Austin City Limits: Andrew Bird on 10/23/09

I have my DVR set to record Austin City Limits every Saturday night and this weekend I was able to catch Andrew Bird and St. Vincent.  Andrew Bird played about 6 or 7 songs and then St. Vincent came out.  I had previously seen St. Vincent when she opened for the National and I really wasn’t much interested in her then and I’m still not now.  As you can see from the photo he almost has a Sufjan Stevens look to him.  Tall, skinny, and plenty of indie nerd vibe that makes the chicks go crazy.  His penchant for whistling is evident right from the beginning as he opens with a violin whistling solo then fades into the set.  In the background are some old phonograph extensions two of which are split and facing opposites ends and then they spin as the music crescendos.  The band was on time and gelled together nicely fading in and out of songs seamlessly.  I only had two criticisms of the set.  One negative aspect was that the good material from Armchair Apocrypha wasn’t included much.  Only one song made it into the set that I liked.  Also, the set was rather short,  6 or 7 songs leave you just wanting more.

click here to view it on PBS.