How's My Living? » fourth presbyterian church

Andrew Bird, Fourth Presbyterian Church, 12/17

Sarah — Sat, 18 Dec 2010 23:46:35 +0000

I’ve got a few other writing projects that I need to work on this weekend that I sort of forgot about, so I need to wait to gather my thoughts on all of the Bird shows. Until now, here are just a few tidbits from Friday night’s show.

Friday’s show saw a few new additions to the setlist, including some older songs (“Plasticities”) and a newer song which has been slightly reworked since I last heard it (“Lusitania”). Some of the best moments by far, though, were when Nora O’Connor joined Andrew Bird on stage for a handful of songs, including a acoustic cover of the Handsome Family’s “Don’t Be Scared”, which literally gave me chills. Some great stuff has been going on at these Gezellegheid shows, and I can only hope that they do in fact become an annual tradition.

Setlist
Instrumental
Instrumental
Wake Up
Why?
Nyatiti
Carrion Suite
Desperation Breeds
The Lazy Projector
Capital I
Plasticities
Lusitania
Dear Dirty (w/ Jeff Parker)
Barn Tapes (w/ Jeff Parker)
Danse Caribbe (w/ Jeff Parker)
Headsoak (w/ Nora O’Connor)
Weather Systems
Encore
Fatal Shore (w/ Nora O’Connor)
Don’t Be Scared (The Handsome Family, w/ Nora O’Connor)
Goin’ Home (Charley Patton, w/ Nora O’Connor)

Andrew Bird: Official Website | MySpace | Twitter | Store

Andrew Bird, Fourth Presbyterian Church, 12/16

Sarah — Fri, 17 Dec 2010 15:51:32 +0000

I don’t know what went on between Wednesday night and Thursday, but something magical happened, because this show was amazing. Andrew Bird came out strong with a newer song, “Hole in the Ocean Floor”, setting a high bar for the rest of the night. Not even flubbed loops or a handful of technical difficulties could slow the show down. I spent most of the show looking like a kid for whom Christmas came early, no joke. There were several surprises and moments that left me a little awe-struck, including one of the best versions of “Why?” that I’ve ever heard, an enthralling solo stab at “Tables and Chairs”, and the inclusion of the rather rare “Dear Dirty”.

Setlist
Hole in the Ocean Floor
Instrumental
Wake Up
Why?
Nyatiti
Carrion Suite
Desperation Breeds
Crown Salesman (Jeremy Ylvisaker/Alpha Consumer)
The Lazy Projector
I On I (formerly known as Oh Baltimore)
Tables and Chairs
Dear Dirty (w/ Jeff Parker)
Barn Tapes (w/ Jeff Parker)
Danse Caribbe (w/ Jeff Parker)
Section 8 City (w/ Jeff Parker)
Encore
Orpheus Looks Back
Effigy
Goin’ Home (Charley Patton)

Andrew Bird: Official Website | MySpace | Twitter | Store

Andrew Bird, Fourth Presbyterian Church, 12/15

Sarah — Thu, 16 Dec 2010 17:38:19 +0000

Much as I did last year, I’ll be saving my full commentary until after all the shows are done. After Wednesday night’s show, I am full of thoughts already, so I’ll need some time to digest.

“The horns have been multiplying. It’s been a fertile year.” –Andrew Bird on the 21 hornlets joining him on stage, pictured above.

The Gezelligheid shows always seem to bring out a different Andrew Bird than the one we see throughout the rest of the year. While I could never call an Andrew Bird concert predictable, there are certain songs that you expect to pop up, particularly if he’s playing with the full band. With these shows, however, all bets are off, as Bird frees himself to try out new songs, or to introduce us to older ones which are continuously evolving. Based on last year’s shows, it seemed like it took a few days for Bird to settle in to his cavernous surroundings at Fourth Presbyterian Church, so I’m excited to see what the next two shows bring.

