Andrew Bird @ St. Mark’s Episcopal Cathedral
Walking into the beautiful St. Mark’s Cathedral from the blistering cold, I realized I had forgotten my hand held video camera. When we were ushered to the front row for the “press,” I was kicking myself extra hard because I was about 10 feet from where Andrew Bird would be playing. About two songs in I didn’t feel so bad as I realized that a show like his Gezelligheid performance Thursday night could simply not be captured by even the best video camera in the world.
Pumping his music through his beloved phonograph horns as natural amplification, Bird played a memorizing 90+ minute set that showcased his unmistakable talents. While portions of the performance were typical live Andrew Bird (looped violin, minimalistic guitar, elegant vocals and out of this world whistling), the real highlights came with the instrumental and improvised portions of the show. I generally only listen to instrumental music when I am relaxing or looking to space out and don’t often like to see it performed live, but Thursday was different. Surrounded by the giant arches and backed by the menacing stained glass window depicting scenes from the Bible basked in soft red and blue lights, the songs took on feelings and emotions that made them seem larger and more consequential than they seemed humanly possible. Bird tried to live up to the grandeur, saying at the onset of the performance that he was going to try to “resist the urge to entertain and just play.” Luckily for the sold out crowd crammed into the uncomfortable wooden pews, he did both.
While Bird still told his nerdy science stories and prodded a few laughs out of the crowd, he also provide multiple moments of unrestrained beauty that brought a chilled silence to the crowd. Strumming and plucking his violin with his eyes closed, the musician clearly lost himself in the moment on multiple occasions, his rich and delicate melodies soaking into the churches historical walls. Bird stuck mostly to his trusty violin, but also dabbled with electric guitar, xylophone and various percussion instruments. He was joined by Minneapolis’ own Mike Lewis for a good chunk of songs, during which Lewis showed his deft instrumentation by jumping from saxophone to upright bass to tambourine while also adding in some backing vocals. Highlights from the actual “songs” of the night included the last surge of the set, which featured a cover of “Giant of Illinois” by the Handsom Family, a stinging version of “Why?,” Armchair Apocrypha standout “Imitosis,” with a funny story about its origins and threats of lawsuits from Sesame Street, and set closer “Scythian Empires.” The encore was equally thrilling with Lewis and Bird singing together on Bob Dylan’s “Oh Sister” before closing out the show with a stirring “Some of These Days.”
Bird stated he was nervous about how the show would turn out, but after only a few minutes in it became clear that this was a special musician performing a special show. Even if I had captured the show on video, it would not have been able to fully translate the ornate beauty that came with Bird’s musical echoing through the beautiful confines of St. Marks Cathedral. At least that is what I am telling myself.
[Review by Josh Keller, photos by Jon Behm.]
very nice review Josh and fabulous photos Jon.
can’t wait to see what tonight has in store
That first photo is amazing.
Who is “Jim” who got up and sang for “Some of These Days?” I saw this same dude get on stage for a Beck show in St. Paul a year ago.
Joining them was Jeremy Y., the bass guitarist in Andrew’s band. Also in the local band Alpha Consumer.
Jeremy quite possibly joined them Fri or Sat, but I can assure you that was not him on stage Thursday night.