but today is calm, so far. i am home with him, listening to
for the first time. thank you willow! i haven't told you you bought me this yet but you did!
last night we went to the fabulous fox to hear nickel creek. it's a gorgeous theater. the show began with 'esoteric banjo music', as described and played by bela fleck. i had never heard anything like it. incredible. he was joined by each member of nickel creek in turn. then nickel creek waltzed onto the stage with a waltz. atlanta was their biggest theater crowd ever, so they were on crackin form and there were lovely interactions throughout the show with a very happy crowd. gig started at 8, they must have started by 9 and played non-stop til 11.30. frontman chris thile, who appears onstage like a puppet, limbs going in all directions, is a well known bluegrass musician in his own right, and both sara and sean watkins have solo projects. nickel creek has enjoyed commercial success, but being in the south meant, i think, they could really play the music they wanted to play, not just the well known tunes. it was wonderful; a bit of an education, too, into the whole culture of live bluegrass.
their encore was worth the ticket price alone. they burst back onto the stage and chris said "you deserve it" before breaking into the band's own glorious version of "toxic" by britney spears. (lo quality version here.) i was almost crying with laughter. then things got seriously bluegrass. bela came back and all five gathered around a single old school mic (think a prairie home companion) to really folk it up. after four standing ovations, they sang a lullaby and left the stage. all in all, a classy affair.
