I agree. Unless I missed something as well, Chris Thile is a very talented picker who will be around for years and years to come. Sure, he is a bit showy but that is one of the amusing things about him. His robot-like movements just flat out crack me up. This year, with the personal in his band, they are going to absolutly rip it up. I’m jacked for their sets!
His playing has always seemed unemotional and flat to me for some reason. It’s been a while since I was able to see through an entire one of his sets.
As for him being the best mando picker there, that is certainly open to debate. Personally, if Drew Emmitt is there in some form or another, I think he’ll be the best mando picker on the stage for the weekend.
All of that being said, I’m not trying to say that Chris is a bad musician, he’s a very very good musician, I just don’t care for his style is all.
We are just flat out lucky to be able to hear so much great talent in such a short span of time. Each man has got his own style equally good for me anyway.
Chris and his facial expressions crack me up when he plays, his eyes full of excitement like a 3 year old on Christmas morning… :cheers Can we leave yet, she dreams of TELLLLLLLUUUUUUUUURIDE as she is burried in paper work… save me Telluride. I need some video…
It’s very debatable. There are many people that are at the very least on par with Chris, and several that I would rank above him in terms of technical skill as well as in the intangibles. He’s definitely in the top 5 on the Telluride stage every year, and that’s no mean feat.
He’s coming to my town to play a set with Edgar Meyer, and given my luck, I’ll be out of town. I had been looking forward to seeing them since September and just recently found out I won’t be able to
Hey I did it from memory, I screwed up Compton’s name. Sorry Mike
As Matt said there is many intangibles in music. I have my issues with Thile’s song selection and way he approaches music. I feel like I am watching a man at work, which I am. But do you feel that watching Sam Bush? Technical skill is just a one factor in bluegrass music, it’s not classical. There are many who do it very well, the key for my favorites is who serves the music the best. Good musicians are slaves of the music. You don’t force it, you let it in.
Today I am diggin’ Shawn Lane’s work on the last Blue Highway album. Great songs, great feel for the music, great pickin’. Could listen to it all day. No he’s not Thile. But Thile isn’t Shawn Lane. This album wouldn’t be the same without him. Or listen to Mike Henderson on the Steeldrivers CD. Some nice work there too!
I completely agree, Sam Bush may not be the best mando player out there, but there are few, if any, that I would rather watch or listen to, he doesn’t just feel the music, he is the music.