Andrew Bird is amazing live.  He’s laying down stringed riffs, pushing pedals, whistling (!!), dropping clever witticisms on the crowd and, in general, absolutely and completely slaying.  If he’s within a tank of gas, it’s worth the trip.  He stormed into Cleveland’s Playhouse Square on Thursday and played a cerebral and rocking set.  He opened with two tracks where he was alone on the stage, carefully building an orchestral sound with his Wizard of Ozian array of pedals and switches (you know, fellow behind the curtain and all that).   Mrs. Citizen captured a minute and a half or so of this awe-inspiring bit of technical magic with the family camera; if you’ve seen Bird before, it’s a familiar, but killer, gambit.  If you haven’t you’re going to think that we doctored the footage somehow, refusing to believe that a single musician could produce such magisterial, all -encompassing sound.  Dude’s a genius.

The entire set was stellar, but it was a show that worked independently of the set list; this is the artist that could read the phone book and make it compelling.  He played a lot of familiar songs (“Nervous Tic Motion of the Head to the Left,” “Plasticities,” “Armchairs” and so on), but, to a degree, the improvisational and technical mastery were the show; it was not about what songs he played, but what he could do within the framework of any song.  The loops, the whistles, the violin and the axe were all top drawer, regardless of their context.

There are a few other sweet tidbits that spring to the mind randomly about the show: When he took the stage, Bird kicked off his shoes after the first song.  It was endearing to see him reach down and untie to get a little more free podiatrically. (You can make out his shoes behind him in the photo above.)  The two belled phonograph spun around and was controlled by a foot pedal, resulting in whimsical fun.  Andrew Bird is wildly talented; there were times when he appeared to be goofing around and it was still art.  I think that if he ever drinks too much, he vomits rainbows.

Mr. Bird encourages taping (as long as you pass along a master to his people).  We’ve go two tracks from the show below.  They’re compelling and they’ll do in a pinch, but you’ve got to catch it for yourself if you want to legitimately soak in Mr. Bird’s mastery.  As an added bonus, you can catch the sweet Eastern European sounds of A Hawk and a Handsaw on select dates.  Any time you can see the percussionist from Neutral Milk Hotel playing an accordion and a kick drum before watching a legitimate poly-math grace the stage, you’ve got a valid excuse to get off the sofa.  (I almost forgot to mention that the one and only Martin Dosh is on the skins, which is another thing worth the price of admission.  Dosh!)

By the way, we never talked at all about Noble Beast. It is good.  You should listen to it.  That’s not our most sophisticated critical statement ever, but it gets the job done.  We like that record and you will too.

“Oh No” – Andrew Bird – Live in Cleveland

“Tables and Chairs” – Andrew Bird – Live in Cleveland