This is incredible...

[BrianWilliam]

Zappagrass! He needs a mustache.

[MediumMando5722]

I openly worship at the altar of Chris Thile. Prior to April of this year, I though bluegrass was all elitists griping about anything with drums. After watching The Office and becoming an Ed Helms fan, I checked out The Lonesome Trio, and got the desire to try mandolin. My dad (lifelong bluegrasser and mandolin enthusiast) pushed me to check out Thile.

I watched his Genre Hopping video on YouTube, then he and Edgar Meyer playing "Why Only Once?". Fast forward 4 months, and I've barely touched my Strat and spent all day listening to The Grascals and Boxcars. Chris proved my misconception to be just that, and I bet he's done the same for many others.

Thanks for sharing the video.

[Mandoplumb]

I'm one that agrees with Willie, what he is doing is not even close to bluegrass. I'm not saying he can't play bluegrass, he defiantly can, but does that mean everything he plays is bluegrass? The poster that says it's somehow wrong to say that Earl Scruggs Revue wasn't playing bluegrass is saying just that. Just because Earl was THE first BG banjo player doesn't mean that he can't play anything else. Talk about limiting musicians !! Also just for the record I agree no one can beat him in speed, fluidity, blur of notes, but that doesn't mean no mandolin player can beat him in playing music on the mandolin. It depends on your idea of what is great mandolin music. I'll still vote for Monroe, Jethro, Red Rector, Duffy,just to name a few, as making better mandolin music.

[BrianWilliam]

I agree with the post made by Multidon....what gripes me is that the MC says it is bluegrass..Bah, Humbug, not even a hint of bluegrass in what he is doing...I noticed that most of the audience is on the younger side, a bunch of "REBELS" that just want to be noticed and will accept anything that is called "Music" I would say...

Everyone to their own taste but it surely isn`t to my liking...Whoever said he could sing?

1) "Bluegrass, the new Americana" by datanick et al. - http://www.mandolincafe.com/forum/sh...-new-Americana!

2) I'm on the younger side, just want to be noticed, and accept anything called music. What should I listen to Willie?

3) I say he can sing. Others too.

[farmerjones]

I get his technical prowess, but to me solo mandolin is not as listenable, as if he had a buddy with a guitar helping.

Even Steph had Django.

[Stevo75]

Why are folks so fired up about whether or not this is bluegrass? No one said it was. The MC said something about "bluegrass fans" but that's it.

FYI, I recently saw the Punch Brothers at Rockygrass and they were billed as "Punch Brothers play and sing bluegrass". As promised, they did a much more traditional set. In my opinion they blew every other act out of the water that weekend. They played 100% unplugged around a single mic. I was amazed at the sound they could produce with that arrangement.

Sam Bush and Steep Canyon Rangers both played that weekend as well. I didn't hear anyone complaining that it wasn't bluegrass because they had a drummer. Telluride Bluegrass Festival has had non-bluegrass acts for years now. Who cares? I'd prefer to have some different types of music over the course of a weekend. Who wants to listen to three days straight of 1-4-5 chord progressions with the same old Monroe licks over and over?

[FLATROCK HILL]

Hey Demetrius...Thanks for posting that video. I love to see how performers, specifically really talented performers handle the 'solo-mandolin' thing. C.T. is out there somewhere in a class all by himself.

Like Willie, Don and a few others here though, that stuff is just not my cup of tea. I know he's capable of doing the good stuff when he wants to.

Oh, yeah. This sure looks like a bunch of wild REBELS to me. I'll bet a few of them were even late to church once or twice.

Pretty sure the chubby gal in the moo-moo burned her PTA card back in the '60s.

I get his technical prowess, but to me solo mandolin is not as listenable, as if he had a buddy with a guitar helping.

Even Steph had Django.

Michael Daves.

[mtm]

I agree with the post made by Multidon....what gripes me is that the MC says it is bluegrass..Bah, Humbug, not even a hint of bluegrass in what he is doing...I noticed that most of the audience is on the younger side, a bunch of "REBELS" that just want to be noticed and will accept anything that is called "Music" I would say...

Everyone to their own taste but it surely isn`t to my liking...Whoever said he could sing?

Not to pile on here, but are you suggesting he can't sing? Seriously? You should check out the 'group vocals' workshop he, Sarah Jarosz, and Aoife O'Donovan did that was posted at the Cafe not long ago. I mean, seriously man????

[FLATROCK HILL]

Who wants to listen to three days straight of 1-4-5 chord progressions with the same old Monroe licks over and over?

Throw in some lyrics and I'll buy a ticket.

[tiltman]

I can see both sides of this argument:

Ben Eldridge, formerly of the Seldom Scene, had an interesting perspective on all of this. I saw an interview where he talked about how the scene was considered too "out there", not bluegrass, etc. back in the day...years later his son and his buddies would say that the scene was too traditional...
(his son is Chris Eldridge of the Punch Brothers)

But on the other hand I think that if you are going to invent a new music - go ahead and invent a new name for it. Be creative...

Kirk

[f5joe]

As usual, there is no "correct" to this discussion. Nobody doubts Chris' great talent, that is one thing we all agree on.

I have his duo CD with Michael Daves. Man, they rip into the old songs ...... their way.

[darrylicshon]

I liked the video. I know many people that don't like alot of music everyone has thier own taste. I have played in alot of bands and usually we play my songs , I'm sure lots of people hated my music. When i play mandolin it really isn't bluegrass, it's my own style which again I'm sure lots hate it, I like it.

My favorite mandolin player is David Grisman then Andy Statman next Chris Thile , but that may change next month matter of fact Andy has been gaining ground on David. A few months ago Andy was probably 6th in my list but the more i listen to him the more i like him. Plus i hear alot of what i have been doing on mandolin coming from him.

