Andrew Bird

I attended the Andrew Bird show on Wednesday evening.  It was a really great time.  Their opener was a band called Lonely, Dear who was also awesome.  I\’m not quite sure how to describe the opener.  They are from Sweden and used strange noises in harmony to great effect.  I couldn\’t tell much about the lyrics, but they sounded very cool and original.  I am beginning to appreciate hip, original music all the more lately.  The classic four-man rock band seeming a bit overdone, if that makes sense.

The crowd was…excellent.  I saw more girls that I was attracted to in one location than I think I have ever seen.  Basically, they were hip without overdoing it and cute without trying types.  Curly hair, thoughtful eyes, many pairs of horn-rim glasses.  I wasn\’t quite sure what to do with myself in that context.  I sat next to this terribly cute couple.  They were probably five years older than me or so.  The woman was pregnant and the guy looked like a more athletic version of me…predictably, in five years.  Anyway, we chatted a good chunk of the time music wasn\’t being played.  Seems her brother-in-law is considering becoming a patent attorney, so we chatted about that a bit.

The Orpheum Theatre was also impressive. The venue is, obviously, very old.  Though, the interior appears to have been completely redone in the last several years.  It was a small, acoustically-pleasing venue.  There are at least two bars, the original from the 30s or so and a newer bar upstairs that included a huge wall-projection of the stage along with suitable sound system so if you step out for a drink you don\’t miss a minute of the show or music.  I look forward to the chance to return to the venue for other shows in the future!

Andrew was predictably amazing.  I always appreciate watching and listening to a musician who is good at his craft.  Andrew is that and creates interesting music as well.  Often, the \”best\” music is also the most predictable, boring or… overstated, shall we say.  He is an excellent lyricist, whistler and violinist.  It makes for an unusual (see above) combination.  He brings it all together so well.  He used a serious amount of looping his own whistling, violin and voice.  He also used a strange spinning speaker-system (seen in the picture below) to add a Doppler effect to much of the looped sound.  All this showmanship came off with appropriate humility and aplomb.  Anyway, it was one of the more fun shows for me in a while.