And He Flew
Why haven't I gotten to this sooner? Why am I not documenting this? I mean, this is a major life event, people. Screw moving from San Diego, CA, to Madison, WI, with nil amount of preparation, or getting into a possibility-of-being-fatal car crash. No, no.
I freaking saw Andrew Bird.
Try as I might to quell my squealing, there has to be some gushing. The man is just an utter genius of sound, articulation, set, and atmosphere. I had my ticket and as I walked into the cavernous space that is the Overture Theater on State Street in downtown Madison, WI, on September 19, 2009 (thank god for run-ons), and was instantly...wowed. I've heard mighty much of Bird's particular stage set-up, but it was kind of cool in person. Yeah, kinda cool. Try mega friggin awesome. Huge phonographs that manipulate and emulate some universal sound that I'm sworn I've only ever heard Bird produce, yet the feeling it instills in me is as natural as, well, breathing. And I swear that's no cliche.
The opening band for Andrew Bird was a band I've heard of before, but never knew to be homegrown Madison folks - Pale Young Gentlemen. (Listen to their cover of M.I.A.'s "Paper Planes" here - you know the song.) PYG, kind of reminiscent of Franz Ferdinand, Coldplay, and the Bird himself, played for only 30-minutes with a set-up of violin, cello, and the basic - guitar, bass, and drums. Their song, "Clap Your Hands" sounds like it would fit in perhaps a little too well with Bird's Bowl of Fire album.
However, I do approve.
So, however odd it was for them to only play for 30-minutes, it meant less time to wait for the man himself, and I accepted graciously. As the lights dimmed down again, Andrew Bird walked on stage and took off his shoes and proceeded to play. And play.
Where the hell did this man come from?
Chicago, honestly - and his folks were even in the audience, so I looked to the couple next to me and wondered...could they have been the ones to birth this wonder?
As I'm writing this a few weeks after the face, the details are slightly skewed and my pictures are more than slightly blurry...
(Check out the rest of my Facebook photo album of the Overture Center and the Andrew Bird show here!)
And as this is a, if anything, mediocre blog of a 19-year old girl, I feel that I can post the Andrew Bird setlist with no issue or specific construct whatsoever (it was a good 'un):
I freaking saw Andrew Bird.
Try as I might to quell my squealing, there has to be some gushing. The man is just an utter genius of sound, articulation, set, and atmosphere. I had my ticket and as I walked into the cavernous space that is the Overture Theater on State Street in downtown Madison, WI, on September 19, 2009 (thank god for run-ons), and was instantly...wowed. I've heard mighty much of Bird's particular stage set-up, but it was kind of cool in person. Yeah, kinda cool. Try mega friggin awesome. Huge phonographs that manipulate and emulate some universal sound that I'm sworn I've only ever heard Bird produce, yet the feeling it instills in me is as natural as, well, breathing. And I swear that's no cliche.
The opening band for Andrew Bird was a band I've heard of before, but never knew to be homegrown Madison folks - Pale Young Gentlemen. (Listen to their cover of M.I.A.'s "Paper Planes" here - you know the song.) PYG, kind of reminiscent of Franz Ferdinand, Coldplay, and the Bird himself, played for only 30-minutes with a set-up of violin, cello, and the basic - guitar, bass, and drums. Their song, "Clap Your Hands" sounds like it would fit in perhaps a little too well with Bird's Bowl of Fire album.
However, I do approve.
So, however odd it was for them to only play for 30-minutes, it meant less time to wait for the man himself, and I accepted graciously. As the lights dimmed down again, Andrew Bird walked on stage and took off his shoes and proceeded to play. And play.
Where the hell did this man come from?
Chicago, honestly - and his folks were even in the audience, so I looked to the couple next to me and wondered...could they have been the ones to birth this wonder?
As I'm writing this a few weeks after the face, the details are slightly skewed and my pictures are more than slightly blurry...
And as this is a, if anything, mediocre blog of a 19-year old girl, I feel that I can post the Andrew Bird setlist with no issue or specific construct whatsoever (it was a good 'un):
- "Sweetmatter"
- "The Waterjet Cilice"
- "Masterswarm"
- "Opposite Day"
- "Fitz and the Dizzy Spells"
- "Plasticities"
- "Natural Disaster"
- "Oh No"
- "Effigy"
- "Anonanimal"
- "Tenuousness"
- "Imitosis" (My personal fave. Even developed a strip to this.)
- "Lusitania" (New song with a cool fact. Bird's been waiting for years to use Lusitania in a song. Go figure.)
- "Fake Palindromes"
- "Why?" (Encore)
- "Don't Be Scared" (Encore)
- "Weather Systems"
This is a video of "Don't Be Scared" performed at the Orpheum in Los Angeles, CA, just to give you an idea of Bird's performance live. It speaks volumes more than the album version.
The ending was powerful, poignant with the phonographs still spinning an ethereal sound... He took his shoes and his signature stuffed monkey that sits atop the speaker, and in a way much like Porky the Pig, Andre Bird said, "That's it." A simple ending for the man with music as natural as breath.
I've been checking this site every single day since your last post... It finally paid off! Keep updating this site or I might take my obsession with you just a little too far.............
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