::: Andrew Bird
::: Ogden Theater
::: 02.26.09

The tall glass of water known as Andrew Bird played to a sold out crowd last night at the always inviting Ogden Theater. A well-coiffed Bird and his charming anecdotes amused the crowd creating samples and beautiful music on stage and looping everything all at once. If I was as good as he is on the gee-tar or the violin, I would sample myself too. The night was heavy on the new material off of his newest masterpiece, Noble Beast. The evening’s unsung hero came in the form of band member Martin Dosh. Dosh has quietly been pumping out music and Lord only knows if he’s Bird’s muse, but some of the experimental and adventurous avenues being explored were being experienced on stage right.

Andrew Bird-Dark Matter (live Montreal) [mp3]

::: All the Saints
::: Marquis Theater
::: 02.22.09

The album by the Georgian group on Touch and Go (RIP?) does their live performance no justice. Cut from the same cloth as Deerhunter (and same hood) , the trio thrives on hard nose riffs and reverb induced hysteria. The short but very sweet set crammed as much psychedelia as they could down everybody’s throats. All that was missing was a lava lamp or two. In all fairness, their trippiness is quickly followed by their ability to rock the stage with their fuzzy guitars and hypnotic vocals.

All the Saints-Sheffield [mp3]

::: Adele
::: Bluebird Theater
::: 01.22.08

Adele is the newest British songstress on the scene to become the new American fan favorite. A void left by Amy Winehouse (she was never sober enough to relish her moment) and filled by the lovely and endearing Adele. Her appearance on Saturday Night Live garnered her some major attention on her Columbia debut. Adele’s bright eyed optimism and playful temperament on stage made her an easy target to love, even if you were indifferent towards her soulful music. I had no clue that she played guitar nor did I know she was so young, poking fun at her inability to drink legally in the US. The full house felt like a woman empowerment rally, but in a good way. I was waiting for bras to be set ablaze at any given moment. The set list was a bit heavy on the covers from Bob Dylan to Etta James (duh, of course), but the sold-out crowd didn’t mind, they wanted the hits to keep on comin’!

Adele-Cold Shoulder (Basement Jaxx Classic Edit remix) [mp3]