Nickel Creek hits the right notes in summer tour kickoff at Meijer Gardens (Review, photo gallery)

Affable and engaging, the reunited progressive bluegrass trio rekindled its familiar musical fire with old favorites and new gems for a sold-out amphitheater on a picturesque night.

 

By Tricia Woolfenden
LocalSpins.com

Absence, as they say ad nauseum, makes the heart grow fonder.

The warm reception granted Wednesday night to So-Cal, “progressive,” acoustic/bluegrass/string, Grammy-winning three-piece Nickel Creek only underscores that sentiment.

Of course, the trio — who reunited this year after a seven-year hiatus and performed Wednesday to a sold-out crowd at Frederik Meijer Gardens & Sculpture Park — has long held status as a critical and audience darling. The extended, if well-earned, break wasn’t crucial in cementing a place of love in fans’ hearts.

The time apart did, however, serve to strengthen each individual member’s musical talents, as has been noted in recent press and reviews.

Fiddle player and vocalist Sara Watkins in a recent Associated Press interview speculated that her time working on solo projects and away from long-time Nickel Creek bandmates Chris Thile (mandolin) and brother Sean Watkins (guitar) helped her to grow as an artist: “Having to sing, being the only singer every night at my shows, and having to front each song and try to live through each song every night when you were performing it, it took me a new strength.”

Indeed, Sara Watkins’ voice seemed to bear the fruits of her solo labors. She was alternately controlled and loose, filling the outdoor amphitheater in one verse and artfully dropping the intensity down in the next.

One of the evening’s finest moments came with Sara Watkins’ quiet but compelling performance of the sweet and all-too-brief “Anthony” from the band’s 2005 release “Why Should the Fire Die?” A charming number to say the least, Thile and Sean Watkins’ backing vocals and spare backing instrumentation on that song hit all of the right notes.

Given that this is something of a “reunion” tour, Nickel Creek — who became a band 25 years ago and manage to look all of 30 years old today — played a roughly 105-minute set that explored a wide range of its catalog. Due diligence was paid to older tracks (“Jealous of the Moon” and instrumental track, “Scotch & Chocolate,” from “Why Should the Fire Die?” along with “Reasons Why” and “Ode to a Butterfly” from 2000’s self-titled de facto debut).

DESERVEDLY EARNING APPLAUSE FOR NEW MATERIAL AS WELL AS OLD

But the band — joined by a touring, tap-dancing upright bassist — wasn’t afraid to delve into material from its’ newest offering, “A Dotted Line,” a 10-track album released in April 2014 on Nonesuch Records. They even opened the show with a song, “Rest of My Life,” from the record.

Turning to the new stuff so early in a set — even for a audience of obvious loyalists — is a bold move, but it worked. While the Meijer Gardens crowd was its typical staid self for the majority of the show (folks did finally loosen up and dance, on their feet, for the two-song encore), people appeared attentive and certainly appreciative.

The adoration is well earned. Beyond being quite skilled musicians — Thile’s finger-pickin’ on the mandolin is no joke, and all three excel at vocal harmonizations — Nickel Creek are an affable bunch. As is typical with visiting musicians, they lavished praise on the picturesque Meijer Gardens’ setting and swanky facility. But they were self-effacing and jocular enough that the familiar platitudes (yup, we’ve heard it before: Meijer Gardens is much, much nicer than the typical crappy nightclub) didn’t ring hollow.

A recap of the trio’s day for the audience included mention of local businesses such as MadCap Coffee and Fish Lads, with a special shout to Love’s Ice Cream — located in the Downtown Market — and its basil-flavored treats. Little moments like that can go a long way to endearing an artist to the crowd. It shows they care enough to venture beyond the confines of their air-conditioned tour bus and carefully controlled dressing room to explore what our city has to offer.

Other engaging turns included Sean Watkins’ skillful recovery (with the expert aid of long-time guitar tech Chief) after a minor equipment glitch during “This Side.” “We were at the edge of our seats waiting to see if you’d pull it off,” Sara Watkins teased her brother.

As the band did with much of the show, he did pull it off and in style.

Show opener Sarah Jarosz was an appropriate selection for this, the first stop on Nickel Creek’s two-month summer tour. Her bluegrass-tinged three-piece nicely segued into an evening of fiddles, mandolins and happy-sad sentiments about love, heartbreak and sundry Americana themes.

NICKEL CREEK: THE LOCAL SPINS PHOTO GALLERY
Nickel Creek photos by Anna Sink
Sarah Jarosz photos by Jamie Geysbeek
(Click on photo to enlarge gallery)

Email John Sinkevics at john@localspins.com.
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