not a robot, but a ghost

Andrew Bird played a sold out show last night at the Ogden, and what a show it was. I have always really liked his music, but it was hard to imagine what it would be like live, and whether it would have enough oomph on stage was soon to be answered. Swedish opener Loney Dear was sweet, thoughtful and playful, as a perfect intro to Bird. Bird came out all bells and whistles, pun intended, backed by a 3-piece band while he himself manned a guitar, xylophone, his infamous violin and of course his unreal bird-like whistling. Bird played newer material from current album Noble Beast, while also keeping his long-time fans thrilled with everything from 'Imitosis,' 'Tables and Chairs,' and a disarming rendition of 'Why.' He even reawakened Dr. Stringz as a lead-into song 'Fake Palindromes.'

Although his band was fantastic in itself, one of the most interesting parts of Bird's live performances is his seeming multiplication of his own self ; he uses two microphones, one of which he makes plays into for a few beats, which is essentially recorded and immediately played back in a loop as background, so he can move to his main microphone and then interact with his own sound- he's a full band all by himself.

An earlier recorded concert of Loney Dear and Andrew Bird can be seen here, courtesy of NPR. A track-by-track of album Noble Beast, here.

Some shots from the evening: