NASHVILLE \u2014 The crowd was dancing as soon as the bluegrass trio Nickel Creek went on stage, with hot-shot mandolinist Chris Thile careening around like a possessed marionette.<\/p>\n\n
The opening number \u201cWhen in Rome\u201d was an edgy tale about lost souls trapped in a cold world where the doctors can\u2019t heal, people burn books for heat and no one answers distress signals. By the time Thile reached the apocalyptic last verse, he was raising questions about life, death and life after death.<\/p>\n\n
\u201cWhere can a dead man go? The question with an answer only dead men know,\u201d he sang, briefly frozen in a stark white spotlight. \u201cBut I\u2019m going to bet they never really feel at home, if they spent a lifetime learning how to live in Rome.\u201d<\/p>\n\n
The crowd rocked on. There were tattooed youngsters in the aisles, dancing next to hip home-schooling parents with their children. There were bluegrass purists offering whoops of praise, sitting near some NASCAR fans wearing Birkenstock scandals.<\/p>\n\n
The Nickel Creek crew \u2014 guitarist Sean Watkins and his sister Sara on fiddle, along with Thile \u2014 are hard to label and so are their fans. One reason for that is the band\u2019s Grammy Award-winning fusion of bluegrass roots with rock attitude. Nickel Creek often veers from Bill Monroe traditionalism to MTV Nirvana without blinking, with stops in John Coltrane and Beach Boy territory along the way.<\/p>\n\n
But there was another reason the crowd in War Memorial Auditorium was unusually diverse. Nickel Creek offers a unique mix of old faith and modern doubts.<\/p>\n\n
The trio has been together 16 years, beginning as children in devout Christian homes in San Diego. Early on, they recorded a gospel-bluegrass album called \u201cHere to There\u201d before heading into the mainstream with the help of superstar Alison Krauss.<\/p>\n\n
It\u2019s crucial that bluegrass is one form of music in which artists are allowed to sing about Sunday morning as well as Saturday night. Thus, the members of Nickel Creek have been candid about their beliefs, while staying light years away from the prison called \u201cContemporary Christian Music.\u201d<\/p>\n\n
Faith isn\u2019t an artistic curse if it stays honest, said Sean Watkins, who has written most of the trio\u2019s songs that wrestle with religious issues. It\u2019s interesting that old hymns are often more candid and searching than today\u2019s gospel pop songs.<\/p>\n\n
\u201cI\u2019m so sick of sugar-coated songs from the Christian perspective,\u201d he said, in his online journal. \u201cOne of the most comforting and inspiring lines to me is from the last chorus of \u2018Come Thou Fount\u2019 where it says, \u2018Prone to wander, Lord I feel it. Prone to leave the God I love.\u2019 Not many un-watered-down songs make it through the filter of the Christian music industry mafia these days.\u201d<\/p>\n\n
But honesty is a two-edged sword.<\/p>\n\n
That\u2019s why Thile \u2014 at the ripe old age of 24 \u2014 was standing in a harsh spotlight singing songs about death, despair and divorce. One of his new songs is called \u201cDoubting Thomas\u201d and includes these poignant lines: \u201cCan I be used to help others find truth, when I\u2019m scared I\u2019ll find proof that it\u2019s a lie? \u2026 I\u2019m a doubting Thomas. I\u2019ll take your promise, though I know nothing\u2019s safe. Oh me of little faith.\u201d<\/p>\n\n
Thile said he hopes to live his life as if death is not the end, struggling to \u201ckeep one foot in this world while sticking one foot out of it, just to get ready.\u201d At the same time, it\u2019s hard to avoid the kind of burned-out, shopping-mall confusion that leads so many young people to feel alone and disconnected, even while they crave relationships that will last.<\/p>\n\n
Thus, this Nickel Creek concert closed with the trio sharing one microphone, gently singing this lullaby: \u201cWhy should the fire die? My mom and dad kept theirs alive.\u201d<\/p>\n\n
\u201cWe are tempted to distance ourselves from the things that are truly powerful and beautiful in life,\u201d said Thile. \u201cFaith is certainly one of those things. Faith is huge, and so are friendships and our family relationships. \u2026<\/p>\n\n
\u201cAnything that is truly worthwhile is both powerful and dangerous at the same time. Anything that is truly beautiful and lovely can also turn twisted and ugly. But we can\u2019t hide from all of that. That\u2019s what is real.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
NASHVILLE \u2014 The crowd was dancing as soon as the bluegrass trio Nickel Creek went on stage, with hot-shot mandolinist Chris Thile careening around like a possessed marionette. The opening number \u201cWhen in Rome\u201d was an edgy tale about lost souls trapped in a cold world where the doctors can\u2019t heal, people burn books for […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":610,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[79,135,265,324,670],"class_list":["post-1355","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-art","tag-bluegrass","tag-contemporary-christian-music","tag-entertainment","tag-popular-music"],"yoast_head":"\n