In my youth i was very picky about what i listen to i started of as a classical violinist then some rock bands on violinand a metal/punk guitarist then finally mandolinist mostly at first playing octave mandolin in my metalmandolin band now i don't play as heavy much it's hard to believe that i play mostly acoustic now most of my friends that have known me long don't believe it. I was crazy i would solo for ever no matter what band i was in.

I'll say again i liked the video

[Drew Streip]

Full disclosure: Chris is just my absolute favorite. He's a lifelong student of music, and committed as much to his peers as to his craft.

Now: Forget what he does with the mandolin, or with his voice, in this specific performance. Just the way he engages a diverse audience completely by himself is no small feat.

Then, add a little bit of musicality back into it: It's impossible to deny that he just grooves. Never misses a beat. You always feel the groove (not always true of his more experimental solos). And audiences can relate to a beat/groove even if they are tone-deaf.

Finally, add the specifics: He never misses a note. His vocal intonation is nearly impeccable, even when playing intricate chord shapes and moving lines.

In many ways, he's like a Broadway performer, combining his musical acrobatics with theatrical elements -- choreography, facial expressions, humor and timing. He's gone far beyond "mandolin player" or "musician." And to regard him as such, to look at him through such a small window of "wayward bluegrass player," really is a disservice to him and to other musicians who may be dissuaded from pushing the boundaries.

Thanks for posting this video Demetrius!

[Hendrik Ahrend]

Just plain great, incredible really. Nothing wrong with it. I myself may listen to more traditional stuff. But I'm glad Chris takes the mandolin out to the (younger) public, good for the mandolin, good for us, isn't it?
BTW on this video Chris seems to play his other Loar, #75318, the one he bought at Mandolin Bros. after receiving the MacArthur award. First time I see him playing it in public, sure sounds wonderful to me.

[JKA]

There's no such thing as bad music...only music you like or dislike (or ambivalent towards)

Run and take cover...

[Jeff Mando]

There's no such thing as bad music...only music you like or dislike (or ambivalent towards)

Run and take cover...

A late 70's memory came to mind......my best friend playing me the then brand new Sex Pistols LP with the introduction, "you're gonna love this".......well, coming from a Beatles, Stones, Burrito Brothers, Springsteen, Doc Watson, Bob Dylan frame of mind -- I did NOT love it. I didn't know whether to be angry or just laugh out loud, but it wasn't what I considered to be music (at that time). Funny thing, we listened to the entire LP, then immediately listened to it again, all the way through, like maybe "we" were the ones who didn't get it! Nowadays, I probably wouldn't be as quick to judge and if I don't get it, that's OK, maybe somebody else will enjoy it.

[multidon]

I really appreciate Demetrius posting this video. It is as I said already excellent mandolin playing. And certainly creative. Just not my style. As far as whether it's bluegrass, I never even brought that up though others did. But I did enjoy watching the video from the standpoint of a learning experience. Any time you listen to any music, whether you like it or not, you learn something and take away something from the experience.

I really didn't want to see this turn into yet another "is it bluegrass or not" thread. Really, to be that whole question is beside the point. And that topic has been beat to death around here.

I would buy CT playing Bach. I would buy CT playing Bluegrass. But I would not buy him playing what I heard on that video. But heck, if it's popular and somebody likes it, then it just gets our beloved instrument more attention, right? So it's all good.

I wonder if anyone in the crowd said to him afterwards "What is that, a ukulele?" or " I just love the way you play that little guitar!"

[JKA]

Well said Jeff. I come from a very similar musical background. My guilty pleasure is ELO but don't tell anyone please.

I love Tuvan throat singing and heard people laugh at it disparagingly on a 'weird moments' type tv show...it upset me that the beauty of that music wasn't felt (or understood) the same way by all.

[JH Murray]

I grew up in a time where radio stations followed a strict format. The country station and the pop station and the classical stations all knew their audience and stayed in their set playlists. The only rebel was the college station that played everything. Today the ipod world has everything on shuffle and expects to hear the boundaries get all mixed up. I'm impressed that Thile would have the courage to honour the great Minnesota icon Prince with such an audacious cover of one of his most important songs. Thile just showed he is musically on the same planet as Prince. And that is pretty incredible, especially at a state fair!

[MediumMando5722]

I love Tuvan throat singing and heard people laugh at it disparagingly on a 'weird moments' type tv show...it upset me that the beauty of that music wasn't felt (or understood) the same way by all.

I like this "metal" band called SUNN 0))) (named after the amplifier company) that's essentially two guys onstage with a bunch of amps running wide open. The "songs" are low drones and feedback, mostly. I feel your pain on people not getting some of the oddball stuff you're into

EDIT- I also like throat singing.

[fscotte]

Maybe Chris Thile is just tired of playing bluegrass.

[JEStanek]

When I think Bluegrass Variety Show, I think A Prairie Home Companion.

I really enjoy watching what Chris does. Not all of it resonates with me. Some of it does a whole lot. What I saw with him off the cuff in this clip bodes very well for a Prairie Home Companion as far as I'm concerned. Especially with the folks he has to work with him.

Jamie

[Timbofood]

It's a wonderful ad for PHC, Minnesota, and Mr. Thile.
Should the MC have called it "Americana"? Well, maybe. That's another thread.....
Is it technically fascinating, I can't answer, I got bored with the interview part of the show and didn't get that far.
Not my "go to" for tea either.
Sorry folks, just being honest.

[mtucker]

Thanks for the vid! Guess we can kind of play anything we like, can't we...

[mandopaul]

Is that announcer Larry King's lost brother from England?