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| Andrew Bird with Loney, Dear @ Orpheum Theatre, Boston Posted: 11 Feb 2009 04:48 PM CST I had never seen a show at the Orpheum Theater in Boston. It’s one of those big venues with assigned seating that has never really piqued my interest; however, after seeing Andrew Bird with Loney, Dear at the Orpheum, I’m glad I finally got a chance to experience it. The interior surprised me as it was a lot smaller and more intimate than I was expecting and while having a lavish treatment of ornate moldings and architecture, ceiling murals and drapes, its lackluster upkeep over the years lent it an overall feeling and smell similar to those old roller rinks with carpets on the wall and hotel rooms by the highway. Suffice it to say, Orpheum had a lot of damn character and excluding the terribly uncomfortable chairs, it was a rather charming venue. Swedish band Loney, Dear took the stage first, playing a tight set of upbeat pop that the audience reacted strongly to. Lead singer, Emil Svanängen, performed with a shy posture and unflinchingly frail voice that was at its most mesmerizing during the highest of falsettos. I was impressed that as the opening act, he had no problem concluding the final minute of the song “Saturday Waits” with just his voice. It was one of those vulnerable moments that really let you connect with the artist. Despite his withdrawn demeanor, Emil was quite comfortable interacting with the audience and at one point taught us how to sing along to one of his songs. Of course being this was Boston, proud home of the cranky “Masshole” driver, the audience was hardly receiving. Overall, it was a surprisingly good performance that got the audience ready for Andrew Bird. To be honest, I was not nearly as excited for this Andrew Bird show as I should have been. The first time I witnessed Mr. Bird perform was at a sold-out Berklee Performance Center show and he was the mad architect of the most dense helping of musical magic that I have ever experienced. The stage looked curiously like a set from Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and within minutes, the tall, reed-like Bird had slipped off his shoes and was assuming what I call the “flamingo pose,” or one foot resting on the knee of the other leg. It was an iconic moment from a wonderful concert experience that would become the focal point of how his live shows would be remembered: the flamingo pose, exposed socks, and Mr. Bird vehemently consulting his violin while his guitar clung to his back like a toddler riding its parent. I suppose such awesome imagery would set an unfair standard for future performances because when I saw him last year at the Woodland Park Zoo in Seattle, I was stunned to see that he was using a full band. Now for anyone else playing with a band would be reasonable, expected, but for Bird, whose magic had much to do with the fact that he was a singular and masterful being of looping precision, it appeared almost like a betrayal. I know, it’s harsh and I tried to keep an open mind, but it just wasn’t the same. That initial performance was so intriguing because, yeah, I didn’t know what to expect, but mostly because he was this quirky one-man-band, constructing elaborate songs in front of us with a looping device. Whistling into a mic here, strumming a few chords there, and then quickly plucking on his violin, slowly and deliberately the songs came to life right in front of our eyes and we got to relish the entire process. Last year’s performance at the Zoo in Seattle wasn’t terrible but it was somewhat disappointing to a fan with a perhaps unfair standard of Bird musicianship. The songs were the same at heart but they were played with a different approach, a different perspective, which might have been more palpable if it weren’t so obvious that the newly formed band had yet to sync with one another. I would later come to discover that Mr. Bird does not believe in “band practice.” Instead he and his band like to play extra shows at smaller venues to exercise their technique and timing, a noble idea, but how well would it pay off?
My expectations were downsized to a more reasonable level for this show at the Orpheum and, at the very least, I was excited to note how far along the band had come in the time since. The stage was set up in that familiar fashion, like we were peering in to some delicate scene in a diorama. Large Victrola parts dominated the stage, including the double-headed menace that spun at Bird’s request, twisting and distorting the air adding a surreal element to the music. He approached the stage; sock monkey in hand, placed his stuffed friend on one of the amps to offer its quiet moral support, and then quickly kicked off his shoes revealing the wonderful hot pink socks hiding underneath. This simple act drew considerable applause and someone in the audience screamed, “I like your socks!” He started the set solo, playing a short and beautiful instrumental. It was during this opening solo song when something unexpected happened: the audience was serendipitously snatched up and recorded into one of his loops. Our applause was bounced back out at us intermittently every few seconds in an intriguing way that made Bird pause and say, “Wow, that actually sounds pretty cool.” Now Bird is by no means a chatty stage performer, but he is really comfortable in his element on-stage; it shows with the sock monkey and the hot pink socks, but it also shows in the way he interacts with the audience members. He performs with a nervous energy that makes his limbs somewhat jerky and unpredictable. When caught up in the rapture of his music, he begins to pantomime with his body and at any one moment he can be seen picking things out of the air, putting things in his pocket, chastising the audience, or begging for forgiveness.
