songoftheweek

Andrew Bird - Tenuousness
Noble Beast (2009)

Chicago multi-instrumentalist Andrew Bird approaches and executes the live performance in a manner different than most musicians. Surrounded by his multitude of pedals, loop stations, microphones, horn speakers, guitar, violin, and glockenspiel, Bird looks more like the mad scientist than rock star. And by recording, looping and manipulating each musical part in real time, on his own, Bird differs from the usual performing artist. The usual concert focuses on recreating the sonic elements of each recorded song – reproducing a known quantity for the audience. Bird, however, does the opposite – he instead centers his live sets around the deconstruction and reinterpretation of each song.