That crazy melody making whistler is gracing us with his presence this Friday at the BoA Pavilion. I’m excited cause it’s my first show at the pavilion (also known as Harbor Lights) this summer and it never officially feels like summer until I get down there. I’m hoping our weather will feel the same way and open up its heart to summer time weather once the birdman passes through our corner of the world. Seriously, this weather is getting to be a bit depressing.
If you’re new to Andrew Bird, I highly recommend starting with the album, Mysterious Production of Eggs. This is the album that first grabbed a hold of me and it was the song, “A Nervous Tic Motion of the Head to the Left”, off of this album that first drew me to investigate the “mysterious” songstress. I even remember the blog it came from, lovely Fluxblog (Grab it from My Old Kentucky Blog).
The great thing about seeing Andrew live is the songs are often changed up from their studio arrangements. Andrew is truly a modern day prodigy and can never seem to stop thinking about different arrangements for all the melodies floating in his brain (Read his New York Times article on how he writes songs in their Measure for Measure blog).
On the albums, Andrew writes and I believe plays most if not all the instruments. However, instead of watching him create loops for half the show (it’s more like a quarter), he brings along some friends to jam out. Martin Dosh provides back up on percussion, loops and keys. Keep an eye out for “Simple X”, a Dosh song that made it on Andrew’s previous release, Armchair Apocrypha. The last show I saw they nailed it and the song highlights Dosh’s otherworldly percussion skills. Jeremy Ylvisaker supports on the guitar, bass, organ and shortwave. A recent addition is Mike Lewis, who plays with Jeremy Ylvsaker in Alpha Consumer.
Buy Noble Beast (released in January 2009)
Download & Listen: “Oh No” (from Noble Beast)
Official Andrew Bird website: www.andrewbird.net
Myspace page: www.myspace.com/andrewbird
Tour Dates:
Jun 15 – Cobb Energy PAC – Atlanta, GA
Jun 18 – Radio City Music Hall – New York, NY
Jun 19 – Bank of America Pavilion – Boston, MA
Jul 10 – Greek Theatre – Los Angeles, CA
Jul 11 – Greek Theatre – Berkeley, CA
Jul 13 – Red Butte Garden – Salt Lake City, UT
Jul 14 – Red Rocks Amphitheatre – Morrison, CO
Jul 16 – Britt Pavilion – Jacksonville, OR
Jul 17 – Marymoor Amphitheatre – Redmond, WA
Jul 18 – McMenamins Edgefield Amphitheater – Troutdale, OR
Jul 19 – McMenamins Edgefield Amphitheater – Troutdale, OR
Jul 26 – Squaw Velley Ski Resort – Olympic Valley, CA
Aug 7 – Lollapalooza – Grant Park – Chicago, IL
Aug 8 – Lollapalooza – Grant Park – Chicago, IL
Aug 9 – Lollapalooza – Grant Park - Chicago, IL
Oct 2 – Austin City Limits Festival – Austin, TX
Oct 3 – Austin City Limits Festival – Austin, TX
Oct 4 – Austin City Limits Festival – Austin, TX
