Concert Review: Andrew Bird w/St. Vincent @ 9:30 Club
I’m not the connoisseur of live music that I’d like to be, but it’s hard to imagine how a show could have been much better than last night’s Andrew Bird/St. Vincent set at D.C.’s 9:30 Club. As the last date of Bird’s tour with St. Vincent (nee Annie Clark), it seemed a rather emotional experience for both artists. Said Clark near the end of her set: “This is the last date. I suffer from seperation anxiety. It’s really, really bad.” For his part, Bird brought out Clark for a new, suspiciously romantic duet near the end of his own set, after which the rest of St. Vincent joined in for some huge renditions of Scythian Empires and crowd-favorite Tables & Chairs (Bird: “There will be snacks, but first we’re doing Scythian Empires.”)
On the individual side, St. Vincent’s opening set was shimmering – opening for a largely unfamiliar crowd can be a tough sell, but Clark had the audience on her side by the end of things. She’s got a stunningly true stage voice to compliment her guitar chops, and her collection of multi-instrumental band members provided ample backup for her wacky arrangements. Though the set leaned heavily toward her new release, which makes sense given that she’s touring it, she tossed a couple of favorites from Marry Me into the mix to keep people on their toes.
Bird was transcendant. I’d seen him a year or so previously, when Noble Beast was still just a blip on the radar, and while that was a great show, he was clearly having some technical problems and not in the best of moods. Tonight, though, was a homecoming. Every moment on stage, he was in total control of the audience, and his charming, unassuming demeanor between songs had the audience laughing out loud on several occasions. His set list was huge, a great blend of older and newer songs, and his banter with the audience kept the crowd rapt every minute. (Bird, telling the story behind Headsoak: “It was raining, and the air was…pregnant.” Audience member: “YEEEAAAH PREGNANT!!!!” Bird: “I’m glad you guys are listening.”).
All in all, an great evening. I can only hope that these two go on tour together again soon – they have such undeniable chemistry on the set that it would be a shame if they left it at that.
Set Lists:
St. Vincent
- The Strangers
- Laughing with a Mouth of Blood
- Save Me From What I Want
- Actor Out of Work
- Now, Now
- The Party
- Black Rainbow
- Marrow
- Your Lips Are Red
Andrew Bird
- Why?
- Masterswarm
- Opposite Day
- A Nervous Tic Motion of the Head to the Left
- Fitz & Dizzyspells
- Headsoak
- On Ho!
- Oh No
- Untitled New Song: “This is a song that comments on social
alienation! [audience: oooooh!] …and does not have words yet.
[audience laughter]“ - Effigy
- Anonanimal
- “A Gift”
Andrew Bird’s “A Gift,” followed by “Imitosis.”
- Imitosis
- You Woke Me Up!
- Cataracts
- New Song: Lusitania (duet with Annie Clark)
- Scythian Empires (w/ St. Vincent)
- Tables and Chairs (w/ St. Vincent)
- Encore: Oh Sister (duet with Annie Clark, Bob Dylan cover)
- Encore: Prayer of Death (w/ Annie Clark, Charlie Patton cover)
- Encore: Don’t Be Scared (The Handsome Family cover)
- Encore: Fake Palindromes
