Week in Rock: From Wolfes to Birds Edition

Perfectly Adapted to a Music Hall

We published an interview with Andrew Bird this week in advance of his Radio City Music Hall debut, and we reminded you about the show again yesterday in our events newsletter, but still... we wish we could have done more to get everyone to attend last night's concert. It's not that Bird needed any help filling that magnificent room, it's just that his enthralling performance was one of those shows you wish everyone you cared about had gotten a chance to experience. If that sounds excessive, you weren't there, man!

Having followed Bird's ascent from his solo club dates at joints like Southpaw to his full-band coronation at such hallowed venues as Carnegie Hall, we have to say that last night at Radio City felt like the fulfillment of everything he's capable of. Where the Carnegie Hall performance felt a bit stuffy and tense, last night was full of air and relaxed exploration. The couple new songs off his most recent album, Noble Beast, that we'd been a bit cool toward, blossomed into their full potential last night, reminding one of the old Ian MacKaye idea about the album being the menu and the concert being the meal.

The immaculate acoustics at Radio City Music Hall—the best big room in town; even better than the Beacon (where Bird has also performed, though less impressively)—threw Bird & Co.'s subtle multi-layered soundscapes into sharp relief, drawing particular attention to guitarist's Jeremy Ylvisaker's drop-dead-gorgeous glissandos. Highlights? If you tied our wrists with leather and held a drill to our heads, we'd probably have to go with the band's achingly delicate rendition of "Cataracts." Or maybe the full-throated hurricane of "Anonanimal."

And let's not forget the triple-threat progression of "My," "Scythian Empires," and "Tables and Chairs," all performed with help from opening act Calexico. But really, the entire spellbinding set was one momentous highlight: arguably the apotheosis of Bird's sound, and the best performance by this artist we've experienced in New York, and that's saying something. Let's hope he comes back soon, and plays Radio City Music Hall every single time. — John Del Signore (Photo by Josh Berry)