Of all the concerts and Student Union events I have attended, the Nickel Creek concert in Wait Chapel on Nov. 16 was by far the best. The 2,200 seats of the chapel were sold out to students, faculty and community members who ranged in age from young children to older adults.

As I stated in last week's preview of the show, Nickel Creek is a popular young bluegrass/pop/rock band which has released two albums and three hit singles, "When You Come Back Down," "The Lighthouse" and their latest "This Side," with many more to come.

Artists Chris Thile (mandolin, vocals), Sara Watkins (violin, vocals) and Sean Watkins (guitar, vocals) proved that they were well worth braving yet another rainy Winston-Salem evening. They played many of the songs from their new album This Side as well as favorites from their self-titled debut, interspersed with snatches of Weezer, Nirvana's "Lithium," The Beatle's "Tax Man," and my favorite surprise, a cover of Crowded House's "Don't Dream it's Over," sung by Sara Watkins.

When they played several of their instrumental pieces, I realized that you can only truly appreciate Nickel Creek live because the band adds so much personality and visual dynamic to their work. Between jokes, quips about each other, and some playful choreography they told a story with their songs, some without even singing a word.

"This is beautiful," Thile said of the chapel, and indeed it is, especially when nearly every seat is filled and the lights are dimmed for the show. The building is also spectacular for concerts because of its amazing acoustics, as Thile, and Sara and Sean Watkins proved during their final encore.

They told us all to come down as close as we could, which in my case was no more than 20 feet from the stage, and to be quiet so we could hear. What made their last three songs so great was the pure sound, all three of the singers have beautiful voices, and without the mics you can really hear the emotion in their words.

The audience members, encouraged by the band, also included our voices in the songs, adding surround sound to the performance, including the polyphonic "Spit on a Stranger," from This Side.

What put the finishing touches on an awesome night was the kindness of the trio after the show. Once most of the crowd had cleared out, there were about fifty fans waiting by the stage in the hopes that they would get a final glimpse of the band.

Inspired by a road manager who quietly told us that he couldn't promise anything, "but they usually come back out," my roommate and I joined the throng of hopeful fans. One by one, Sara, then Sean, and then Chris seemed to materialize into little clusters of fans offering autographs, friendly words and willingly posing for pictures.

Thile seemed only too happy to talk to us and to encourage everyone who shared their own aspirations with him, whether they were musical, or in my case, literary. Sara Watkins also went above and beyond the call of duty (literally) by leaving a sincerely sweet voicemail message to someone who had not made it to the concert. She sent my roommate Meg and I away with a smile, a picture and autographs, ending in the words "seek Him."

It isn't every day you get to hear and meet, such a popular, talented group of musicians, especially when commercialism seems so prevalent these days. Nickel Creek, however, reminded me that there are still stars out there who love their work, are down to Earth and who take the time to reach out to every fan who seeks them.