Cactus candy

We saw Nickel Creek at the Cactus Café on Monday. I got there super-early, as I have a deserved reputation for doing, and we were first in line, taking the center-stage front table. I don’t think I’ve been that pumped up over a show for a long time, mainly because with the exception of Nickel Creek I get to see my favorite people play live on the average of once a month, and this wait of 2 years had pushed me nearly into a state of giggles.

They would normally pull a larger venue like Stubb’s (and a little bird suggested that they might play the Austin Music Hall this Fall), where everyone will be standing up for hours crammed next to the stage, but this was in the Best Little Venue in Texas, living room atmosphere, capacity under 200, always non-smoking. It’s an acoustic delight, and the audiences there are completely focused on the music, hardly ever a peep or heckle, or even a distracting clink of glassware from the bar in the back of the room during the songs, but the applause brings down the house.

The show definitely lived up to expectations! They played all the songs on their soon-to-be-released CD and then several more. The occasional faux pas or missed note was covered up by the band’s humor, and it made it seem even more living-roomy. There wasn’t an easy band-meeting opportunity at the show, so we headed out even though we probably could have hung around and made it happen. I wanted to give Chris a nice print we made of this picture taken at the 2003 ACL festival, but maybe next time.