so if there’s one thing i learned yesterday, it’s that i don’t listen to, nor appreciate, the band Nickel Creek as much as i should. if you’ve never seen them live or, like me, have even passed up several opportunities to see them then you do not know what the hell you’re missing. and i don’t say that lightly. i’m having trouble remembering a better concert that i’ve attended and thus i would have to say that the Nickel Creek show i witnessed last night must be the best live music show that i’ve ever personally experienced. and that’s saying a lot. i’ve been to a ridiculous amount of concerts in my short 22+ years of life and have seen a wide range of acts in a wide range of surroundings. so let me tell you what made last night great.

first off, the venue. if you’ve ever been to Deep Ellum in downtown Dallas, this was your typical ‘Deep Ellum’ venue. the Gypsy Tea Room they call it, and it is a quaint little abandoned warehouse turned concert venue. there is a big open floor with a large square bar in the middle of it, no doubt in that place to draw the attention and business of thirsty concertgoers. the stage is not overbearing, like some venues, as it is merely about a foot and a half removed from the floor. the air in the tea room is kind of musty. not smoky, musty. giving the venue a kind of old, historical feel that even more legitimizes it’s almost rebellious usefulness as a place to hear live music.

next, my location on the floor. this show was general admission and there are no seats, so it was basically ‘get there and find a place to hold your ground at all costs.’ so we got there early enough to get a rather decent standing spot, and i would have not wished for a different spot. we were probably about ten feet from the stage, and this was perfect. far enough to get sound from the speakers, not close enough to where we would only get sound from the monitors. also in the perfect spot to catch eyes with the performers and show them how into their playing you are, but more on this later. so so far we have the perfect venue and the perfect spot within that venue to set the tone for the rest of the night.

which brings us to the show. the sound was just beyond incredible. so crisp and clean that you’d think you were in a studio or something. the vocals were nice and clear as well. it’s very refreshing to go to a concert and actually be able to discern what those who are singing are actually singing. the set list was also very carefully and beautifully chosen. started a little slow and immediately went into a more energized section. the mood was then lowered about half way through with a pair of songs, picked back up, and again lowered to close out the night. most critics would rebuke a band for ending on a rather slow song, but this choice fit very well with the overall tone of the night. the song they chose to end with was a hymn written back in the 800s, a hymn entitled ‘How Great Thou Art.’ this they did totally acoustic, as they asked the crowd to squeeze in and get close so we could all hear them without the aid of mics and equipment. it was truly a beautiful moment and one i’ll remember for a long time to come. other than that, they played all the songs i had hoped they would play (although i was getting kind of worried they weren’t going to play ‘Lighthouse’s Tale’ as that is my favorite song of theirs, but then they did and all was well) and even did a couple of cover songs. what they didn’t do a lot of was talk between songs. the audience came to hear music, not to hear them fill time with diatribes about nothing and they gave the audience what they wanted.

now i tell you, you WILL NOT find a better or more talented fiddle or mandolin player than Sara Watkins or Chris Thile, respectively. these two completely blew me away. i was not in anyway prepared for the skill that these two possess and was very thankful that i got to see them. especially Chris. the things he did on that mandolin are just indescribable. no words would ever come close to doing justice to that guy’s talent, so i won’t even try. i did catch eyes with him a couple of times when i was really digging the playing and he acknowledged this and continued to rock out on his mandolin. also caught eyes with Sara a few times (including everytime she sang ‘i’ve got my reasons why’ during ‘reasons why’) which was very cool and made me blush a couple of times. rounding out the trio was the guitar player, Sean Watkins. Sean is a nice fit to the band and is a very talented guitar player. however (and i know there are those that will accost me for this), he just didn’t really do anything for me. at least not in the capacity that Sara and Chris did. yes Sean is talented, but i’ve personally seen better guitar players. but that doesn’t take away from his role in the band that i feel he fills very nicely.

so that’s pretty much the night. like i said, WONDERFUL experience. if you ever hear that Nickel Creek is playing near you, RUN, don’t walk, and get tickets as soon and as fast as you can. you will not be disappointed. i guarantee it. i guess the only thing left to say is that any band that does a Beatles cover is alright with me.