Andrew Bird at the Hancock Observatory
Andrew Bird had a pretty sweet view from his modest stage in the Hancock Observatory.
Andrew Bird’s last few hometown shows have been events of one stripe or another: In December, he played a couple of secret warm-up gigs at a club he long ago outgrew, Hideout, and prior to that, he headlined Pritzker Pavilion in front of a huge crowd.
Last night, Bird played a special solo set on the observation level of the Hancock Center, 94 floors up. Needless to say, it was a pretty incredible place to see such pristine, well-crafted songs—the dark sky in the background (not right behind him, unfortunately, but just off to the side) and a small group of radio-contest winners and big fans. The occasion was the release of Bird’s new Noble Beast, which comes out Tuesday, Jan. 20. It’s the first slam-dunk of the new year, a culmination of Bird’s strengths—beauty, weirdness, a strange sort of majesty—that’s pretty easily his best.
In this short set, Bird stuck mostly to new jams, alternating between violin and guitar, looping up a storm the whole time, of course. The strongest here are also the strongest on Beast: “Oh No” sounds just as good stripped-down as it does on the record, mostly because Bird’s whistle sounds even clearer and unbelievable live; “Tenousness” is twisty and lovely; “Fits And The Dizzy Spells” could be a huge hit (especially if a station like WXRT, which sponsored this show, gets behind it).
Bird also dropped a few unusual bits in for the fans, including a rarity called “The Water Jet Cilice” (he loves the dictionary) and a cover of The Handsome Family’s “Don’t Be Scared,” which he delivered nervously, explaining that he’d be playing it next week at an Obama celebration in D.C.—with help from other Chicago types, including Tortoise and Janet Bean. Noble Beast, again, is out Tuesday. And fantastic. The set list for this Hancock show is below.
