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| Wednesday, July 9, 2003 Progressive? Bluegrass Went to a Nickel Creek performance last night at the Abbey Pub on Grace. Very cool band. Imagine a bass cello, guitar, fiddle and mandolin playing together in a progressive sort of way. Did you know that the mandolin became more popular in the 20th century for Celtic, bluegrass, jazz and classical styles? Fits Nickel Creek since they are listed as a progressive bluegrass band. I guess XRT would only play them if they were progressive. Then again, Nickel Creek did win the 2003 Grammy for best contemporary folk album. The mandolinist is very “expressive”; if you see the “This Side” video, you’ll see a hint of what I mean. The fiddler has an amazing voice. Actually, the vocalists were all amazingly good. I was particularly impressed that, although the mandolinist appeared to be the “lead”, all four performers had their time in the spotlight. Irish bacon is pretty tasty. We had dinner at the pub before the concert. When I walked in, there were these grimy looking guys carrying what looked to be a cross between a paddle and a hockey stick. No idea what they were playing but it added to the Irish aura of the pub. Oooh, try the cider. If you’ve been dying to try Basque-style cider, this is pretty close. Don’t blame me if you taste vinegar. =P |