When the band appeared to accompany him on-stage, I was pleasantly surprised. There was definitely still room to grow, but they had improved by bounds in the overall tightness of their performance. They were still mostly nervous and stiff, shooting each other occasional unsure glances, but there was an overall cohesiveness that wasn’t there before. Despite the fact that they made a noticeable number of mistakes (it took three attempts to get “Imitosis” just right), his endearing stage presence prevented it from becoming a tragedy and instead turned it into a humorous entertainment. As expected, the bulk of the songs were from his most recent album, Noble Beast, an album that I haven’t fully familiarized myself with yet. He did, however, play a few cherished songs from previous albums like “Imitosis”, “Plasticites,” and “Tables and Chairs”. The encore consisted of “Fake Palindromes” and a stunning reinvention of one of his older songs, “Why?”, which is a jazzy and spontaneous number in which he acts out, as if in a conversation. It was in this song’s performance where Mr. Bird was at his most animated. The improvisational violin bursts reminded us that he is an exceptionally gifted musician, and helped make “Why?” the highlight of the show.
During his Orpheum performance I kept wondering to myself, “Why would he choose to switch formats? What’s his motivation?” It was something I had been pondering objectively since that last show in Seattle, something that he answered indirectly while addressing the crowd before a song. He was asking us to sing along with him for his next song and, for a brief moment, he revealed slight fatigue and said, “You know, I sing the chorus, I play all the instruments….sometimes I just want to play guitar and sing.” The Andrew Bird show at the Orpheum was fairly amazing and while my preference will always be for the one-man-band Andrew Bird, the important thing is that he was having a blast and subsequently the crowd was having one, too. After reinventing one of his older and more conservative songs into a full-band musical street riot, he addressed the audience, somewhat short on breath, and proclaimed, “Well, that was a hoot. I love music.” Set List: Andrew Bird: website | myspace | Noble Beast review | @ virgin mobile festival 2008 Words and Artwork by: Jeff Chenette Related Posts |
| The Perfect Valentine: “Bitch, I Love You” E-Cards Posted: 11 Feb 2009 03:30 PM CST Just in time for Valentine’s Day this weekend, Black Joe Lewis & The Honeybears are offering up their charismatic new single to help fans to express themselves with “Bitch, I Love You” Valentine E-Cards. When flowers and candy aren’t enough say it from the heart and tell your significant other, friends & family just how much you love them! “Bitch, I love you!” Create your own specialty E-Cards at www.blackjoelovesyou.com Black Joe Lewis & The Honeybears: website | myspace  Most Commented Posts |
| The Faint and Ladytron to Co-headline Tour Posted: 11 Feb 2009 02:15 PM CST
Anyone who has seen The Faint live will tell you what a party it truly is. We’ve met people who drove several hours for a Faint show and said they’d do it over and over again. Tour Dates: The Faint: website | myspace |interview with | Fasciinatiion review Photo: Dese’Rae L. Stage Related Posts |
| Cortez! Cortez! - 8 for Infinity Posted: 11 Feb 2009 01:15 PM CST Cortez! Cortez! is an indie band out of Philadelphia that is composed of trio Barney McKenna, Nick Bockrath and James Sauppe. This is a raw band that has not even been out for a year. And this band is just neat! They released their first collection of songs 8 for Infinity this past year. Cortez! Cortez! is a new age indie-grove-rock-dance style of music that has a way of captivating anyone with in a 50 ft radius of wherever they are being played. That's right, anyone that can hear their music breaks out into dance. IT’S CRAZY! And it’s because they are that good. “Highways” is a techno-disco song that portrays that power that they have in their music that makes people start to break out into dance. I’ve found “Paper Train” to be heavily inspired by the Christmas song “Little Drummer Boy”. However, I much prefer this song over “Little Drummer Boy”, and I am sure that you will agree with me. For those who are planning a party and are looking for music to play and entertain, or for those who are looking for a crazy cool dance concert, check out Cortez! Cortez!. They will make you groove your socks off. JUMP ON IT! Tracklisting: Cortez! Cortez!: myspace | download 8 for Infinity Written by: Kyle Thurin Related Posts |
| Ryan Adams releases previously unheard track Posted: 11 Feb 2009 11:45 AM CST
