Concert Review: Andrew Bird at Carnegie Music Hall of Oakland

Having been disappointed by Andrew Bird in concert once before and feeling lukewarm about the new record, I wasn’t elated for Tuesday’s show, unlike many of the well-dressed hipsters in attendance. But I wasn’t ready to write him off either. As I mentioned yesterday, the concert was fantastic and, since then, I’ve been listening to Noble Beast with new ears and enjoying songs that I’d found rather bland before the show. In short, I’m glad I went.

Starting the night off solo, Bird kicked on his loop pedal and started picking his violin—no surprises there. He seemed to be just a bit off his game during “Dark Matter” and “Self Torture,” and that didn’t immediately change when he was joined by his band, although “Masterswarm” was still excellent. Finally, after fumbling over some lyrics during “Nervous Tic…” Bird confessed that perhaps his head wasn’t totally in it, as he’d had a rough day, beginning with an early flight out of Chicago after attending a reception for the International Olympic Committee (also in attendance: Oprah).

Luckily, his heart was in it. Bird and band tore through “Natural Disaster” and were perfectly understated on fan favorites like “Tenuousness” and “Effigy”—which offered a nice respite from the loop pedal, on which Bird can rely a little too heavily at times.

One thing to be said for his use of the loops: it shows what a great drummer Bird has at his side. Letting your rhythm be dictated by the cyclic phrasings of some dude on a violin would cut against the nature of most drummers, but Martin Dosh handles it with ease and rolls wherever Bird takes him. Also, you had to love the little percussion interlude on “Anonanimal.”

Perhaps surprisingly, the songs off Noble Beast were for the most part the tightest throughout the night, quite in contrast with Bird’s Armchair tour, when songs new and old were equally crisp. That also says something for the Carnegie Music Hall, though, which brings out the good and the bad, letting you hear every note of every instrument—a premier venue for a concert like this, if you don’t mind remaining seated while the band is in motion.

As Bird warmed up to the audience, he told them, “I feel comfortable with you. I can talk about my feelings.” The crowd warmed up too, and a pretty good pack took to their feet on “Fake Palindromes,” only to be swiftly and sadly foiled by a pony-tailed security guard toward the end of “Skin….”

Finally, the encore was awesome. Bird—once again solo—got playful on “Why” with an audience member who responded to "Why'd you do that?" with, “I didn’t do anything.” Bird’s retort? “That’s just it.” He was rejoined then by his band, who provided vocals for some stellar harmonies on the century-old “Some of These Days” before taking up their instruments and bringing down the house on “Tables and Chairs,” which had everyone in the place singing along. Even two days later I find myself strolling through town this morning, looping it over it my head: “There will be snacks.”