October 2012, Georgia Theatre, Athens, Ga.
I’ve never been one for whistling in songs, it mostly comes across as trite and gimmicky. And it’s rare when the person whistling knows what they’re doing — nothing ruins a good song like half-assed whistling.
But Andrew Bird can whistle, and what a whistle it is. An instrument unlike any other, the sound from this whistling Bird is magical and alarming in its sharpness and power. There’s no sense for anyone else to whistle in songs, because it cannot be done better than Andrew Bird — trying is futile. He is the master whistler — but he is way more than that.
For hours Andrew Bird performed an act of musical art, a wondrous array of strings and chords, crashing electronics and violin strums, for a raucous and appreciative Georgia Theatre audience. Bird played solo and with the band, preaching through his inventive lyrics and wild arrangements, showcasing an imagination vivid and rare.
He opened the show on his own, taking center stage with violin in hand, recording strummed loops while performing a sweeping violin for “Hole in the Ocean Floor,” off his album Break It Yourself. The packed crowd was rapt, quiet and attentive to the wave coming off the stage. The eight-minute opener merged into the happy Why, from 2001’s The Swimming Hour, a bluesy tale of relationships told with wry lyrics and playful chords. Wow.
The band joined Bird, and the foursome ranged its way through songs new and old. “A Nervous Tic Motion of the Head to the Left,” “Danse Caribe,” “Orpheo Looks Back” and “Desperation Breeds” were all played with verve, perfectly pitched on a night when the Theatre’s sound system was at its best. And it had to be, the intricacies within Bird’s music demand it.
Midway through Bird gathered guitarist Jeremy Ylvisaker and bassist Alan Hampton for an intimate four-song bluegrass set, Ylvisaker armed with an acoustic and Lewis with an upright bass. The highlight of the mini-set was “Railroad Bill,” a song dating back to the 1930s about a legendary man who was either Robin Hood or outlaw, depending on who you ask. It was one of the finest displays of bluegrass/folk music I’ve seen in a live setting.
“Tables and Chairs,” “Three White Horses” and the lively “Plasticities” followed — the show continued to top itself. An encore included the cover of Towns Van Zandt’s “If I Needed You” and “Fake Palindromes,” from 2005’s excellent The Mysterious Production of Eggs.
Bird’s command of the stage and the crowd was a sight to behold. Near the show’s end I stood on the ramp to the left of the stage, watching the crowd watching Bird. Nary an eye shifted to anything beyond what was in front of them, and Bird, whether conscious of this or not, gave them something worth seeing. And hearing, of course, but that was obvious from the moment he walked on stage.