Adams has been performing “Hey There, Mrs. Lovely” live since 1999 but has never song committed the fan favorite to a studio record until now. The other six tracks on the EP are a sampling of love songs culled from Adams’ impressive oeuvre: “Answering Bell” from 2001’s Gold, “Desire” from 2002’s Demolition, “Blossom” from 2005’s Cold Roses, “Two” from 2007’s Easy Tiger, “My Love For You Is Real” from the same year’s Follow The Lights EP, and “Evergreen” from Ryan & the Cardinals‘ most recent album, Cardinology, released last fall. Also, be sure to check out Ryan Adams & The Cardinals on tour: Tour Dates:  Related Posts |
| Dead Confederate - Wrecking Ball Posted: 11 Feb 2009 10:15 AM CST By trade I am a minor of jewels and gems, and for months I have been digging away in search of the next big act. And now, I have found it, and it goes by the name of Dead Confederate. Hailing from Athens, Georgia, this new age psychedelic-grunge-rock band released their album Wrecking Ball this past year and is making quite the stir in today’s music, and for good reason. Wrecking Ball has a wide variety of different styles of music on just one record. Such songs as “The Rat” (their single), “It Was a Rose”, “Yer Circus”, and “The News Underneath” have a very soft and almost cynical sound to them. While songs like “Start Me Laughing”, “All the Angles” and “Heavy Petting” are on the other half of the spectrum with a much more harder grunge-rock sound to them. It has been said by many that the singing and musical style is very similar to that of Nirvana and in some aspects, it is. However, I believe that Dead Confederate has taken it to a whole other level. I highly recommend this album to any one who is a devout and religious Rocker. And if you are in the neighborhood of Austin, they will be making an appearance at this year’s South By Southwest Music Festival. Check’em out! Tracklisting: Dead Confederate: website | myspace | @ the waiting room  Written by: Kyle Thurin Related Posts |
| The Decemberists Post Spring Dates Posted: 11 Feb 2009 08:45 AM CST The Decemberists have announced the first leg of their Spring 2009 North American tour in support of The Hazards of Love, their ambitious new album to be released by Capitol Records on March 24th. The 16-date run will kick off May 19th at the Hollywood Palladium in Los Angeles, and include a June 10th performance at Radio City Music Hall in New York, as well as a set at the 2009 Bonnaroo Music & Arts Festival in Tennessee. A limited number of pre-sale tickets are now on sale at here. General ticket sales begin on Friday, February 13th. Full venue and ticketing information is available at The Decemberists' website. More upcoming tour dates will be announced shortly. On tour, The Decemberists will present a full performance of the album, a 17-song suite that tells the tale of a woman named Margaret who is ravaged by a shape-shifting animal; her lover, William; a forest queen; and a cold-blooded, lascivious rake. Joining the band on stage will be Lavender Diamond's Becky Stark and My Brightest Diamond's Shara Worden who deliver the lead vocals for the female characters. The band announced last week that they will give the debut live performance of The Hazards of Love when they headline NPR Music's South by Southwest showcase at Stubbs in Austin on March 18th. With their fifth full-length album, the Portland-based quintet of Colin Meloy, Chris Funk, Jenny Conlee, Nate Query and John Moen solidifies its standing as one of the most innovative creative forces in music today. In an age when singles rule and the death of the album has been pronounced by many, The Decemberists have fashioned an anomaly: a record that demands to be listened to from start to finish and reveals more with each subsequent play. NPR All Songs Considered has already declared it an "epic adventure," while Rolling Stone recently wrote that “[The] Hazards of Love is The Decemberists' full-on classic-rock move, with pretty Zep-style fingerpicking punctuated by crushing stoner-metal lurches.” Tour Dates: The Decemberists: website | myspace | Always The Bridesmaid series review | @ electric factory | interview with John Moen  Related Posts |
In a move that should make hipsters everywhere rejoice, The Faint and Ladytron have joined forces to co-headline what is sure to be a kick ass tour. Be sure to check them this spring on one of their select 26 dates.
In all things exciting, Ryan Adams just released the digital-only EP Extra Cheese exclusively via iTunes. The seven track EP will sport six previously issued tracks and an previously unreleased “Hey There, Mrs. Lovely”, for the completely reasonable price of $3.98.
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