Punch Brothers Play to Full House at Mondavi Center and I Fell Asleep

OK, I didn't really fall asleep, I just felt like I was sleeping or perhaps wished I was sleeping, all snug and warm in the comforts of my own multi-cat infested bed instead of sitting at Mondavi Center in Davis to see the Punch Brothers. That's not to say the Punch Brothers are awful, because they have tons of talent, mountains of talent, Grammy-awarded talent bigger than the state of California, but they don't put on a spectacular show.

The musicians are Chris Thile (from Nickel Creek) who plays mandolin; Gabe Witcher, fiddle; Chris Eldridge, guitar; Noam Pikelny, banjo; and Paul Kowert, bass. My husband and I were discussing what kind of person plays the mandolin but not guitar. Sure, you say, a fiddle is a small instrument, too, but it's loaded with more testosterone. That long bow could do double duty as a saber sword. Think Star Wars.

For me, it was like watching Tom Hanks in the movie "Big" chomping down on a miniature ear of corn at the salad bar. It seems out of proportion. Made me wonder how come Rod Stewart went downhill after Maggie May? I'll tell you why, because Do Ya Think I'm Sexy and Hot Legs ruined everything for Rod Stewart.

Punch Brothers played a four-movement chamber suite called "The Blind Leaving the Blind." My husband says it was written during Thile's turbulent divorce. It was agony. Depressing. Punctuated by poly rhythms that made me want to punch somebody. It was also 43-minutes long.

Their first number was most likely the best, followed by Ophelia, by The Band, for second place. Let's just say that Ophelia was never my favorite take on that '70s album by The Band: Northern Lights - Southern Cross. It's mostly loud screaming into the mike. Sort of disrupts the whole tempo of the set.

I might have enjoyed the concert more if I had been sitting closer to the stage instead of the nose-bleed section, or perhaps didn't have a belly full of filet mignon, spring asparagus and scalloped potatoes. We had been planning to go out for dinner on Valentine's Day, but I had been out showing homes in East Sacramento all afternoon and didn't feel like fighting the swarming crowds in downtown Sacramento after the 2009 Amden Tour of California bicycle race. So, we ordered take-out from the Riverside Clubhouse in Land Park and dined by candlelight at home.

Now, if I was listening to the Punch Brothers while I was working out on the elliptical or cleaning house, I would thoroughly enjoy the music -- what's not to like about bluegrass -- but watching them in concert, well, I would have rather been giving my cat a bath.

The Short Sale Savior, by Elizabeth Weintraub, coming soon to a bookstore near you.

Photo: Mandolin, Big Stock Photo