There Will Be Snacks

So for the first time since we started this blog, EINR and I have seen the same artist on the same tour, but in two different places. The other night I saw Andrew Bird on the tail end of his solo tour--EINR saw the first stop on that tour.

I won't go into a lot of details since there was such a recent post (with a link to another decent concert review within that post), but I really can't stress enough how good A.B. is live. His albums are great and I listen to them a lot, but the energy and virtuosity he showcases live make him one of the best performers I've seen in the past decade. During one of his songs, he looped at least three violin tracks, a whistling track, hand claps, a sound he made with his mouth that sounded like brushes on a snare drum, a cooing vocal with which he would later harmonize, and then he picked up his guitar and started singing the actual song. And set it all up withing about 1 minute. Sitting back and listening to this wall of sound, it's easy to forget that one man just produced all of that music in a very short period of time, and he's keeping it all in his head as he continues to modify his loops. As I told my sister (who awesomely got us center seats in the second row for this show), the next couple times she sees a guy just singing and strumming a guitar, she's going to be a bit disappointed. Andrew Bird has way more talent than any one person should have, but I won't begrudge him for it. I'll just enjoy it. A lot.

For once, I actually found the playlist for this one:
1) Intro (Il Conformista Prelude, I think it's called) 2) Sovay 3) Why? 4) A Nervous Tic Motion 5) Natural Disaster 6) Water Jet Cilice 7) Spare-Ohs 8) Plasticities 9) Anonanimal 10) Keep Your Lamp Trimmed and Burning 11) Skin Is, My 12) Tables and Chairs ENCORE: Action/Adventure and Some Of These Days.

Pretty similar to the set in Chapel Hill, with a few change-ups. A.B. explained what Spare-Ohs was all about, which was an interesting story to say the least. Throwing "Action/Adventure" into the encore was also a nice bonus.

I would be remiss if I didn't mention the excellence of the venue. Even Bird himself said he'd been playing a lot of lovely theaters during his current tour, but The Music Hall "[took] the cake." It is beautiful, and has some of the best sound of any venue I've ever been in. Sure, the new lobby looks like Tim Burton just created a set for Munchkin Land, but it's still pretty cool. Please go see a show there if you ever get the chance. Portsmouth is already a pretty cool city, but The Music Hall ups its cool factor considerably.