Setlist
Instrumental (opening of Nomenclature)
Wake Up (on setlist as Dyin’ Beds)
Why?
Nyatiti
Carrion Suite
Desperation Breeds (on setlist as Breeding Desperation)
The Lazy Projector
Capital I
Oh Baltimore
Headsoak
Masterfade
Give It Away
Barn Tapes (with Jeff Parker)
Danse Carribe (with Jeff Parker)
Section 8 City (with Jeff Parker)
Encore
Orpheo Looks Back
Fatal Shore
Goin’ Home (Charley Patton)

Andrew Bird: Official Website | MySpace | Twitter | Store

This Week in Great Music: 12/13 – 12/19

Sarah — Mon, 13 Dec 2010 16:28:57 +0000

Happy Andrew Bird week! It’s pretty obvious to even the casual observer where I’ll be Wednesday through Friday. Sorry, warm, cozy apartment, I’ve got three dates with Mr. Bird.

Monday, December 13
Robbie Fulks, Kelly Hogan; Hideout. 7 pm, $10 suggested donation
Tricky; Lincoln Hall. 8 pm, $20 Cancelled due to weather.
Paper Arrows, The Counterpane; Schubas. 8 pm, $6

Tuesday, December 14
Cake; House of Blues. 8:30 pm, $35-38

Wednesday, December 15
Andrew Bird, Jeff Parker; Fourth Presbyterian Church. 8 pm, sold out
Todd Carey, Josh Hoge; SPACE. 8 pm, $12-22

Thursday, December 16
Minus the Bear, Tim Kasher, Rah Rah; the Vic. 6:30 pm, $22.50-25
Andrew Bird, Jeff Parker; Fourth Presbyterian Church. 8 pm, sold out

Friday, December 17
Andrew Bird, Jeff Parker; Fourth Presbyterian Church. 8 pm, sold out

Saturday, December 18
Tony Lucca, Jay Nash, Matt Duke; SPACE. 8 pm, $12-20
Dashboard Confessional; Lincoln Hall. 8 pm, sold out
The Damnwells; Double Door. 9 pm, $12-14
The Waco Brothers; Schubas. 10 pm, $12-14

Sunday, December 19
Dashboard Confessional, Bottom Lounge. 6:30 pm, sold out
The Waco Brothers; Schubas. 8 pm, $12-14
Voltaire; Beat Kitchen. 8:30 pm, $8-10

Show Announcement: Andrew Bird’s Gezelligheid is Back

Sarah — Mon, 20 Sep 2010 16:23:24 +0000

If you missed Andrew Bird’s residency of cozy concerts last year, either in Chicago or Minneapolis, don’t despair! You’ll have another chance this holiday season. Five more so-called Gezelligheid concerts have been announced, to keep you warm and cozy and creatively satisfied this year:

December 6 & 7, Washington DC’s Sixth & I Historic Synagogue
December 10, Boston’s Converse Hall at Tremont Temple
December 16 & 17, Chicago’s Fourth Presbyterian Church

Presale tickets are available now for all of the shows, and public sales go off on Friday for DC and Boston, and Saturday for Chicago.

Update: It appears that the Chicago and Boston presales are closed already. Yikes! Get your clicking fingers ready for the general sale.

I’m sure you can guess whether or not I already bought my tickets.

Concert Review: Andrew Bird at Fourth Presbyterian Church, 12/14 – 12/17

Sarah — Sat, 19 Dec 2009 15:00:55 +0000

It’s easy to forget that Andrew Bird’s a classically trained violinist. The sometimes nonsense-lyrics, the eccentric personality, the giant speaker horns that dwarf him on stage, the usage of layers of sound and looping pedals, the fact that his last name is Bird and he whistles – all serve as plenty of conversation fodder when talking about him. People talk about the time he dropped his violin and it snapped in half earlier this year, they talk about the early days of his career, when you could still catch him at the Hideout, they share stories of awkward after-show encounters with him, and, yeah, okay, some people talk about how pretty he is. But what a lot of people don’t talk about is just how good he is on a technical level.

