Andrew Bird at Shepherds Bush Empire (12-05-09)

Photo: paigekparsons (file)

One of the things I am loving about living in London is the sheer amount of gigs on that I actually want to attend. Thanks to the incredibly handy Last.Fm event recommendation service, it’s easy keeping track of when artists I listen to a lot are coming to town - so rarely a few weeks go by without me attending a gig somewhere. It certainly makes a nice change from living in Brisbane.

Anyway, one such man that I’d long wanted to see was Andrew Bird - possibly the most eclectic and multi-talented musician that I know of. If asked to categorise him I wouldn’t really know where to start, though Wikipedia offers “Indie rock, folk rock, baroque pop” as genres. But even that doesn’t come close to capturing the unique artist that Bird is: most tracks include more than a bit of Bird whistling, plenty of violin and usually at least one or two words to have you diving for the dictionary.

That strange combination had me eagerly anticipating his live show, when I first saw him at a church in central London late last year in a solo gig. He used plenty of looping - recording guitar riffs, then a violin line, then singing -  to make it sound like he wasn’t alone on stage. He debuted plenty of material from the then-unreleased Noble Beast, including one song that made the hairs on the back of my neck stand on end:

When I saw Bird was due to play in London again, about six months after the St Giles show, I was hesitant; after all, he’d already played plenty of tracks from Noble Beast last time. But in the end I couldn’t resist heading to the Shepherds Bush Empire, based on a hunch that it would be worth experiencing Bird live with a full backing band. I was right: it was an entirely different - and even better - experience seeing Bird with a three-piece as support.

I was hoping to hear a lot of the earlier material he’d neglected at St Giles (I still think The Mysterious Production of Eggs is his best album) and he didn’t disappoint: A Nervous Tic Motion of the Head to the Left (he claimed his “nervous energy” forced him to play it, despite it not being on the set list), Opposite Day and the sublime Cataracts all made appearances.

The one I was really hoping for was Fake Palindromes and, when it eventually came, it did not disappoint. The explosion of crowd energy as Dr Stringz morphed into FP (similar to below) was just stunning.

I think Bird is destined to remain the under-appreciated gem of indie (baroque) rock (though he did go close to selling the Empire out, just six months after his last visit), and his stage show is incredibly captivating. When listening to his records, it’s easy to forget just how multi-talented this man is.

The next time Andrew Bird is in London, I won’t hesitate to buy a ticket. Nor should you.

Rating 9.5/10