Review: A Triumphant Return For Nickel Creek At The Riv
By Marielle Shaw in Arts & Entertainment on May 12, 2014 4:00PM
The Riviera was full to bursting Friday night, a sold out crowd making it a good 20 degrees hotter than outside in Friday’s beautiful 70-degree weather. When you wait to hear a favorite band for six years, there’s a good amount of anticipation that permeates the air. This can also create a lot of pressure for a group returning to the stage after a long hiatus. But if Nickel Creek were feeling the pressure, it didn't show. From opening act to final bow, this was a show to remember.
The opening act, Secret Sisters, were effervescent, endearing and seriously talented. Hailing from Muscle Shoals, Alabama, these real life siblings just released their second album, Put the Needle Down, a hard look at the darker side of love. They were a great match for Nickel Creek; not quite straight bluegrass, they often have a 50s vibe about them. The highlights of their set for us were "Iuka"—a murder ballad about a wedding gone wrong, the biting “Good Luck, Good Night, Goodbye” and their closer—“Who’s Gonna Love You If I Don’t.” This duo can pull off haunting and melancholy just as well as soda-shoppe sweet, and the variety was enticing. The lyrics were simultaneously sassy, smart and honest, and we found ourselves not only remembering the songs, but singing them the rest of the weekend. The girls have soaring, powerful voices and filled the theater with beautiful harmonies. Their style is unique and surprising, and the whole album is worth a listen.
The intermission to set up for Nickel Creek seemed nigh unbearable. But soon enough, siblings Sara and Sean Watkins and Chris Thile walked onto the stage to a roaring crowd. Opening with A Dotted Line’s “Rest of My Life,” it was immediately obvious that they’d only gotten better with age. Beautiful harmonies seemed as effortless as the instrumentals were tight. Sara Watkins’s smoky voice and subtle, studied violin mingled perfectly with Thile’s precise, energetic mandolin playing. "Destination," Nickel Creek’s hit single from A Dotted Line, was richer, fuller and more layered live than on the album. In between songs we felt like we were with old friends, hearing stories about successes and failures in naming instrumental tunes and enjoying a long-running Emperor Palpatine gag Chris Thile started in explaining his method for getting into the right mood for angrier tunes like “You Don’t Know What’s Going On.”
This is a band that can move fluidly through moods and styles—from the cartoonish upbeat instrumental “Elephant in the Corn” to the sexy, almost Euro-Pop feel of “Hayloft, “another earworm we’re currently loving, back to tender love songs like “When You Come Back Down” from their self-titled album, and the haunting, sad strains of “Where Is Love Now” we hung on every single word and every last note. The crowd was on their feet nearly instantaneously, and we were treated to three equally amazing encores, including crowd favorite “Helena.”
There were too many high points in this show to count. This is a band that’s just gotten better with age and has come back stronger than ever. All the passion and energy is there with the beautiful instrumentals and powerful vocals. They’re a joy to see on stage, and work together just as well as before. These days it’s become harder to find acts that sound as good live as they do on their albums, and Nickel Creek has the distinction of being even more amazing live than can be captured in the studio. That’s rare. It’s about loving what you do, feeling what you sing and complete mastery. This is the rare group that has all three, and transcends their “genre” into something no one should miss.
We’re incredibly glad that we didn't. If you couldn't make it to the show and you’re willing to brave the Taste, you can see the group in Grant Park July 11. Otherwise, make sure to download A Dotted Line, as it’s a phenomenal return to and expansion upon everything we loved about this band.