When you strip away the band and the quirky-indie-rock-star image that he’s not even gunning for, when you take away the lyrics and occasional bombast of performance and just let his technique stand for itself, you remember: this man could have easily made a career as a top-notch orchestral musician, sitting on the stage of Symphony Hall and playing with the CSO. Instead, he’s chosen to follow his heart, making music that draws just as much from classical tradition as it does from jazz, folk, or even nature itself. Over the past four nights, even with the looping pedals and the giant speaker horns and the rambling introductions to songs, Bird’s classical heritage was on display more than ever.

Andrew Bird set out to create a series of shows where the main objective was comfort. Inspired by performing in churches at holiday time during his childhood, the so-called Gezellegheid concerts — roughly translated from Dutch to “cozy” — were a chance for Bird to be a little more self-indulgent, playing more freely-formed instrumental pieces, unburdened by concept, as he put it on the final night of the residency. The night’s setlists were populated with a few songs still in formation, a few songs taken back to the time of their birth, and a few familiar songs that are still being reworked. There wouldn’t be the fiery passion of “Why?” or the joyful apocalypse of “Tables and Chairs”, but that was okay. While Bird’s performances were captivating, I found myself to be, well, relaxed, not feeling so caught up in remembering every last detail and more content to let my attention wander, imagination inspired by the lush sonic landscapes that one solitary man was creating in front of me. Comfort.

Some particular song related highlights for me included the new version of “Section 8 City” (which has taken some the lyrics from “Take Courage”, a perky bonus track to Noble Beast, and slowed the whole thing down, among other changes), his cover of Cass McCombs’ “Meet Me Here at Dawn”, and the new song titled “Oh Baltimore”, which has lyrics that are too bizarre to share at this point, Bird said. The melody is pretty catchy, however, so I’m hoping that he eventually deems the words fit to share with the public.

Also fascinating are the few little glimpses we get into the way Bird’s mind works when it comes to songwriting and inspiration for his works. He’s admitted in the past that oftentimes, he doesn’t know what a song means until some time after he’s written it. At Wednesday’s show, he shared with the audience that a conversation with a family friend helped him find some insight into “Fitz & the Dizzyspells”. While he’d originally written it while thinking about things like night terrors (after he awoke after a night in a hotel room to find a note slipped under the door saying “you woke me up”, when he had no recollection of making any noise the previous night, and so wound up wondering if he’d had some unknown sleeping freak-out), the friend asked if the song was about Bird’s brother, who is autistic. No more explanation than that was given, or even necessary, really (especially if you’re familiar with the lyrics), but it was a stunningly personal moment coming from someone who still manages to maintain a level of mystery around himself.

I don’t think I’ll ever get tired of sitting through an Andrew Bird show. I had a few people ask me how I managed to not get bored after watching the same thing (sort of) each night. Taking aside the fact that I’ve been known to listen to one song on repeat for several days, the simple fact is that every night, there was something new to discover, despite the similar setlists. And that’s what draws me to Andrew Bird’s music, the fact that even the most pared down pieces are still full of the unexpected. Years after first hearing The Mysterious Production of Eggs, for example, and I’m still finding new things that intrigue me about the songs. The new melodies and songs in their infancy that Bird played during these four shows will undoubtedly provide new material to discover and rediscover for a long while.

My photos from three of the four nights (photography on the fourth night was scuttled by pesky security personnel) is available at Flickr, and my video of “Oh Sister” is up at Youtube. In case you’ve missed it, I’ve posted setlists and some amusing tidbits for Monday, Tuesday, and Wednseday. Thursday’s setlist is after the jump.

