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I'm baaaccckkkk! I know you missed me! Well, either way, I'm glad to be back on the blog. Pat is already way ahead of me in concerts for the year, but I recently made it to concert number 1, none other than Nickel Creek! This is a band I became a fan of in 2011, unfortunately a few years after they split up to work on solo projects. I was really excited when I saw the tickets for sale, and pleasantly surprised they were even back together for a tour. It was Chris Thile a few years ago that inspired me to go craigslist shopping for an old mandolin. I've been playing it on and off, and soon it might make an appearance in a few recordings! The concert began with the opening act, the Secret Sisters. Mary and I loved their music and even got to meet them after their show! We bought both of their records to add to our growing record collection.
Next up was Nickel Creek! Chris Thile (mandolin), Sean Watkins (guitar) and Sara Watkins (fiddle) stepped out onto the stage. This group has put together some amazing instrumental jams as well as some excellent vocals. Individually, they are some of the best instrumentalists at their weapon of choice, and their vocals blend beautifully. Prior to the concert, they released three songs, each one sung (and presumably written) by a different member, that will be on their upcoming album "A Dotted Line". My favorite was "Destination" featuring Sara's vocals. In the past she'd done some very controlled vocals, but in this song she showed she could throw some emotion into the vocals, and I really liked it! They opened with that song, then kept the great show going, playing (almost) everything I wanted to hear! We got "A lighthouse's Tale," "This Side," "Out of the Woods," and even "Sabra Girl!" Not present were "Jealous of the Moon" and "Let It Fall," the latter being a solo track of Sean's, but by far my favorite song any of the trio have made. I can't forget to mention, their bass player was also very awesome! He took the spotlight a few times with his tap dancing and being the elephant of the new instrumental track "Elephant in the Corn."
As well as they played, this concert didn't blow me away like I expected. I've done a little thinking about it, and I think that maybe the Balboa Theatre wasn't the best venue for this show. The Balboa Theatre is a beautifully restored old style theater in downtown San Diego. It's the same place Mary, Chris, Pat and I saw Jack Johnson play on his last tour, and that was arguably one of the best concerts I've been to. For the chill Jack Johnson music, it felt perfect to lean back in my comfy chair and relax. For Nickel Creek, something just felt wrong about that. I wanted to be up there dancing and having fun. In the end, it was an enjoyable concert and I'm glad I finally got to see Nickel Creek play. I hope they play here on another tour at House of Blues or something, I'll be there for sure!
Eric