Pages tagged “andrew bird”

Ready, set, swoon. Loney Dear and Andrew Bird were already sharing a release date for their new albums (Jan. 27), but having them share a stage through a February tour, too—it's sure to make a whole lot of heartstrings swell.

In support of his forthcoming full-lenth, Noble Beast, whistling multi-instrumentalist Andrew Bird will tour the U.S. in January and February. The tour launches with Bird's first-ever headline performance at Carnegie Hall, on Jan. 28.

Whistling violin virtuoso, loop-master and songsmith Andrew Bird has confirmed that Noble Beast, his upcoming follow-up to the much-beloved Armchair Apocrypha, will be released Jan. 27, 2009 on Fat Possum Records.

If American voters valued musical taste as much as political prestige, Barack Obama would win a landslide presidential victory this November. On that note, Andrew Bird, The Fiery Furnaces, Guster and others (including some "special secret musical guests") will play at the Barack Rock fundraiser tomorrow at Brooklyn's Music Hall of Williamsburg to help Obama and VP nominee Joe Biden on their way to the White House.

Something new (again) from an old favorite

You really can rely on Dianogah. Besides the obvious sturdiness of the bass-bass-drums lineup and an established tradition of pushing the envelope of post-rock, the very fact that the band will pull something new out of its formidable hat every time out has become more or less an expectation. This time around, on fourth full-length Qhnnnl, it’s a newfound attitude towards the heavily layered, melodic drive that’s defined the band for the bulk of its 13-year career. Dianogah’s usual propensity towards oscillating rhythms and challenging composition has given way to playful experimentation with vocals and additional instrumentation.

[Above: Bird and his flock in a video projection onstage at Pritzker.]

Don’t be fooled by the violin: The mild-mannered Andrew Bird is actually a badass superhero, capable of launching NASA missions from his loop pedal. Looking like Peter Sellers in The Pink Panther and sounding like his namesake avian counterparts, the diminutive multi-instrumentalist captivated a rapt crowd at Chicago’s Jay Pritzker Pavilion on Sept. 3.

Above: Little Brother
Photos taken at Outside Lands 2008 by April Brimer

Fans hoping to catch a glimpse of indie rocker Andrew Bird this fall are in luck…that is, if they live in the New York and New England region. Bird just announced a small handful of tour dates in October.

Summer has a way of feeling light, as if you can float along aimlessly as you please like a feather in the wind, or maybe a hummingbird. And there are few more pleasant soundtracks to summer than the soothing melancholies of Jeff Tweedy and Wilco.

Perhaps the finest part of listening to Andrew Bird is pondering exactly how he got those words to fit together in that way and on top of such whistling. But buckle up, dear reader, because the confounding melodies and mysteries of Andrew Bird have finally been explained!

Or at least an attempt has been made, and by Bird himself. Turns out, he really is on a whole different level than everyone else.

We have The New York Times’ new blog, Measure for Measure, to thank for this insight. The blog, Bird’s entry marking its beginning, will give four master songwriters a chance to explain the finer points of their craft to non-musicians and fellow peers alike. Bird, of course, is one, along with Nashville-based songwriter Darrell Brown, Rosanne Cash and Suzanne Vega.

The blog aims to remind music listeners and lovers that, even in an era where many songs are consumed instantaneously and digitally, music itself is “not born whole, polished and ready to play.” Songwriting, it argues, is a work in constant progress, one that requires skill and innate talent.

Goal achieved: As Bird describes how the word salsify catches his eye on a café menu, shapeshifts in his imagination and eventually becomes a lyric about sociopaths, you can’t help but develop even more respect for Bird than you had before.

MP3: Andrew Bird – “Heretics”

Related links:
Andrew Bird’s alter-ego
Review: Andrew Bird’s Armchair Apocrypha
Feature: Rosanne’s Rules

Got news tips for Paste? E-mail news@pastemagazine.com.

Click above to watch "Imitosis" from Andrew Bird's new album Armchair Apocrypha out now on Fat Possum Records.

