“Here’s a song that looks at social alienation,” Andrew Bird announced to the crowd at the 9:30 Club Wednesday night as he fingered the opening chord of “Effigy” on his violin. “And it doesn’t have whistling.” It's important to mention this at the offset because “Effigy” was the eighth song in the Chicago-based singer’s set, and the first not to feature his trademark whistle. For the record, Bird’s puckered pitch is nothing short of remarkable; and yes, the light-hearted whistle lines do add a certain down-country charm to his art-pop ditties. But as everyone knows, too much of a good thing can often be, well, kind of friggin' irritating. And there it is: the one real gripe to be had with an otherwise enthralling night of music. A musical theme seemed to weave throughout the show (which also featured a set from fellow quirky multi-instrumentalist St. Vincent): an attempt to toe the line between comfort and chaos, landing somewhere between palatable indie pop and disconcerting experimental noise rock.
As the show’s opener, St. Vincent’s peculiar brand of psych-pop was a perfect example of this sonic juxtaposition: at times gentle, welcoming, almost maternalistic, and at others dark, shrill and off-putting. Frontwoman Annie Clark set the mood immediately with “The Stranger,” the opener on of her 2009 album, Actor, as the track’s lagging verse brought mysteriousness to her charming, pristine vocals. A few songs later, in the reverb-soaked “Actor Out of Work,” Clark flashed her noise rock sensibilities but still managed to maintain a level of sweetness—an aesthetic continued through the gritty, scorching solo at the end of “Now Now.” Don’t let her tiny frame and on-stage preciousness fool you—Clark can absolutely shred.
There was something undeniably cozy about the stage set-up for the opening songs of Andrew Bird’s set: a solitary man in a suit and tie, a warm overhead spotlight cutting through the otherwise aphotic stage, an array of instruments surrounding an intricate panel of effect pedals. Bird welcomed the crowd with a soothing medley of loops, beginning with a few pizzicato plucks from his violin, then a layer with his bow, a simple guitar riff, and sparse whistling. To add to the melody’s whimsy, Bird channeled the sound through a rotating duel phonograph, creating a softly pulsating Doppler effect.
Still on his own, Bird then transitioned into the first (and, arguably, best) song in the set, the smokey and soulful “Why?” off of 2001’s The Swimming Hour. The extended opener was an unexpected treat, showing off both Bird’s understated jazz temperament and delightfully sardonic sense of humor (seen in the addictive hook, “Damn you for being so easygoing”). After the stage lights came up and the band took the stage, Bird careened through his expansive discography, selecting several tracks off of 2005’s magnificent Andrew Bird & The Mysterious Production Of Eggs, 2007’s Armchair Apocrypha, and his fifth and latest solo full-length, Noble Beast. “Opposite Day” showcased Bird’s inventive approach to instrumentation, strumming his violin like a ukulele over lofty clarinet lines. “Fitz And The Dizzyspells” and a sped-up rendition of “Oh No,” both off Noble Beast, exposed Bird’s poppier side—but the songs’ melodies remained grounded in dizzying layers of loops.
Always one to spin a good yarn, Bird prefaced “Headsoak,” a track from his early days with Bowl Of Fire, with a bizarre tale of walking the streets of Chicago and stumbling upon an oozing armory building. He later described the astonishingly detailed “Anonanimal” as “a song about what kind of animal you are” and teased the crowd with a line from fan-favorite “Tables And Chairs,” explaining “There will be snacks! But first we’re going to do ‘Scythian Empire.’" For the record, there were no snacks.
Toward the end of his set, Bird snuck in a few unexpected nuggets of folk-rock gold. The surprises began with a new track, tentatively named “Lusitania,” featuring the vocals and guitar of Annie Clark. At first listen, the track is quite good, a throwback to retro country duets with absolutely gorgeous harmonies. (Let’s hope that Clark is invited to record vocals when this baby finally hits the studio.) Later, Bird and Clark opened the encore with a heartfelt cover of Bob Dylan’s “Oh, Sister,” an underappreciated track off of 1976’s Desire. (The song’s opening was even sweeter the second time around, after Clark mucked up the intro and let out an endearingly audible “Oh, shit.”) Next, the duo welcomed a pair of bandmates back onstage for an inspired (but honestly, kind of sloppy) rendition of Charlie Patton’s country classic, “I’m Goin’ Home,” igniting handclaps and sing-alongs by the third run-through of the chorus.
Considering that the 9:30 Club show was the last stop on Bird and St. Vincent’s nationwide fall tour (a fact that was repeated on stage throughout the night), the Patton cover would have been a perfectly fitting end—but Bird was not quite done. Instead, he extended the encore with a pair of anthemic classics, “Don’t Be Scared” off of 2003’s Weather Systems and “Fake Palindromes” off of Mysterious. With no one left to thank and nothing left to prove, Bird quietly saluted the crowd after bowing his final violin note, snagged the oversized sock monkey off the phonograph behind him and slowly meandered off stage. (Yeah, we don’t know what that thing was doing there, either.)
http://www.avclub.com/dc/articles/andrew-bird-and-st-vincent-at-930-club,34746/
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