Balkan Barbie

At The Canopy Club (canopyclub.com) last night, I saw Punch Brothers featuring Chris Thile. You know that I like the mandolin. I had seen Chris Thile a few years ago, before his rise to fame. This show, the band played songs from a new album. I guess that is why they seemed self-conscious. The music seemed to follow their script. Chris monitored the other players, when they would come in and out of the songs, and signaled them as well. I know that is standard, but he also seemed ready to jump on them for missing. They responded to him, especially joining in as the audience responded to songs, but also seemed like they were familiar with his bossy side. Maybe that comes with the role of leader of the band, but he seemed less expansive last night. For the last three songs, though, they let the music flow and gave each other room to play their instruments and find their timing. The whole show was good, but that was the best part.