It felt as if the Rapture took place on July 9, 2014 as the
members of Nickel Creek, Sara Watkins (fiddle, vocals); Chris Thile (mandolin,
vocals) and Sean Watkins (guitar, vocals) left the sold out audience feeling as
if they had gone to heaven last night with tunes such as “21st of
May” to kick off their summer tour in Grand Rapids, MI.
Nickel Creek, famous for their bluegrass roots and folk
style of telling a story through their lyrics, opened the night with the first
song off their new album, A Dotted Line,
“Rest of My Life” and they did not disappoint after that.
This band, recently reunited, is well seasoned in performing
despite their musical hiatus of seven years and it showed with a “seamless”
guitar switch when a guitar string broke off Sean Watkins instrument mid song. Watkins,
who just released his own solo album, is the picturesque of hilarity and wisdom
as he told the story of why he wrote the “21st of May.” He told of
seeing a multitude of billboards back in 2011 that proclaimed the end of the
world and “wanted to pen one more song if that was really true.” Lucky for us,
that wasn’t his last song.
Their camaraderie shined through each instrumental piece
such as, “Scotch and Chocolate” and “The Smoothie Song” songs that they’ve been
playing together for over a decade.
This trio certainly has a love affair with each of their
instruments and Thile’s enthusiastic partnership with his mandolin is a classic
example of this. After watching it’s no surprise that he has won multiple
Grammy’s and various other awards for his pure talent and he puts his all into
each chord – especially the “angry” song, “You Don’t Know What’s Going On.”
Dressed in a chic black lace dress paired with black pumps,
Sara Watkins can definitely hold her own amongst the men of the trio. Watkins,
who has an impressive solo career, showed the audience at Frederik Meijer
Gardens her spunk as she played her fiddle and chimed in with perfect harmony
with Thile and Watkins.
The set included a well-rounded mix of their new album and
their older music which pleased the devoted and recent fan alike. Nickel Creek
played for a solid 90 minutes and finished the night with an encore featuring
Sara’s breathtaking “Where is Love Now?” and the rambunctious crowd pleasing
song “The Fox.” Nickel Creek makes the audience feel that they have found a
musical soul mate and before the climax has been reached, the love affair is
over and reality is back once more.
Set List Includes (may not be in order):
“Rest of My Life”
“This Side”
“Destination”
“The Lighthouse”
“When You Come Back Down”
“21st of May”
“Scotch and Chocolate”
“The Smoothie Song”
“Elephant in the Corn”
“Hayloft”
“Anthony”
“You Don’t Know What’s Going On”
“Somebody More Like You”
Encore:
“Where is Love Now?”
“The Fox”
PS: This was seriously the best concert I have ever been to (sorry TSwift) and many tears were shed on my part. I was fortunate enough to snag front row seats for me and my friend, Bethany and the only thing stopping me from jumping on stage was a massive row of flowers (and the guard)! My favorite parts of the concert were when Chris, Sara and Sean would talk to each other and the audience. I couldn't help crying when Sara sang "Where is Love Now?"
And I swear Chris was looking right at me when he sang "When You Come Back Down" *sigh*
If I never go to another concert in my life, I'm ok with that.
Love,
-A
They're gone... :o(
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