What: Andrew Bird with support Emma Pollock
Where: The Edge festival, HMV PICTURE HOUSE
When: 23rd August
Reviewed by: Lynsey Ure
In a poll of whistling, glockenspiel/guitar/violin-playing singers, Andrew Bird would undoubtedly come top, though competition is few and far between. His gig tonight is one of the many that Edinburgh’s Edge Festival has put on throughout the month of August, to co-inside with the infamous Fringe Festival.
Support comes from Emma Pollock, who really gets the crowd going with her energetic set filled with mainly new material. Short but sweet the crowd are happy with her performance but are eager for Bird to take to the stage, and when he does he is meet by immense cheering and applauding showing appreciation from the start.
As he flies effortlessly through his set, it’s clear that no song comes without a story holding more mystery to this magnificent character. Each track has wonderful looping and pedal use allowing him to have no need to be supported by a backing band. Bird’s extraordinary talent was most obvious on ‘A Nervous Tic Motion of the Head to the Left’, on which he mixed virtuoso violin playing, looped with rattling rock guitar, which really allows him to move away from his classical routes, topped off with that now infamous whistling!
His latest album ‘Noble Beast’ plays heavily on the set list with tracks including tracks ‘Natural Disaster’, ‘Effigy’ and ‘Fits and Dizzyspells’ being automatic crowd pleasers. Returning to the stage for his encore Bird is clearly overwhelmed by his response as he honors a ladies request for him to play Dr Strings and then closing with the delightful ‘Weather Systems’.
Andrew Bird sits on a high pedestal with his fans and tonight the pedestal was well and truly deserved, with a fantastic performance from start to finish the atmosphere was certainly buzzing with excitement as a happy crowd pilled out The Picture House.
(9/10)
Here more Andrew Bird at Myspace
Download the album ‘Noble Beast’ now from Amazon
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