Playing the Nields

In the front, the Pit kids ruled. In the back, the grandparents huddled. And sandwiched between both were the rest of the diverse crowd-swingers and students, artists and bankers, all belting out the lyrics to The Nields' much acclaimed new album Play.

The Nields, made up of Katryna and Nerissa Nields, Nerissa's husband David Nields (he took her last name when they were married), drummer Dave Hower and guitarist Dave Chalant, are inspired by folk-rock and alternative music. They misleadingly call themselves a rock band their songs reveal a vibrancy and eccentricity missing from modern rock.

The quintet stormed the Paradise and led a show that ran on Jolts

oda for fuel. Opening with "Friday at the Circle K," raven-haired lead singer Katryna dominated the show with her powerful vocals, and jigged and twisted through the show, not stopping until the last of the two-song encore. Guitarist Dave Chalfant and Dave Nields leapt and hopped to match. The band threw out chocolates between sets, described the inspiration behind their rich lyrics and urged the audience to use their own lingo ("dolphin friendly" for over the top politically correct). The band had an effervescence in personality to match the energy of their music.

The band draws in fans with its catchy beats and quirky vocals. Well-crafted lyrics make their fans feel warm and fuzzy, nostalgic and disturbed, while avoiding the sickly tone of most pop music. Despite class, age and style differences, all of the fans were mesmerized.

The punkster kids screamed, the swingers and students shuffled, and the geriatrics in the back tapped their feet. But everybody danced-awkwardly at first, heartily in the high-powered middle, frantically at the passionate encore. When the chaos was over, the sisters performed a silky version of the Hank William Sr.'s classic "I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry." With the departure of the Nields from the stage, the tie holding the crowd together loosened, and the audience separated again into their different categories.

The audience loves the Nields because they reveal themselves to the audience in a candid way that everyone can understand. This is one group that loves its small but growing fan base-they have a mailing list of over 25,000 fans-and they crave success as much as any other "rock" band. And, in this age of formulaic talent and paper-thin lyrics, they are the ones who deserve it the most.