Review: Nickel Creek awes and amazes at the tiny Largo theater

Nickel Creek played an intimate warmup show at Largo at the Coronet for a lucky crowd Wednesday that piled into the L.A. theater for a night of skillful, spellbinding folk music.

At first, it seemed impossible: How could such a good band play such a small venue? At 280 seats, the Largo is much smaller than the high school auditorium that was regularly subjected to my bands’ takes on jazz, reggae and the like.

The group is touring with Kacey Musgraves, so this show was jammed between a show in San Diego and two at the Forum in Inglewood. They sandwiched songs from their new album, “Celebrants,” between recognizable hits, exposing the crowd of about 250 people to new material while still delivering plenty of nostalgia from past releases.

With all four members of the band sharing one microphone, they opened with a few crowd favorites, including “Smoothie Song,” one of the most technical instrumental pieces any folk band will ever play.

Nickel Creek’s songs have a theatrical quality to them — many tell a story, and a few are quite funny. I’d never noticed the comedy in the lyrics on tape, likely because the band’ recordings always grip me instantly with the audacity of the instruments they feature. For example, “To the Airport,” a song about flying, was genuinely funny and musically complex. It’s a high-wire act that few, if any, other artists can pull off. If Weird Al had gone to Berklee and met three other Weird Als, this song might have been the result.

“Thinnest Wall” was probably the biggest hit from “Celebrants,” released in 2023.

After playing the album from front to back, the band took audience requests. And I mean really took them. To summon such challenging and intricate music at the drop of a hat is another of the band’s magic tricks. This included a rousing cover of Britney Spears’ “Toxic,” which was probably the musical low point of the night. Though the cover was spotless and the crowd loved it, using a few precious moments of Nickel Creek’s time to do something simple felt like a waste. The song simply isn’t complicated enough for the band to flex its abilities.

There are some concerts where the technical proficiency on display melts my face early on. This was one of those nights, assuming a place in the chops pantheon alongside acts like Thundercat and Anderson Paak.

In these cases, my awe is generally reserved for one or two members of the band. However, Nickel Creek consists of four truly exceptional musicians, and three of them are singing complex harmonies while shredding on mandolin, violin and guitar, respectively. Altogether, it was the most dazzling display of musical talent I’ve ever seen.

As for the crowd, no one sang along, and any clapping was done mostly between songs, as everyone focused on hearing the exquisitely intricate strumming. The venue forbids phones, so it was a joy to see a crowd focused on the stage without hundreds of little screens recording poor facsimiles of the live event.

Nickel Creek is really a live band first and foremost. Though I’ve loved its albums for decades now, any recording implies the use of production tricks and multiple tracks to make the sound possible. So I was unprepared for the idea that their studio albums actually could have been recorded live. The execution on stage left me in awe, willing to believe pretty much anything.

Writing this review was difficult because I would prefer to keep the secret to myself: The best live band available in L.A. plays a tiny venue once in a while. Next time they do, we may be competing for limited seats. I can only hope they keep doing it, for music’s sake.