Quirky, virtuosic songwriter strikes musical gold on brand-new label

Andrew Bird's track listings typically read like high-school textbooks. Armchair Apocrypha, his third full-length—and first for Mississippi-based blues-cum-indie-rock label Fat Possum—is no different. Dark matter, palindromes and Scythian Empires inform the song titles, but Bird aims to do more than merely rehash his 11th-grade curriculum. His understated vocals and coy phrasing belie a thematic depth where physical machinations give way to metaphysical apostasies, leaving us "basically alone," as Bird says. On Apocrypha, with his familiar penchant for turning scientific minutiae into major songcraft, Bird may be simultaneously at his most clever and most luminous. "When I was just a little boy / I threw away all my action toys / While I became obsessed with Operation," he begins on "Dark Matter" before swirls of shimmering guitars, nuanced whistles, short violin plucks and ripe drum fills take the song—along with several others like "Plasticities" and "Heretics"—to places this imaginative auteur of atmospherics hasn't yet gone, a feat that's all the more impressive when you realize Bird does it "basically alone."

In the same week that cover subject Modest Mouse topped the Billboard 200 Chart with We Were Dead Before The Ship Even Sank, honorary Squirrel Nut Zipper Andrew Bird's new release Armchair Apocrypha debuted at, well...number 76.

But that doesn't mean the Chicago resident doesn't have cause to celebrate. With 11,251 copies sold in its first week alone, Bird's seventh LP vaulted him into the Top 100 for the first time ever last week, and he's about to make his network television premiere April 10 on The Late Show with David Letterman before embarking on a two-month tour across the U.S.

Tour dates include:

April
11 - Grand Rapids, Mich. @ Ladies Literary Club at Calvin College
12 - Detroit, Mich. @ The Majestic Theater
13 - Columbus, Ohio @ The Southern Theater
14 - Newport, Ky. @ The Southgate House
16 - Nashville, Tenn. @ Mercy Lounge
17 - St. Louis, Mo. @ The Pageant
18 - Urbana, Ill. @ The Canopy Club
20 - Chicago, Ill. @ The Riviera Theater
21 - Milwaukee, Wis. @ The Pitman Theater at Alverno College
22 - Columbia, Mo. @ The Blue Note
23 - Omaha, Neb. @ Sokol Underground
25 - Boulder, Colo. @ Fox Theater
27 - Tucson, Ariz. @ The Rialto Theater
28 - Indio, Calif. @ Coachella Valley Music & Arts Festival

May
1 - San Francisco, Calif. @ The Fillmore
2 - Sacramento, Calif. @ Harlows
4 - Portland, Ore. @ The Crystal Ballroom
5 - Seattle, Wash. @ The Showbox Theater
6 - Bellingham, Wash. @ Western Washington University
7 - Calgary, AB @ Liberty Lounge at Mount Royal College
11 - Minneapolis, Minn. @ First Avenue
12 - Grinnell, Iowa @ Herrick Chapel at Grinnell College (Solo Show)
16 - Boston, Mass. @ Berklee Performance Center at the Berklee College of Music
17 - New York, N.Y. @ Webster Hall
18 - Philadelphia, Penn. @ Theater of the Living Arts
20 - Washington, D.C. @ 9:30 Club

Related links:
Andrew Bird’s homepage
Andrew Bird on MySpace
Sleep to Dream's take on Andrew Bird
Andrew Bird: The Indie Mr. Rogers

Starting Aug. 4, Andrew Bird, along with an electric guitar, sampler, violin and glockenspiel, will head out for a 13-date tour of the Midwest and West Coast. Known for his spontaneity during live shows, Bird is slated to hit the road accompanied by noisemaker Martin Dosh. Chris Koza opens for Bird and Dosh on Aug. 4 and Cass McCombs will support all of the September dates. For ticket information, see Bird's website at bowloffire.com.

August
4 – Apple Valley, MN : Music in the Zoo, Weesner Amphitheater
6 – Chicago, IL : Lollapalooza Festival, Petrillo Music Shell Set time 3:30 - 4:30 PM
20 – Lyons, CO : Rocky Mountain Folk Festival

September (with Cass McCombs)
17 – Salt Lake City, UT : In the Venue (Club Sound)
19 – Tucson, AZ : Rialto Theater
20 – San Diego, CA : Belly Up Tavern
21 – Los Angeles, CA : Henry Fonda Theatre
22 – San Francisco, CA : Great American Music Hall
26 – Eugene, OR : Wow Hall Community Center
27 – Portland, OR : Aladdin Theater
28 – Seattle, WA : Chop Suey
29 – Vancouver, BC : Media Club
30 – Bellingham, WA : The Nightlight