Andrew Bird lands at The Blue Note
The event was a time of joyous revelry.
Published Oct. 2, 2009
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Andrew Bird sings and plays the violin as he performs Wednesday night at The Blue Note. Bird showed his musical versatility by playing guitar, violin, xylophone and sometimes whistling all within one song.
This story begins with a brief confession of bias. Andrew Bird is one of my favorite musicians of all time, and consequently I have seen him live twice before. But walking into The Blue Note on Sept. 30, I knew I was in for something different.
My past live experiences with Andrew Bird have been at Chicago's Civic Opera House — a venue that can only be described as colossal — and at Lollapalooza, an outdoor festival with a crowd too big to be contained by any building. But in The Blue Note's intimate setting, Bird truly shined like never before, playing songs new and old, all while conversing with the crowd and making for a show none of the audience will forget anytime soon.
The show began with a short set from St. Vincent, the group touring with Bird through the Midwest. I hadn't heard of St. Vincent until the show, but I found myself pleasantly surprised with their sound. Frontwoman Annie Clark looked like another cute, young, indie artist, but the crowd was treated to something else entirely.
The band produced a sound that bordered on electronica, but still fun with a poppy feel. The music had a distinct and unexpected darkness to it that really added another level to the show, as Clark danced like the world's most adorable robot, to the steady beat of songs like "Your Lips are Red." St. Vincent piqued the curiosity of most of the crowd. After a brief break, the lights went down again and Andrew Bird took the stage.
Bird jumped right into his set, kicked off his shoes, put a sock monkey on top of one of the speakers and started with crowd favorite, "Fiery Crash." Throughout the show, the benefits of the close quarters become apparent as Bird spoke with the crowd and discussed the MKT Trail, life in general and, most interesting, his thought process behind a new song he showcased for the crowd entitled, "Lusitania."
The show continued with Bird playing through songs not heard as often live such as "Opposite Day" and "The Birthday Song." The show came to an apparent end with Bird's most popular song, "Fake Palindromes," and an encore was given without much coercion as Bird played the song, "Why?" The performance became a dialogue between Bird and the crowd, as he shook hands and waved around the stage. The show finished off on the highest possible note with "Tables and Chairs." Bird smiled and waved to the crowd as he picked up his sock monkey and left the stage.
If Andrew Bird has his way, at the end of the world there will be no elaborate judgment day, no violent doom, only a party with pony rides, dancing bears and, most importantly, snacks. It's not hard to buy into his philosophy on life after spending an hour and a half listening to this man play, as he truly seems to put himself into every song, showing an unbelievable amount of focus and enthusiasm for what he's doing.
The only thing Andrew Bird's shows have in common is that they leave anyone fortunate enough to be in the audience happy with not only their evening, but with life.
