The Punch Brothers
Bush Hall – London. England.
24th Jan 2008
http://www.myspace.com/punchbrothers
I was hoping to write this review without mentioning Nickel Creek. And I tried, I really did, but try as I might I found I simply could not resist the comparison. The band is a five piece outfit comprising Chris Thile and his mandolin, a banjo, a violin, an acoustic guitar and a double bass; all good ingredients for a country folk ensemble.
I was looking forward to some harmonic, smooth tunes laced with melancholy lyrics. I wanted a series of clever little melodies with that interesting twist
a la Nickel Creek at their best. I wanted to hear the musicians blend together into something beautiful and sleek, occasionally showcasing one instrument or another in all its glory. And, at times, this is exactly what I got.
After a typically Nickel Creek-esque fiddle led instrumental first song the band broke into a real rip-roaring blue grassy track. (Wayside – Back in Time). I loved it. This was what I was here to see! Astonishingly well arranged, and it was obvious that these guys love playing together.
The vocal harmonies which introduced the next track “Heart in the Cage� further assured me that Punch Brothers were here to deliver. Out came the melancholy lyrics along with a little black humour. It seemed that they were delivering exactly what I had hoped for and, apart from the rather crazy but short mandolin solo midway through the track, I was loving every minute of it.
But I should have seen it coming. I read somewhere that the band came into being after the break up of Chris Thiles marriage. Take five musos, put them in a room with loads of alcohol and a sad story to write about, and I suppose you’ll eventually end up with a Punch Brothers set. Yes, there were flashes of brilliance. Yes, there were some unbelievably tuneful tracks. Yes I longed for a set full of these types of songs. Unfortunately five drunken musos with an axe to grind will also invariably disappear up their own arses. Or perhaps I just didn’t get it?
“Blind Leaving the Blind� was a 40 minute piece of four movements. To me it seemed to be the folk version of modern jazz, where each of the musicians seems to be playing a different song. Call me old fashioned but I do like a tune, a bit of a melody that I can follow. I wasn’t sure what to make of this long self indulgent arrangement. There were short snippets of the brilliance we had tasted in the first few songs, but these were only a tease amidst what seemed to be the results of a drunkenly self absorbed jam session. Like I say, perhaps I just didn’t get it. These guys are obviously more musically talented than I, but I found these tracks to be beyond my comprehension.
As if to reward us for sitting through the craziness we were treated to their version of Ophelia by The Band. This was a real rough ass blow out which retrieved the attention of those amongst us who had drifted elsewhere.
After the interval came more of the same. I was dazzled at times and longed for more after tracks like “How to Grow a Woman from the Ground.� So astonishingly sad it gripped me in the way all good music should. Other times I wished I had brought my iPod.
I think I was looking forward to Nickel Creek, and in places I was more than satisfied. Some tracks delivered the goods and then some. But the Punch Brothers are not Nickel Creek and if you’re expecting them to be so then you will be disappointed in places and overjoyed in others.
And I think that about sums up the evening.