Photo: Elleni Toumpas

Given that another American indie wunderkind (who shall remain nameless) is playing a sold-out gig just a few blocks from The Zoo, it’s a miracle of sorts that anyone has turned up to see Andrew Bird’s show. Yet there’s a very respectably-sized group here, all quietly consuming beer, sneaking a game of pool in, and politely listening to Dosh’s opening set. Dosh plays his experimental ambient music with the concentration and near-autistic dedication that all good drummers possess. Like the best support acts, he’s interesting and musically-adept, but he doesn’t forget whose show it actually is.

Chicago native Andrew Bird’s specialty is building gorgeous layered pieces out of looped violin sounds (first pizzicato, then using his bow), with the odd piercing whistle thrown in. After a delightful introductory display of this prowess, Bird knuckles into his back catalogue, opening with Why? (from The Swimming Hour). Soon the rest of his band – the aforementioned Dosh on drums and a bass player – join him to crank out a moving version of Fiery Crash (from his latest, Armchair Apocrypha). The rest of the set follows this lead, and the emphasis tonight is on rocked-up versions of his recent material rather than twee violin pieces – much of the material here is either from Armchair Apocrypha or The Mysterious Production Of Eggs (although the delightful Lull from Weather Systems gets a look-in). After closing with a knockout combo of Plasticities and Dark Matter, Bird comes onstage for a lovely solo encore (a cover of The Handsome Family’s The Giant Of Illinois), then the band joins him to close with the final track from The Mysterious Production Of Eggs, The Happy Birthday Song. While tonight’s competition means that Bird is only playing to the converted, it’s a memorable gig delivered with great verve.

CHAD PARKHILL

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