1. Instrumental (Dance of Death)
2. Instrumental (new track)
3. Instrumental
4. Instrumental
5. Instrumental (Danse Carribe)
6. The Water Jet Cilice
7. Instrumental (Oh Baltimore)
8. Section 8 City
9. Natural Disaster
10. Instrumental (The Barn Tapes)
11. Effigy
12. Lusitania
13. Instrumental (Carrion Suite)
14. Meet Me Here at Dawn (Cass McCombs cover)
15. You Woke Me Up
16. The Giant of Illinois (Handsome Family cover)
17. Capital I
18. The Happy Birthday Song
ENCORE
19. Oh Sister (Bob Dylan cover)
20. Some of these Days
21. Weather Systems

Andrew Bird, Chicago’s Fourth Presbyterian Church, 12/16

Sarah — Thu, 17 Dec 2009 13:45:16 +0000

On “Capital I”, a Sesame Street song: “The lines about rubbing it here, polishing it there, they make me feel a little funny inside… but I kind of enjoy it.”

Looking increasingly scruffier as the week goes on, Andrew Bird also seems to be getting more and more comfortable with this installment of church shows. Sure, he’s still as twitchy and, well, neurotic as always, but he was a bit more relaxed on night three. I wonder what night four will bring…?

Tonight’s set list has song names, believe it or not, for the instrumental parts. Not because I am some genius who managed to connect the dots and realize what some of these songs were, but because I managed to take a picture of the setlist from the woman who had snatched it off of the stage. (Thanks, by the way!)

1. Instrumental (Dance Of Death, from The Ballad of the Red Shoes)
2. Instrumental (Bb Ab G)
3. Instrumental (Master Sigh)
4. Instrumental (Danse Carribe)
5. The Water Jet Cilice
6. Instrumental (Oh Baltimore)
7. Section 8 City
8. Natural Disaster
9. The Barn Tapes
10. The Sifters (“If I were the night sky…”)
11. Carrion Suite
12. Headsoak
13. You Woke Me Up
14. Fitz and the Dizzyspells
15. Giant of Illinois
16. Happy Birthday Song
17. Capital I
18. Scythian Empires
ENCORE
19. Oh Sister
20. Some of These Days

Andrew Bird, Chicago’s Fourth Presbyterian Church, 12/15

Sarah — Wed, 16 Dec 2009 13:36:55 +0000

“When it gets to the part when it breaks down, can you clap along? I know it’s a little corny, asking you to clap. If I was out there, and someone said to clap along, I’d be, ‘hey, I’m not your monkey’.”

Andrew Bird just perfectly encapsulated one of the reasons I don’t like clapping along to songs in shows. For him, though, since he asked nicely, I played along.

The setlist was much the same as Monday’s show, but there were still a few surprises. I am still absolutely enthralled at Nomenclature live; I’d honestly sort of figured that I would never see it, as it hadn’t made its way into any of the shows I’ve been to over the past year. I’d thought that maybe he just didn’t want to have to pull off that complicated opening repeatedly in a live setting, but I guess he was waiting for just the right moment to bring it out. After hearing it these past two shows, I’ve decided that he can play it every time and I’ll be okay with that.

Also, he pronounced the word “Gezelligheid” for us. Thank you, Mr. Bird, for helping me figure out just how to say that.

1. Instrumental
2. Instrumental
3. The Water Jet Cilice
4. Oh, Baltimore (instrumental)
5. Natural Disaster
6. Sectionate City
7. Lusitania
8. The Barn Tapes
9. Carrion Suite (instrumental)
10. Meet Me Here at Dawn (Cass McCombs cover)
11. You Woke Me Up (vocal version)
12. Nomenclature
13. Giant of Illinois (Handsome Family cover)
14. Happy Birthday Song
15. Capital I
16. Scythian Empires
ENCORE
17. Oh Sister (Bob Dylan cover)
18. Some of These Days

Andrew Bird, Chicago’s Fourth Presbyterian Church, 12/14

Sarah — Tue, 15 Dec 2009 13:35:45 +0000

Andrew Bird took the stage Monday night in a sober black suit, a far cry from the blue dinner jacket and plaid shirt he’s been going around in all fall. More interesting, though, was the fact that he awkwardly limped across the stage; Bird said that he injured his foot the other day in Minneapolis, and has had to do his shows sitting down because of it. Not one to let an injury stop him, though, Bird soldiered on (pun slightly intended) and delivered a unique set of music on a somewhat chilly winter’s night.

