For those people who were not aware, October 19th was a good day for whistling. I spent the entire morning (and afternoon) trying to follow the sonorous, tuneful melodies of my favorite Andrew Bird songs as they lilted through my head in anticipation of the night's concert at the Southern Theater.
Andrew Bird is a native Chicago multi-instrumentalist who mixes the incredibly baroque melodies from his classical violin training with delta blues, pre-war jazz, and anthemic indie rock. He came to Columbus for promotion of his newest release “Noble Beast,” a song cycle noted to be inspired by everything from a crying child on an airplane to episodes of Planet Earth.
St. Vincent (fronted by guitarist/songwriter Annie Clark) started the night off right. The orchestration and guitar theatrics of her band echoed “Hot Rats”-era Frank Zappa, while her clever wordplay and vocal style suggested the raw power and beauty of Edith Piaf or Nina Simone. One of the highlights of her set was ‘Jesus Saves, I Spend;’ a comical tune referencing romance rather than religion. Ultimately, I was floored by her presence on stage. If you have a chance, see her: she will not disappoint!
Mr. Bird took the stage to an ambient violin loop, immediately segueing into ‘The Water Jet Cilice,’ a song that could have just as easily been found in an Ennio Morricone score as on the stage that night. He reached very far back into his catalogue, performing songs penned when he was just beginning his solo career. One such tune was ‘Sweetbreads,’ which referenced mad cow disease in the same breath as blinking neurons.
After Bird had finished with the majority of his solo set, Annie Clark came out to duet on a few songs. The atmosphere was so homey, it seemed as if the performers were singing in their living room, the audience curious voyeurs peering in through the window. The pair sang a new song of Bird’s about the sinking of the Lusitania.
Then St. Vincent’s band came out, and things got very heavy. The massive rocked its way through some of Bird’s more rousing songs; ‘Tables and Chairs’ and ‘Scythian Empires.’
For a final encore, Mr. Bird and Miss Clark took the stage once again, sharing a microphone and performing Bob Dylan’s ‘Oh Sister.’ The closer was certainly beautiful, but it was a very eerie way to end the evening. You could cut the sexual tension with a fork or a bride’s knife (to reference some of Bird’s own lyrics).
Photos courtesy of the Wexner Center's Flickr photostream.
Ohhhh yeahhh, it was hot that night in the St. Vincent & Andrew Bird tour bus!
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