As I’m currently trying to teach myself the mandolin I seized
the opportunity last night to see Chris Thile (fastest mandolin
player in the West) and his Bluegrass band, the Punch Brothers, at
London’s Arts Theatre.
Thile is a slightly kooky-looking version of Jude Law, but with
talent and charm. Observing his left hand cover the strings is like
watching old Heifetz videos – you barely see the fingers move, it’s
done with such grace and ease.
I was lucky enough to interview Thile for a forthcoming article
about converting from violin to mandolin and he explained how he
uses violin repertoire such as the Bach sonatas and partitas and
Barber’s Violin Concerto to hone his technique. So, apart from his
phenomenal virtuosity, it wasn’t surprising to hear the classical
influences in his four-movement composition, ‘The Blind Leaving the
Blind’ Concerto, which ranged from Shostakovich to Reich, with a
little Ligeti thrown in. It was a beautiful piece, well structured
and intricately scored in its combinations of mandolin, guitar,
banjo, bass and fiddle, interspersed with Thile’s wistful, lovelorn
vocal.
But the group’s roots are Bluegrass, a fact Thile doesn’t let them
forget: when a mobile phone went off during the concerto he alerted
us that it was the ‘Bluegrass police’, apologised for the preceding
chromaticism and promised to return to ‘the three good chords’ of
Bluegrass. And indeed the band went out on a pure Bluegrass high
with ‘Ninety-nine years and one dark day’, the cheery story of a
guy who’s in prison for life for shooting his wife with a 44.
A revelation for me was the amplification: the five of them huddled
around two microphones and moved in and out to balance themselves.
This heightened the sense of chamber music and intimacy and the
resulting sound was beautifully blended and warm. The microphones
must have been pretty good though, as they were able to pick up the
bass player, Greg Garrison, resoundingly from over two metres away,
and Gabe Witcher’s fiddle really sounded like a violin. In my band
I have a constant battle with sound guys trying to stick reverb on
my output so I felt very envious – as I was of Thile’s technique. I
think it’s time for me to get my Bach out.
The band has another few gigs in the UK and is then back to the US
at the end of July. For tour dates see:
http://punchbrothers.com/index.php?option=com_gigcal&Itemid=30
My interview with Thile will appear in the October issue.
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