I’m holding off on my full review until all four shows are over — because really, I’ll just wind up writing the same thing each night. Suffice it to say, though, that if you can somehow get in to one of these shows, do it.

For now, though, here’s a setlist, and some video:

1. Instrumental (had a basis in a classical song which I can’t name, but could hum if you asked me)
2. Instrumental (reminiscent of the revised intro to Sweetbreads)
3. Instrumental
4. Sectionate City
5. Natural Disaster
6. Water Jet Cilice
7. The Barn Tapes (instrumental)
8. Nomenclature
9. Instrumental (he gave a name to this one, but I didn’t catch it)
10. Giant of Illinois
11. You Woke Me Up (vocal version)
12. Happy Birthday Song
13. Capital I
14. Scythian Empires
ENCORE
15. Oh Sister
16. Some of These Days

This Week in Great Music: 12/14 – 12-20

Sarah — Mon, 14 Dec 2009 16:10:54 +0000

My musical week can be pretty easily summed up in two words: Andrew Bird. For everyone else who isn’t as enthralled as I am at the prospect of watching Mr. Bird do his thing in a church, or who couldn’t get tickets, here’s the rest of what I find interesting this week in Chicago. But I’ve got to admit, it looks like anyone I would find even vaguely interesting has chosen to steer clear of Chicago for the beginning part of the week. No complaints here; with the exception of missing out on the Metric show (which, being at the Cubby Bear, I would have just complained about the entire time), I’m not seeing anything that I’m too heartbroken to miss.

Also: Our Lady Peace? Sister Hazel? No, seriously, what’s up with the 90s band resurgence here? I’m starting to get a little concerned.

I am a bit sad about missing out on the greatness that is Second City’s 24-Hour benefit show, which I’m missing out on more because of not being able to leave the day job just to go to concerts. But it should be a great time, and the money goes to provide presents for needy children in Chicago.

Monday, December 14
Andrew Bird, Fourth Presbyterian Church (126 E Chestnut). 8 pm, $15 (audio only; all other seats sold out)

Tuesday, December 15
Jeff Tweedy, Second City (1608 N Wells). $15 for 24-hour admission, 7 pm
The Bravery, Manchester Orchestra, and As Tall As Lions, House of Blues. 7:30 pm, $23-26
Andrew Bird, Fourth Presbyterian Church (126 E Chestnut). 8 pm, $15 (audio only; all other seats sold out)

Wednesday, December 16
Bonnie Prince Billy, Second City (1608 N Wells). $15 for 24-hour admission, 6 am
Nina Nastasia, Second City (1608 N Wells). $15 for 24-hour admission, 12 pm
The Mountain Goats, Second City (1608 N Wells). $15 for 24-hour admission, 2 pm
Andrew Bird, Fourth Presbyterian Church (126 E Chestnut). 8 pm, $15 (audio only; all other seats sold out)
Chicago Clarinet Conglomerate, The Velvet Lounge (67 E Cermak). 8:30 pm, cover varies
Metric, Cubby Bear (1059 W Addison). 9 pm, $10

Thursday, December 17
Andrew Bird, Fourth Presbyterian Church (126 E Chestnut). 8 pm, $35-40
Our Lady Peace, Cubby Bear (1059 W Addison). 9 pm, $10

Friday, December 18
Kathleen Battle and the Chicago Children’s Choir, Harris Theater (205 E Randolph). 7:30 pm, $45-95
Sister Hazel and Tony Lucca, House of Blues. 9 pm, $25-26.50

Saturday, December 19
The Klezmatics, Centre East (9501 Skokie Blvd., Skokie). 8 pm, $48
Sister Hazel and Tony Lucca, House of Blues. 9 pm, $25-26.50

Sunday, December 20
Apollo Chorus of Chicago presents Handel’s Messiah. Harris Theater (205 E. Randolph). 3 pm, $35-50
Dasboton, Hideout. 9 pm, $8