As you may have noticed, Nico Muhly’s new album Mothertongue has had me very excited for his show here. Well, that show was last Friday and it was above and beyond my expectations.

I suppose I should start by saying: taking photo’s at this show would have been terribly inappropriate. It was one of the more intimate concerts I’ve been to in recent memory, and with everyone in the crowd seated, standing at the front flashing photos would have been extremely detrimental to the mood set by all of the artists on stage. Maybe this is why looking up the ‘802′ tour brings back zero live photos.

The show began with Nico Muhly elucidating that rather than having 3 sets by the 3 scheduled bands, they would be blending the sets together; collaborating to create new, more elaborate versions of what you might find on their respective records. As all of the artists have collaborated on record in the past, it wasn’t unnatural or experimental at all. What’s happening on this ‘802′ tour is one of the most rehearsed and practiced performances you’re likely to see from indie artists. They started out by playing a song from each artist, which I imagine would have been hard to differentiate if you hadn’t studied up before the show. After this introductory period, the set came as sort of a showcase for each artist. Muhly would often explain what was about to happen, and who to pay the most attention to. Although everyone on stage had their moments, all of which spectacular, Muhly played the ring leader and was undoubtedly the most fascinating. At one point Sam Amidon noted that the rest of them, “aren’t used to such an elaborate live set.” Nico Muhly was responsible for the elaboration, and it only sky rocketed my opinion of his compositions.

The set continued in this fashion, switching flawlessly from one artists songs to another. Closing the set, all artists on stage helped to recreate the last track from Muhly’s Mothertongue, The Only Tune. This track will for ever be described as challenging and inaccessible, but it’s a shame considering how it showcases Amidon and Muhly perfectly. Amidon’s career can be defined by folk songs of the past, and reinterpreting these songs in a creative and abstract way is how these two artists work so well together. The feeling you’re left with after a show this intimate is simply that you want more. Unfortunately its hard to imagine this tour happening again with all of the same artists, but if nothing more it showcases Muhly’s ability to command those around him… something we’ll be seeing more of come early September.