BIRD SONG: Andrew Bird is a rare breed

By TOM HUNTINGTON Arts Correspondent – Published: October 23, 2009

Still riding high on widespread praise for his stunning, nearly year-old breakthrough album, “Noble Beast,” virtuoso multi-instrumentalist and singer-songwriter extraordinaire Andrew Bird brings his lauded one-man live show to Higher Ground on Monday.

Bird, 36, who has been touring heavily since the release of “Beast” – and for the better part of his grassroots decade-plus solo career — recently announced that he would be taking a hiatus from touring following a two-month world tour at the beginning of 2010.

“After this year, I’m going to take an unprecedented break, because I’ve been on tour for the past 11 years,” said Bird earlier this month in the Kalamazoo Gazette. “It’s time I just took a rest.”

While his recent albums have garnered increasing acclaim and attention – 2007 standout “Armchair Apocrypha” made many Top 10 lists while also breaking the Billboard Top 100 – Bird is especially known for his captivating live performances. After touring with a band for most of the year, the Chicago-based musician is currently flying solo, accompanied only by his violin and guitars, looping devices, giant Victrola-like speakers, gentle vocals and seriously impressive whistling – yes, whistling — skills.

“My M.O. has always been the live show,” said Bird in Pollstar. “That’s where I put all my energies.”

Opening act St. Vincent, a four-piece fronted by rising singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Annie Clark, has been joining Bird onstage at the end of the shows for some well-received collaborations.

A true anomaly on the modern music scene, Bird has gradually carved out a singular sound that mesmerizes as much as it defies description. The New York Times called him an “operatic folkie,” a nod to Bird’s classical upbringing, while A.V. Club (The Onion) called his music “adventurously catchy.”

Added the Houston Chronicle, “His eight albums … are restlessly creative stops along a fascinating arc as he ditched a spot-the-influence approach to make sort of a genre-less music of his own.”