Fits and Dizzyspells Abound at Andrew Bird Show

We've been to a lot of concerts in our lifetime and there have been some pretty epic shows for sure, but it's not often that we're completely blown away by a single performer. Well, Andrew Bird's performance Monday night at the Moore Theatre left us completely in awe. It's that simple really. We literally found our mouths hanging open after nearly every song. He wasn't up there alone, mind you. He had a full band, including the talented Martin Dosh on percussion and electronics. All eyes were on Bird, however, who mesmerized the crowd with the staggering range of his musicianship, his lyricism, and his much talked about whistling chops.

When it comes to Bird's musicianship, the man is not only a mad scientist with a violin, but also holds his own with the guitar and the glockenspiel. Lyrically, he's one of the best we've ever heard. And while people have compared him to Thom Yorke, Rufus Wainwright, and Sufjan Stevens, Bird is better. And then there's the whistling. Holy hell, the man can whistle like no one's business. We'd read numerous bits online about this and had of course heard it in recorded form, but to hear it live, well, just, damn. Amazing.

Many of Bird's songs begin with a simple plucking of violin strings which are recorded, looped, and played back as he moves on to the next layer of sound and then the next and so on, until he has crafted a tremendous commencement to the rest of the song. It's a neat trick, but it's one he does too often if you ask us. It causes many of the songs to sound a little too similar. Twice, we wondered if we'd already heard this song. That is, however, our only criticism of Monday night's show and quite a small one considering our overall captivation of Bird and his music.

The highlight of the night, for us, was the first song of the encore, a bluesy, jazzy solo with just Bird and his violin. It was a conversation of sorts, with a lover gone bad, gone sour, just gone. Spoken words and song mingling with the picks, plucks, and pulls of the strings--sounds of distraught and disbelief leaping from the violin and crawling to our ears to haunt us the rest of the night. Like we said, a mad scientist.

Quick tip of the hat to Swedish band Loney Dear, who opened the show with an impressive performance. We'll be keeping an eye on them.