Holy Moly. I just saw Andrew Bird and Calexico at Radio City Music Hall. Calexico were fantastic. It was nice to see them, because they had been playing right across the street from Vienna Teng when we played in Tuscon, but I didn’t get a chance to check them out. Very cool. Their pop/flamenco/tejano chimichanga is really tasty.
What can I say about Andrew Bird that hasn’t already been said? He blows me away every time I see him. I first saw him at the Blind Tiger patio in Charleston with the Bowl of Fire. Awesomely quirky Gypsy Jazz original tunes and such at a place in charleston that hasn’t really been a music venue before or since, to my knowledge. (My good buddy Adam Berry promoted that show, I think. Andrew was Adam’s violin teacher when he lived in Chicago.) Then, I saw him at the Village Tavern in Mt. Pleasant, the best Indie Rock club disguised as a redneck southern dive/sports bar ever. He was playing with a drummer (Kevin O’Donnell, I think) and his trusty Line 6 looping pedal. This was when I really became a big fan. Mysterious Production of Eggs had recently dropped and I bought it and Weather Systems from Andrew himself. He was really getting good at the looping stuff at this show. I couldn’t believe how he could create a full string orchestra in just a few seconds with his violin and that green stompbox. And the third time I saw him was a few hours ago at Radio City. Wow. He was really excited to play there, and I was equally excited to see him there. It’s nice and rare when genuine talent and ingenuity are rewarded, when cream really does rise to the top.
I felt like I was visiting another planet watching him play. He makes all of that looping shit look so easy, and let me tell you, it isn’t. he’s definitely put his time in. His music is so beautiful and so playful and so inspiring. makes me want to hole up in my room all summer and play with my music toys and craft my own world of tunes and weirdness. While I may not hole up, that is my plan for the summer: write WWII. I don’t know whether it’ll be another country oriented singer/songwriter album, or a Sigur Ros style ambient album, or a retro heavy metal album or some hybrid of those. I really just want to mess around, love whatever I’m doing and see which ideas win. I’m using this website/blog as a conduit to share some of what I’m working on with you, dear reader. My site will have a new look and feel in the not too distant future, and will likely be a user friendly platform for me to share my ideas.
I totally enjoyed visiting Planet Bird. I look forward to exploring Planet WW this summer.
Goodbye!
[...] Amor wrote an interesting post today onHere’s a quick excerptI just saw Andrew Bird and Calexico at Radio City Music Hall. Calexico were fantastic. It was nice to see them, because they had been playing right across the street from Vienna Teng when we played in Tuscon, but I didn’t get a chance to … original tunes and such at a place in charleston that hasn’t really been a music venue before or since, to my knowledge. (My good buddy Adam Berry promoted that show, I think. Andrew was Adam’s violin teacher when he lived in Chicago. … Read the rest of this great post here Posted in Uncategorized on June 19th, 2009 | [...]