Andrew Bird: Live @ First Avenue

By Jeannette Madden
Staff Writer

Chicago-based, multi-instrumentalist and lyricist Andrew Bird played a sold-out show at Minneapolis’s First Avenue on Dec. 2. This being my first Andrew Bird event, I had no idea what to expect. What I noticed about Bird is people either love him or hate him, respect him or think he’ s a “pseudo-intellectual,” only using music as a tool, a true musician or lacking in lyrical ability. With all of that, I was curious to form my own opinion about Andrew Bird and his often-cited musical genius.

I loved the show. Bird brought to mind so many musical artists and styles that sometimes I had a hard time focusing on his music while I was trying to think of who and/or what it reminded me of. For the most part, I felt like I did when I saw The Swell Season a year earlier at the State Theatre: awed, humbled and never knowing what to expect next. From quietly opening the show with “You Woke Me Up,” to quietly closing the show with “Don’ t Be Scared,” it was a fabulous time all around.

The beauty of Bird’s show was that it became a sort of live rehearsal of material not yet released, giving fans a chance to experience Bird’s creations for his musical future. One song, “Eyeoneye”, was introduced by saying, “We just recorded this song yesterday. It might take awhile for this song to come out, and we just wanted to keep it alive by playing it for you tonight.”
Other new material included “Lazy Projector,” “Breeding Desperation” and “Near Death Experience,” which had Bird joking “I knew something wasn’t right; I forgot to take my boots off.”
Two other new songs were “Danse Carribe” and “Lusitania,” which Bird said was his attempt to “turn leading a country into war into a metaphor for a wounded relationship.”

While listening to Bird’s music, I was reminded of an Irish friend’s description of his home and his life, the green fields and how much I would love to run through them. As corny as it sounds, Bird has a way of transporting his listeners to their happy place, wherever that may be. On that particular night, mine was thinking of my friend in Ireland.

Bird first picked up the violin at age four and spent his formative years soaking up classical repertoire completely by ear. As a teen, he became interested in a variety of styles including early jazz, country blues and gypsy music, synthesizing them into his unique brand of pop.

Since beginning his recording career in 1997 he has released eleven albums, his first solo record “Weather Systems” coming in 2003. Bird has gone on to record with the Preservation Hall Jazz Band and perform at New York’ s Carnegie Hall.

Most recently he collaborated with inventor Ian Schneller on Sonic Arboretum, an installation at New York’ s Guggenheim Museum.

Bird’s most recent release, 2010’s “Useless Creatures,” is a nine-song instrumental that was originally paired with his 2009 release “Noble Beast.”

Music from Bird’s albums can be heard on his myspace page, http://www.myspace.com/andrewbird.

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