some time away from Nickle Creek. I’m fond of the Punch Brothers too, but the master is of course Guy Clark. |
@gosta I am a Richard Thompson fan. My exposure to Guy Clark comes from others covering his songs like Emmylou Harris. |
@mijostyn Everyday i search for new music and artists through Roon. Todays catch is Lou Tavano (sort of Patricia Barber). But old heroes always returns to the playlist and one of them is (the late) Guy Clark (and his companion Rodney Crowell). A lot because he's such a good and fun storyteller. My first exposure to GC was when I found his album Dublin Blues. And it's a safe bet to start with. Most I enjoy the live album Keepers with a stellar band. Unfortunately not available on Tidal. I believe GC and RT have lots in common (except GC is no guitar hero). However I am not that updated on RT. My mistake. I'll better :) |
I came of age listening to KFML in Denver (we said -underground, not alternative). Bill Ashford was the program directer, down to the bone with real country. He and his wife, Judy Roderick, mostly his wife, I think, fronted a jug band called Sixty Million Buffalo.You can find the 60,000,000 buffalo LP... While they were playing Tommy Bolin with Zephyr was also playing around town---The Family Dog (a strip club when I left town) I saw Sugarloaf, Big Head Todd etc. Any way, because of Bill I have the old hippie love affair with country...Guy Clark, Jerry Jeff, Grahm and Emmy Lou... but especially John Prine. Tim and Molly O'Brien, The Mother Folkers (the most carefully pronounced name in show biz). Great venues The Little Bear, Red Rocks, a real Chautauqua in Boulder, Ebbitt's Field, The Rainbow, the blues festival in Breckenridge, country and bluegrass Festival in Telluride...(not to mention the punk clubs along South Broadway). I'm getting teary eyed. I will check out Nickle Creek, I wonder if I saw them at Telluride...Ah, so much tuneage so little moo la (I do like my streaming though) I have friends in Gold Hill, and that was a whole 'nother world |
@puptent , funny you should mention Red Rocks. My Daughter and son in law just moved to boulder. We are visiting them in September and we are going to see Arctic Monkeys at Red Rocks. We drove though there in February when we were out for skiing. An amazing place visually. Nature does some amazing things. |